Game Night – Week Seven Southeast Division
All game times are 7: 00 PM unless otherwise indicated.
Thursday October 22
La Serna (2-4, 1-0) vs Pioneer (2-4, 0-1) at California HS
Last year: La Serna 57-27
No that score was correct for previously winless La Serna. Prior to last week the Lancers looked as though they would be blown out by Santa Fe only to upset the DRL apple cart. Pioneer was brought back down to reality with a blow-out loss to El Rancho.
La Serna should be able to defeat Pioneer and improve to 2-0 in league. Lancer quarterback Andrew Buenrostro is completing 51% of his passes and only has two interceptions thrown. Titans signal caller Steven Del Villar has eight touchdowns on the season.
Look for the Lancers to dominate this game and knock Pioneer into a 0-2 hole.
La Serna 24 Pioneer 7
Muir (1-5, 1-2) vs Crescenta Valley (4-2, 2-1) at Glendale HS
Last Year: Muir 32-6 (Have won four straight meetings)
Mustangs finally get a victory after a tough pre-season schedule and tough losses to Burroughs and Burbank. The Falcons were the glamour pick to take away the Pacific League crown from Muir until they were handled easily against Burbank.
Mustangs quarterback Jarron Williams is still the guy that the offense goes through. Ormoni Duncan had a breakthrough game against Arcadia last week. Crescenta Valley quarterback Kyle Cota completes 62% of his passes and running back Harry Pessy is a solid runner.
Key to the game will be how the Falcons can handle the speed of Muir. If the Falcons can control the ball and wear down the Mustangs line, this game will be close. Muir needs to jump out early and continue the momentum they received after a big win against Arcadia.
Muir 28 Crescenta Valley 21
Glendale (1-5, 0-3) @ Pasadena (3-3, 2-1)
Last Year: Glendale 28-12
Nitros are in some trouble as they start the tough Pacific league 0-3. A loss and they are on the outside looking in for a playoff spot. The Bulldogs were easily handled by Burroughs last Thursday and now must defeat a team headed in the wrong direction.
Glendale may be without Moises Chavez who was injured in their game against Burbank. Pasadena needs to limit their mistakes, as fumbles still are a problem.
A win for Pasadena would be huge with three games remaining. Glendale is just in need of a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Pasadena 35 Glendale 10
Friday October 23
Alhambra (3-2, 0-1) @ Montebello (2-4, 0-1)
Last Year: Montebello 41-34
The Oilers have won the last two meetings between the clubs and another win would put a serious crimp in the Moors post-season dreams.
Montebello lost a wild game to Bell Gardens last week, while Alhambra lost to Schurr.
The Moors must stop Eric Espinosa and Joseph Marron if the want to get a win. The Oilers must pressure Darrin Cazarin who threw three interceptions in the loss to the Spartans. Alhambra needs to also find a running game if they want to be successful.
Who ever ends up losing this game is in some serious trouble for a playoff spot. As both have San Gabriel remaining on their schedule. Look for the Moors to win this game.
Alhambra 21-17
San Gabriel (3-3, 1-0) @ Bell Gardens (5-1, 1-0)
Last Year: San Gabriel 42-32 (last two meetings won by Matadors by same score)
Under-achieving Matadors are 3-0 on the road after a 21-7 win against Keppel. Lancers got offensive in win against Montebello.
San Gabriel will have their problems with Bell Gardens if they don’t protect Isaac Valdez. If they replicate what Santa Fe did against the Lancers then this game isn’t close. The Lancers finally started to click on offense, but the defense has too many holes and against a talented offense will be exposed.
With both teams still needing to play against Alhambra and Schurr, it is vital for both teams to win this game. That being written, the Matadors need to find a way to get Arthur Brown on track early and keep a Lancer offense that has averaged 35 points in two games.
Bell Gardens 28-21
Schurr (4-1-1, 1-0) @ Keppel (1-5, 0-1)
Last Year: Schurr 48-8 (Have won last five meetings)
Spartans got a huge win over Alhambra to start the Almont League campaign. The Aztecs gave all San Gabriel could handle in their loss to open up league play.
Schurr should handle Keppel pretty easily as they are firing on all cylinders and have the best defense in the Almont. The Aztecs have improved enough to compete but haven’t learned to finish.
Schurr 35-7
El Rancho (4-2, 1-0) @ California (3-2-1, 1-0)
Last Year: California 45-13
Game of the Week in the DRL as both teams are in a prime spot for the title.
The Ranch is back and put the hurt on Pioneer last week. California’s defense stepped up and held Whittier to only 10 points.
Dons running back Art Castro and quarter Josh Perea will have their work cutout for them against a very strong defensive unit in the Condors. California needs to limit their penalties that stopped Terris Jones from blowing open their last game.
