Covina Keeps Walnut Winless in a 42-6 Rout

Colts vs. Mustangs at Covina District Field Sept.23, 2011

walnut.patch.com

The Covina Colts were heavy favorites going into Friday night’s nonleague game against visiting Walnut and they had very little trouble corralling the Mustangs in front of their home crowd, scoring 30 first half points en route to a 42-6 non league win.

The Colts (2-1) were coming off a 52-10 trouncing of the El Monte Lions last week, while Walnut (0-4) was seeking its first win of the season after opening up with three straight losses including a 46-20 loss to Claremont last week.

Covina’s senior wide receiver Vincent Venegas continues to terrorize opposing defenses this season. Venegas scored on touchdowns of 7 and 23 yards in the first half and the Colts added a 36-yard touchdown run by Gevontray Ainsworth to take a 21-0 lead on the Mustangs with just under 3 minutes to go in the first half.

Things went further south for visiting Walnut before the half ended.

When punting deep out of their own territory in the closing minutes of the first half, Covina’s Nicholas Hynes blocked a punt for a safety to make the score 23-0. On the play, Walnut’s kicker Orlando Ochoa alertly kicked the ball out of the end zone to prevent Covina from scoring six points instead of the deuce.

“We’re a good defensive unit as a whole,” said Hynes, who attributes the Colts’ success to the fact they have good team chemistry and to players having bonded while playing together over an extended length of time.

After the Colts scored one last time to take a 30-0 lead into the locker room, they opened up the second half where they left off offensively. It took them just 55 seconds to score again on an 81-yard touchdown run, in which Venegas broke several tackles on his way to the end zone.

Despite getting some offensive production out of senior running back Devin Brown, Walnut was unable to score a touchdown this week, scoring on field goals of 36 and 24 yards.

The Mustangs were also plagued with a rash of injuries on their offensive line, which coach Michael O’Shields said was a source of great concern to him as the team enters Hacienda league play next week.

“I’m going to have to assess that tomorrow and see who I’ve got left, and who I don’t, and some young guys may be in playing,” O’Shields said following the loss.

“We need to get better, all teams are 0-0 in league and our ultimate goal is to make the playoffs, so what we gotta do is to continue to play.”

The Mustangs open up Hacienda League play at home against Los Altos next week with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

BOX SCORE

School Name	1	2	3	4	Final
Walnut	0	0	3	3	6
Covina	14	16	6	6	42

Mt SAC Holds on to Beat College of the Desert 27-24

The Mounties prepare to play College of the Desert Saturday

walnut.patch.com

Things were not looking very good for the Mt. SAC Football team’s 25 consecutive game winning streak late in their contest against visiting College of the Desert Saturday.

The Mounties (3-0) easily handled the Roadrunners (2-1) last season with a 36-10 road win at College of the Desert. But in this year’s contest, after falling behind 21-20, the Mounties found themselves staring at a four-point deficit after Desert tacked on another three points on the strength of kicker Brett Symonds’ 28-yard field goal with 4:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Despite outscoring Desert 17-7 through the first two quarters of play, the Mounties were on the short end of the scoreboard, even with quarterback Cameron Deen having another solid performance under center.

Deen, a sophomore bounceback transfer from Northern Colorado and former South Hills standout, hooked up with wide reciever Alonzo Agwuenu twice in the first half on touchdowns of 15 and 26 yards after College of the Desert had scored first on Jai Steib’s two-yard run.

Following the field goal that gave Desert a 24-20 lead, the Mounties were the beneficiaries of a great kick-off return and found themselves near midfield with less than five minutes to save their winning streak and the game.

Sophomore running back Matthew Botello gave Mt. SAC the big offensive play they needed, picking up 19 yards and taking the ball inside the 30 yard line.

Two consecutive passes to Agwuenu from Deen resulted in a first and goal situation on the three yard line for Mt. SAC with about 2:38 left in the game. Twelve seconds later, Mark Larmie rumbled three yards up the middle through the heart of Desert’s defense for the go-ahead and eventual game winning score.

