Tim Peterson
By Tim Peterson
I received a text Saturday reading “I went to the Duarte game last night and they’re the real deal. We are back!”
The text was from somebody who should know – former Duarte HC Wardell Crutchfield.
The Falcons under new coach James Heggins to appear to be on their way back. They beat Windward 14-7 at home in the opener and then pounded Montclair 44-20 Friday night on the road.
Duarte finished 1-9 a year ago under Travis Brown, who is now at Cantwell. Heggins returned to Baldwin Park last season after taking three years off and led to the Braves back to the playoffs, but then stepped down to take over at Duarte.
The Falcons have had their struggles since Crutchfield was dismissed after the 2008 season. Duarte went 6-6 overall in Crutchfield’s final year advancing to the second round of the playoffs before falling to Monrovia. This completed a successful four year run in which Duarte had a winning record and Crutchfield had several players go on to play at Division 1 schools, including offensive lineman Mike Harris who played at UCLA.
The Falcons also went to the Mid-Valley Division semi finals in 2006 but after the 2008 season, Duarte decided to “go in a different direction.” It appears it was the wrong direction. The Falcons have made the playoffs just once in the last seven years (2013 under Jason Martin) and have a record of 21-49 over that span.
Now Heggins is in to try to restore order and with a 2-0 record it looks like he’s off to a good start. The Falcons have Mt. View this week followed by Whittier Christian and Maranatha before opening Montview League play October 7.
The Falcons are led by quarterback Devon Hemsley who stands 6’3” and has a year of experience under his belt after playing all of last season as a sophomore.
Look out. As Crutchfield says, the Falcons may indeed be back.
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Yes, I expected more out of Downey but despite making several mistakes, committing penalties and struggling offensively the Vikings still beat a Burbank team that crushed Monrovia two weeks ago. As ugly as it was Downey and head coach Jack Williams will take it.
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We knew Arroyo would have a rough time with Hart so the 39-0 rout Friday night wasn’t a shock. “We got beat in every phase. The better team won…clearly. We moved the ball and then stalled, got three turnovers but did nothing with it,” said Arroyo HC Jim Singiser. “I did find some answers about guys that will compete through adversity.”
Hey we understand. La Mirada got beat 48-0…by Mater Dei. So do the Matadores still remain number one in the Mid Valley Writers Poll?
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Yes we left out Muir in the Top 20. The Stangs beat a down Compton team and we don’t know anything about Desert Oasis (Las Vegas). We’ll see what happens this week against a solid La Salle team.
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Note to Dave Roberts: If your pitcher is throwing a perfect game through seven innings, leave him in the game. I don’t care if his arm is falling off. It’s a once in a lifetime thing.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com or on Twitter @tspeterson40.
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