That said Jones can’t do it all for the Condors and they only score 20 points a game that just won’t cut it against a high scoring El Rancho offense. What isn’t said about the Dons is their ability to play defense and have only allowed 17 points per game.
This game will be as good as advertised with two good defenses and stars on offense. Look for both teams to control the ball on the ground and whoever can establish the play-action wins this game.
El Rancho 20-17
Whittier (3-3, 0-1) @ Santa Fe (4-2, 0-1)
Last Year: Santa Fe 19-6
Chiefs overlooked La Serna last week and were upset in the DRL opener. The Cardinals ran into a tough defensive Condor team.
Whittier must find a way to score points as they have managed 31 points in three games (1-2). Santa Fe can put up points against anyone but have trouble winning in games they should win (see last week).
Chiefs will be mad and have the Cardinals to punish for their loss.
Santa Fe 28-10
Bonita (1-5, 0-1) @ Los Altos (3-3, 1-0)
Last Year: Bonita 39-18
Bearcats are in trouble. They got shut out last week against Charter Oak and have scored 22 points in their last three games. Casey Horine can only do so much and without a legit quarterback look for them to struggle.
Conquerors put up 52 points last week to a very good defense. Ryan Longoria had his coming out party last week when he scored on two kickoff returns. Justin Zamano is managing the game well at quarterback.
If this were played last week, the Mid would have been all over the Bearcats. But it isn’t. Los Altos is in a good position in the playoff race with a win and a 2-0 start.
Los Altos 35-7
Diamond Ranch (1-5, 0-0) vs Charter Oak (5-1, 1-0) at Ganesha HS
Last Year: Charter Oak 23-7, 30-14 (Southeast Division Championship)
Last year, the game was close in the first half of the regular season game until the Chargers blew it open in the second half. Both teams met in the Championship game and Charger Oak showed the Panthers how good they really were.
Diamond Ranch has had a brutal pre-season schedule and finally were able to get a week off. Their opponents combined record is 26-10.
The Chargers opened up Miramonte league play with a shutout against Bonita.
Gus Viramontes leads the offense for the Panthers and must shake the memories of the the previous two games to be successful.
On the ground, Charter Oak has Adam Muema who has the ability to break open a game by himself. In the air, Kyle Brown, Dennis Rufus, and A.J. Powell can make big plays.
This game will be physical. Both teams are rivals and a good chance that this might come down to the last play.
Charter Oak 21-14
Burroughs (4-2, 3-0) @ Arcadia (1-4-1, 1-2)
Last Year: Burroughs 56-9
A win by the Indians and they will probably clinch a playoff spot with Glendale left before having to face Crescenta Valley and Burbank. Loss by the Apaches and they are in a world of trouble with Burbank and Crescenta Valley still on the schedule and Hoover sandwiched between.
With Dalton Williams and Lucas Yanez running the ball, Burroughs should not have too much trouble beating Arcadia. The Apaches need to limit their turnovers if they want to have a chance.
Burroughs 35-7
Hoover (1-5, 0-3) @ Burbank (5-1, 3-0)
Last Year: Burbank 52-14
Bulldogs should have no trouble against the Tornadoes this week.
After breaking their losing streak earlier in the year, Hoover has dropped four straight. Burbank has just been unstoppable and has too many weapons.
Burbank rolls.
Burbank 63-0
South Hills (4-2, 1-0) @ Nogales (2-4, 0-0)
Last Year: South Hills 42-6
Huskies have found their ground game after Geoffrey Vaughns found holes in the West Covina defense in a big victory. The Nobles had a bye to prepare for a game that looks like a mismatch on paper.
Okay, who are we kidding. South Hills will have their way with the Nogales as they can run or pass against a team that hasn’t seen an offense like this all year. The defense for the Huskies is just as strong.
South Hills 42-0
Walnut (5-1, 0-1) @ West Covina (3-4, 0-1)
Last Year: West Covina 29-22
If ever there was a year to sneak into the playoffs for the Mustangs, it is this year. Which ever team loses finds themselves in 0-2 hole with Rowland and Nogales left on the league schedule.
Walnut has Leonard Rhodes and Milan King to run the ball against a Bulldog defense that was suspect against the ground game last week. If the Mustangs must throw, Austin Cooper has Aubrey Coleman to pass the ball to.
West Covina needs to regroup quickly this week as the Mustangs are much better this year. There was no running game last week and they had trouble throwing the ball as well. If the Bulldogs want a win, Ricky Johnson and Jesse Ili need to pound the ball.
This game might be real close. If Walnut can keep West Covina’s defense on the field for long periods of time, they will have the edge. The Bulldogs must find their ground game if they want to win this.
Walnut 24-21
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