The Roadrunners, who were 4-6 overall last season, had one more shot at winning the game after freshman running back Nephi Garcia gave them good field position.  But Mt. SAC’s defense rose to the challenge, sacking Desert’s quarterback Charles Fortis twice with the clock winding down to preserve the 27-24 victory.

“We are a good team, we have a lot of talent and we were very confident,” said Deen following the game, adding he wasn’t surprised with the defensive effort shown by the visiting team.

“They bring pressure every play,” he said.  “They played great in the second half.”

Deen said there is really no proper way to prepare against a good defense.

“You see it on film, but on the field it’s a little different,” he said.  “We made a lot of mistakes, but we still came back, we came together as a team.”

Mt. SAC Coach Bob Jastrab, whose Mounties have now won 26 consecutive games and are 29-1 over the past two seasons, praised the play of College of the Desert, as well as that of his defense.

“I can’t say enough for the team. They stepped up and got it done,” Jastrab said.  “It could have gone either way. That’s a great football team, and they did a great job.  We were fortunate again to have a found a way to win in the end.”

Larmie said he wasn’t surprised his team hung tough at the end of the game.

“It was a matter of the defense coming together,” he said. “It feels wonderful to walk away with the W, but we still have a lot of work to do. But with God’s help, anything is possible.”

BOX SCORE

School Name	1	2	3	4	Final
Mt SAC	3	14	3	7	27
Desert	7	0	14	3	24

Scoring summary:

1st 6:40 MSAC- Torres, Abraham 37 yd FG

4:39 COD- Steib, Jai 2 yd run (Symonds, Brett kick)

2nd 7:46 MSAC- Agweunu, Alonzo 15 yd pass from Deen, Cameron (Coons Travis kick)

3:10 MSAC- Agweunu, Alonzon 26 yd pass from Deen (Coons kick)

3rd 13:07 COD- Brewer, Jordan 53 yd pass from Fortis, Charles (Symonds kick)

5:44 MSAC- Torres, Abraham 26 yd field goal

1:01 COD- Steib, Jai 6 yd run (Symonds kick)

4th 4:27 COD- Symonds, 28-yd field goal

2:26 MSAC- Larmie, Mark 4 yd run (Coons kick)

Walnut Football Suffers Third Consecutive Loss 46,20

The Mustangs prepare to play Claremont at home on Friday.

walnut.patch.com

Despite throwing a touchdown and running for two other scores, senior quarterback Chris Mendez and his Mustang teammates were unable to overcome four second half scores by visiting Claremont High.

The Wolfpack jumped all over Walnut High School en route to a 46-20 non-league win at Ken Gunn Stadium Friday night.

Claremont’s sophomore running back Cecil Fleming burned the Mustangs (0-3) on scoring runs of 15 and 25 yards and also caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Claremont quarterback Gabe Schaper in the second quarter of play.

After falling behind on the scoreboard 21-7 following Fleming’s long touchdown catch, Mendez brought the Mustangs to within eight, as he called his own number on a five-yard run.

Unfortunately for Walnut, that would be the last time they would find the endzone until the final quarter, while Claremont scored the next four touchdowns on their way to the victory.

Senior Chris Mendez has had flashes of brilliance in the three non-league losses he’s started for Walnut, but he may not yet have a handle on the spread offense which allowed last year’s quarterback Brandon Roach to throw for almost 2,500 yards.

The one bright spot in the evening for the Mustangs was the play of senior running back Devin Brown.

Brown finished over 130 yards on 25 carries, despite not being able to find the endzone.

“He did a good job. He had a really good game,” said Walnut Coach Michael O’Shields. “We’ve been waiting for that good game, we needed it.”

O’Shields said the score notwithstanding, there were a number of positives the team could take away from the loss.

“We didn’t finish drives during the first two weeks, and we finished three drives tonight,” he said. “And I think that is something to build on. We just need to finish a few more in the second half.”

