Former USC Linebacker Chris Claiborne lands at La Mirada
The San Gabriel coaching situation has been settled. It went to a name that a lot of people aren’t familiar with. J.D. Thompson, whose roots aren’t embedded in the San Gabriel Valley, has taken the job as head coach.
Thompson attended Corona Centennial where he played wide receiver and defensive back. He graduated in 1994 and has been on the coaching staff there for the better part of the last 16 years. He spent a year coaching at Long Beach Woodrow Wilson for a year before landing at San Gabriel.
“I did my research before coming here,” Thompson said. “I’m familiar with Jude (Oliva) and how successful the offense has been. I’m a Centennial guy which means we’ll play fast and up tempo. Without giving too much away, I can just say I’m a Centennial guy.”
Sounds a lot like the former San Gabriel guy.
Speaking of the former San Gabriel guy, a announcement on the status of Oliva is expected this week. I’m not sure where he will land but we get the feeling he will definitely land somewhere. Coaching is still in his blood and given the right situation, he’ll be on somebody’s sideline in 2013.
As for SG assistants Donald Bernard and Matt Lopez we only know one thing for sure. They won’t be back at San Gabriel. A part of me hates to see the Matador staff broken up but another part of me sees it as the best thing. Change is sometimes better and it will give everybody a chance for a fresh start. It will also give the new HC Thompson a clean slate as he brings in all of his own guys.
If you wanted to see a Division 1 coach this week, the place to be was La Mirada High School. Coaches from UCLA, Florida, Oregon State, and Oregon among others all took recruiting trips down to the Matadore campus this past week . More are expected this week.
There was also an addition to the La Mirada coaching staff this week. Former USC All American and First Round NFL draft pick Chris Claiborne has joined Mike Moschetti’s crew.
Pasadena was settled this week with the hiring of former North Hollywood HC Doug Bledsoe. That leaves Gladstone still open. Gladstone interviews are taking place this week.
I could talk high school football all day. I mean it is the best thing going right? But there was another game Sunday that I guess had some meaning.
Give the 49ers credit for making it a game. They looked dead and buried before the lights went out. However I don’t think that the power outage had an effect on Baltimore like Jim Nantz kept suggesting. Colin Kaepernick started making the plays that you knew he would eventually. The truth is he had played a pretty good game even to that point.
He threw one interception but if you took away Jacoby Jones’ 108 yard kickoff return and the 56 yard touchdown strike to Jones from Joe Flacco and it’s 14-6. Kaepernick can play and he did just that in bringing the Niners back.
Flacco threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns and was deserving of the MVP. It was a nice way for Ray Lewis to go out but he didn’t have a big impact on the game itself.
I did think Michael Crabtree was held in the end zone but I hated the 49ers call. Why throw a fade when you have Kaepernick who can roll out and have the option to either run or pass? Also when you watch the replay the pass was thrown well out of bounds anyway. It was a good non-call.
Unless of course you’re a 49ers fan.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com.
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