In many ways root canal seemed easier than this. We did our homework, did our consulting, and our arguing. A thousand words can be written about each position, but we made the hard calls.
So here we go.
Offense
Quarterback: Dominic Salmon (Arroyo 2003-2005)
Notes: This was a war that came down to Salmon and Jose Garay. Cases were made for Lee Aguirre (South), Amilcar Archilla (EM), Brian Partida (Arroyo), Angel Alejandre ( Rosemead ), Paul Zuniga (Gabrielino), Jeremy Sanchez (Gabrielino), even Efrain Medina (South). In the end it was Salmon with a pair of league titles, lots of numbers, three playoff wins, and a semifinal appearance.
Running Backs: Deon Sumler (Rosemead 2003-2005), Donald Boyd (Gabrielino 2000), & Anthony Olivas (Arroyo 2000-2002)
Notes: The majority of the breakout backs in this decade belonged at Rosemead . South El Monte had some nice runners, El Monte had Luke Ayala and Christian Russo, Raul Ramirez had solid seasons for the Knights, and after Boyd Gabrielino was lacking a game breaker. Sumler and Olivas were three year guys, and although Boyd only played the 2000 season of this decade he was amazing.
Wide Receivers: Tommy Cogburn (South El Monte 2005-2007) & Sergio Leon (Arroyo 2003-2005)
Notes: Some really good receivers are not listed here. However, none of them had the total game of Cogburn and Leon. These two were receivers deluxe. Mead had special hands guys in Steve Megliorino and Joey Ray. Garielino had a corps of receivers from Mario Atilano to Craig Winchell. Gus Mendoza and Manny Acosta were studs at South and El Monte had a bunch guys including Orlando Medina and Steven Librenjak. Alas, we can have only
Tight End: None
Notes: There were some good ones. Armando Beltran at Mountain View and Mike Sotello at Arroyo stand out, but we decided not to name one to add another running back.
Offensive Line: Armando Villa (South El Monte 2003-2005), Chris Flores (Rosemead 2007-2008), Josh Casey (Rosemead 2003-2005), Javier Lozano (Arroyo 2007-2008), & Kenny Andrew (Arroyo 2002-2004)
Notes: Most of these guys easily transfer over to the defensive line. Trench warriors are trench warriors. Again these are tough calls. Arguments came in for other some other Arroyo guys, James Ferguson at Rosemead, as well as Julio Tena and Oscar Quinones at El Monte.
Defensive
Defensive Line: Juan Perez (South El Monte), Anthony Gonzalez (Rosemead), & Luis Diaz (Rosemead)
Notes: Like we said a lot of the linemen on the offensive side, could have been placed here. Then again at what expense? We decided to go with a 3-5-3 set up on defensive. The strength of the MVL in the first decade of the 21st century was in its linebackers. These three up front are awesome and the best of the best. Did have a late arguments come in for Rosie Penaloza from Arroyo and Miguel Zarate at El Monte.
Linebackers: Ronnie Williams (Arroyo 2002-2004), Julio Tena (El Monte 2006-2008), Efrain Oquendo (Arroyo 2002-2004), Tra Sumler (Rosemead 2006-2008), & Jonathan Omar (Gabrielino 2003-2004)
Notes: I could replace these five and replace them with names like Edward McMillan (Mead), Joe Morales (South), Davie Padilla (South), Rudy Barbosa (EM), Anthony Chavez (EM), and a dozen more. Including a pair of old Rosemead favorites in James Pringle and Jason Olmos. Any argument here is an excellent one and fully understood. We did our best.
Defensive Backs: Lee Aguirre (South El Monte 2003-2005), Joe Silva (Rosemead 2000-2002), & Martin Mares (Arroyo 2001-2002)
Notes: Let the ranting began. Jayson Sanchez (Gabrielino)…Yes. Fernando Norriega (El Monte)…Yes. Cesar Chavez (Rosemead), Greg Parham (Rosemead), Alex Chang (Rosemead)…Yes, yes, yes. Mike Chavez, Brett Cogburn, Sean Cun (Arroyo)…Yes, yes, yes. The Ruiz brother at Gabrielino. Joe Rodriguez (South)…Not enough spaces, all valid arguments…we understand.
Kicker: Bobby Maldonado (Rosemead 2006-2008)
Notes: This guy was battling boots from his own school. Yepez brothers were awesome, and Jose Camarena was awesome. Atilano did well for Gabrielino. But it was Maldonado who not only displayed the leg but the accuracy in the biggest moments.
Punter: None
Notes: We’ve come to the conclusion here at The Mid that when we need a punter we’ll ask.
Kick Returner: Gus Mendoza (South El Monte 2003-2005)
Notes: This guy ran with a jet pack attached.
Punt Returner: Joey Ray (Rosemead 2000-2001)
Notes: A blur we haven’t seen in almost ten years, but what he did on the field we have not forgotten.
Player of the Decade: Tra Sumler (Rosemead)
Notes: A lot of arguments can be made, but we feel confident about this choice. For two years, 2007-2008, no one dominated in the MVL on offense and defense the way this guy did.
Coach of the Decade: Matt Koffler (Rosemead)
Notes: This really broke down to Koffler and Jim Singiser (Arroyo). Outright league titles these guys tied at three each and shared part of another with Erick Escamilla in 2006. In post-season Singiser had a semifinal team in 2004. Koffler had a semifinal team in 2001 and 2008, and of course a finalist in ’08. Head to head these two faced each other six times and split the meetings with three wins apiece.
We entertained a co-coach of the decade thing for about four seconds, and decided it would be better to pick one and accept the wrath.
The 2008 Panthers weighted the scales in Koffler’s favor.
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