Mendez scored the Mustang’s first touchdown on a 49-yard run with time expiring in the first quarter. He scored again on the keeper, with 3:27 to go before halftime. Walnut’s third and final touchdown came with the game well in hand for Claremont leading 46-13. Mendez connected with Cody Lepp on a 10-yard pass.

The Mustangs will try to get their first win of the season next week as they travel to Covina District Field to battle the Colts before opening up league play against Los Altos on Sept. 30.

Charter Oak Remains Elite Team in Area with 35-28 Victory

Charter Oak football team celebratres after win over Eastvale Roosevelt

glendora.patch.com

The Charter Oak Chargers were heavy underdogs against a Roosevelt  High School team that are considered a powerhouse in the Inland Valley, but the Chargers managed to outslug their visiting opponents to come away with a 35-28 non-league win.

The Chargers (2-0) intercepted Roosevelt quarterback Brandon Rogers three times in the final quarter and scored two touchdwons thanks to quarterback Travis Santiago who continued his impressive play early in the season with a scoring pass to Aaren Vaughns, who raced 82 yards down the sideline.

Santiago then inflicted damage to the visiting Mustangs (0-1) on the ground, leading a scoring drive which culminated on his 6-yard touchdown run with 5:21 to play. It turned out to be the game winner, even though the Mustangs had one last breath of life, down 35-28.

That was stamped out by a great defensive play as Rogers hauled off a pass from his own 19 yard line which Vaugh read perfectly on defense and picked off with 41.3 seconds left to seal the win.

After the Mustangs scored the first touchdown on a quarterback keeper by Brandon Rogers, the Chargers answered back on a drive that started at their own 40 yard line and aided by a penalty, positioned themselves for a potential score.

Kurt Scoby scored the first touchdown of the game for Charter Oak, a 5-yard scoring run which evened up the game at 7-7.

The Chargers took a 14-7 lead with a little more than 5 minutes left in the second quarter on junior Aaren Vaughns’ 8-yard touchdown catch, but Roosevelt came right back to tie the game on a long touchdown pass from Rogers to senior wide receiver Brandon Zuiedema

“We may live in the San Gabriel Valley, but now they know who Charter Oak is,” coach Lou Farrar told his team after the win. “Your character and scrappiness and heart is what makes you a champion. I am very proud of you.”

“I am very happy that they played four quarters,” said Farrar. “We view the game as a tactical situation, and if we do things right the score takes care of itself. We just play to eliminate mistakes. My coaching staff makes great adjustments.”

Farrar said even though the Mustangs are considered an elite team in the area, the Chargers were not afraid to play them. “We’re a pretty scrappy team.”

Charter Oak will be on the road next week against Esperanza. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 P.M.

Mt SAC Football Opens Up Strong With 51-21 Win Over Victor Valley

posted at walnut.patch.com

Running back Mark Larmie(34) breaks away for a run against the visiting Rams on Saturday's season opener at Mt. SAC

The defending National Champion Mounties wasted no time in finding their offensive rhythm Saturday as they posted 35 first half points en route to a 30 point win over visiting Victor Valley College at Hilmer Lodge Stadium.

Under the guidance of new quarterbacks Cameron Deen and Ted Launders, Mt. SAC rolled up 626 yards of total offense in a 51-21 season opening victory in front of their home fans.

Deen, a former standout at South Hills High School, finished 23 of 31 for 348 yards and two touchdowns, including a 62 yarder, while Launders completed 14 of 18 for 193 yards and a 27-yard score.

Sophomore receiver Alonzo Agwuenu caught touchdown passes of 62 and 27 yards in the first half on his way to ammassing 149 receiving yards while Finau Lomu out of Cottonwood Utah added returns of 41 and 53 yards.

Mt. SAC coach Robert Jastrab said despite starting both Deen and Launders, there was no quarterback controversy in the land of the Mounties.

“They both battled all the way ’till the end and they are both great quarterbacks,” said Jastrab, adding “it was going to be a battle for the position all the way throughout the season.”

Launders said he did not mind sharing signal calling duties with Deen, as long as both were being productive offensively. He added he had no idea if a permanent starter would be named later in the season.

“Right now it’s up to the coaches,” he said.

Launders said the team produced an all around win in their first outing.

“We came out strong,” he said.  “The offensive line did a good job. We played really strong overall on offense. The defense did a good job as well.”

After trailing by 35 points at halftime, Victor Valley, who belong to the American Division Mountain Conference and are coming off a 2-8 2010 season, finally got on the scoreboard.

The Rams’ Jemeryn Jenkins hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback JaQuorrey Williams, the first of two receiving scores on the day for Jenkins, who finished with 82 yards.

The Mounties displayed flashes of the defensive toughness that brought them back to back championships. Most notably, after coughing up the football on another potential scoring drive in the third quarter, Richard Thorpe recorded a safety.

Overall Jastrab said the team did a decent job.

“The most imporant thing we wanted to do is win the football game, but we gotta clean up the mistakes the turnovers and the penaltie,” he said.  “It’s a young football team and we knew that there was going to be a learning curve. We’ll just play from here and hopefully we get better each week.”

Even though Mt. SAC gave up three scores in the second half including a 34-yard pass with 6:06 to play in the final quarter, Jastrab said he would like to see the team learn to finish out games.

“I warned them at halftime, it’s always tough,” he said. “You gotta finish a team off when you have the chance. It’s probably good for us. Everything is a learning experience for them, hopefully they’ll learn from this situation and learn that we have to finish the two halfs, 60 minutes.”

Next week the Mounties will be on the road against Canyons. That game is scheduled for a 6 P.M. start.

Charter Oak Sneaks By Glendora,17-6

The Glendora Tartans practice their place kicking and other drills prior to playing against Charter Oak on Friday night.

posted at glendora.patch.com

Glendora’s new football coach Todd Quinsey said he thought his team played well, despite opening the 2011 season with a 17-6 loss at Charter Oak.

The Tartans were trying to improve on last year’s Baseline League finish, but they were not helped by a schedule which pitted them against arguably the area’s top quarterback, Travis Santiago.

Last season, Santiago led the Chargers to a 13-1 record and a CIF-SS Southern Division Title, but on Friday night he hurt Glendora with his running abilities as well as throwing the football.

After Glendora took a 6-0 lead on a touchdown run by senior Skyler Crall, Santiago and the Charter Oak offense came roaring back on the strength of a balanced offense which featured a running attack anchored by sophomore Kurt Scoby.

The Chargers culminated the drive by converting a fourth down into a 9-yard touchdown run as Santiago scored on a keeper to put his team ahead 7-6 right before the end of the opening quarter.

“Santiago is very good, you expect him to beat you but not with his legs, he made some big plays with his legs tonight,” said Quinsey.

The Tartans made some costly mistakes which could have given them an advantage before the half. Perhaps none may have been more dear than a chop block penalty which nullified a touchdown by Holmes as Glendora was driving for a potential go ahead score.

Scoby scored the Chargers’ second touchdown, a 10-yard run with little time left in the opening half, giving Charter Oak a lead they never relinquished and they added a field goal near the conclusion of the third quarter.

New Glendora starting quarterback Kyle Kianpour was intercepted by Charter Oak’s defense right before halftime, thwarting another potential Glendora scoring opportunity

Quinsey said injuries and mental errors hurt the Tartans.

“I thought the kids played really hard. We were really short handed, we had a lot of guys out with injuries, especially on the line.

“We had opportunities, there were just a couple of plays that we made mistakes on, self-inflicted wounds but it’s the first game, we will get better at it.”

While some anticipated the game to be dominated by Santiago’s throwing arm, Charter Oak’s aerial attack was replaced by a more conservative approach, though Quinsey said he was not surprised by this.

“Our quarterback is one of the best athletes we’ve ever put on the field,” said Chargers coach Lou Farrar, “He makes college level reads. Our offensive line is inexperienced but we will be OK.”

Next week the Tartans will go on the road to play Mid-Valley Champion Monrovia. Kickoff is set for 7 P.M.