Nin Burns II takes over at quarterback for Covina. (Photo by Duane Barker).
By Tim Peterson
It’s only June but on the other hand opening night is just 60 days away. It’s a good time to take an early look at the Valle Vista League and see how it stacks up.
Northview: The Vikings ran the league table last year and there’s no reason to believe they won’t again. Not everybody is back but quarterback Steven Comstock is and that alone is huge. Jimmy Amezquita, who had 294 yards receiving, will provide some offensive firepower as well and give Comstock somebody to throw to. Safety Andre Tinoco, 41 tackles last year, returns on the defensive side of the ball. The gap has still not closed between the Vikes and the rest of the league. Northview is still on top.
San Dimas: The Saints are still smarting from a late season loss last year to Baldwin Park and a first round post season exit. They also lose Jarell Sykes and his 1815 yards. But San Dimas always runs the ball well and will have the horses to do so again. Noah Maldonado and Kyler Moreli both return to anchor the ground attack. The Saints also have some beef up front to pave the road. HC Mark Holman and staff will have San Dimas right in the middle of things again.
Covina: The Colts are coming off a nice campaign last season advancing to the second round of the playoffs. On opening night they played eventual CIF Champion Arroyo to a tie. The game later turned into a Covina forfeit but we did see what type of team the Colts had. Nin Burns II takes over full time at quarterback this year and has looked good so far on the passing circuit. Wahub Mallick (1181 yards rushing) has graduated but Covina may be able to fill his shoes with Ailaoa Tauvao and Deonte Bevel among others. Tristan Sprague returns to lead the receiving corp. The Colts are always a well coached team under Joe Brown and should be in the upper echelon of the Valle Vista again.
Baldwin Park: Quarterback Jacob Robles and receiver Chris Vargas both return for Joe Fuller’s Braves. Middle linebacker Andrew Ramirez who totaled 58 tackles in 2016 will be the main man in the defensive mix. The Braves are always that team that can bite somebody as they did last year by upsetting San Dimas. The problem is can BP win enough games to earn a playoff berth? The Braves were 5-5 last season and they’ll need to improve on that to get in.
Rowland: The Raiders also finished at .500 last year and came up with a big league win over Baldwin Park. But it wasn’t enough and when looking at the top teams in the league it doesn’t look like it will be either this year. Rowland lost its best skill position player – QB Michael Cundiff – to graduation and will rely on its younger players to get the job done. Ryan Jacobsen is back as HC and provides stability to the program but the Raiders still might be a couple of years away.
Wilson: Sal Ortiz takes over for Ryan Bateman as head coach. Ortiz is the Wildcats third coach in three years which gives you an idea of where the program is at. Wilson was 0-9 last year including losses of 59-0 to Los Altos, 53-6 to San Dimas and 62-0 to Northview. The Wildcats do return quarterbacks Nick Aguayo and Nick Ortega, who split time last year and they may provide some highlights, but for the Wilson faithful there will be a lot more valleys than peaks. The Wildcats are in rebuild mode. This is a recording.
Everyone goes through some things that no one can control. We all forget that they’re still kids playing here. Us parents are the ones who need to learn to just let the kids play and the coaches coach. My son’s going into his senior year this upcoming season and all i want for him to leave everything he has out on the field every Friday night. His school has been hit hard for many years of them parents taking there kids elsewhere looking for that ring. I can assure you if all the kids that could’ve went to his school had stood home no one would be talking about northview. But like i previously mentioned that’s something we can’t control. All we can control is been there on Fridays too root for our boy’s and there teams.
Most of the games I’ve watched, Rowland has been undersized. Rowland is not getting the same kids as the 80s and 90s, ever since Snoop Dogg came and gutted the youth program. Many D1 rowland neighborhood kids end up playing else where, no wonder Rowland football is struggling.
Pomona is trash but will win the Valle Vista I guarantee it.
From Duane B.: Uh…that would be quite a feat since Pomona is in the Miramonte League!
Snyder was a great Coach, never complained about much. The coaching staff that is in place now is terrible. They spend most of their time playing Madden and then try to run those same plays in a real game lol.
Snyder got it done at Rowland and never complained.
Why should SD be moved out? Northview, SD, and Covina should always be together. Put Walnut, Dbar in as well and keep BP. That would be a solid league.
JstaMom: I remember the Rowland Heights Raiders were a tough program back in the 80’s
I couldn’t agree with you more! He is not a good fit for any school as a HC. Rowland suffers because the community that surrounds the school is not football friendly. They are great swimmers and badminton players. It shows from their feeder pop warner program which is almost non existent. The days of full squad pop warner teams are a distant memory for Rowland Heights.
@anonymous. Who? You complain about the coach but offer no solution or alternatives. As for Ganesha giving a beat down, nah. Wilson and Nogalas are hard pressed to fit into a league. Nogalas doesn’t belong in the Montview. Wilson doesn’t belong in the Valle Vista. San Dimas should be moved out of the Valle Vista and placed in a different league. Nogalas, Wilson, Walnut, Diamond Bar and and Rowland is a good start. Throw them together in a conference with San Dimas, Bonita, Baldwin Park, Northview, Covina. The upper tier plays against each other while the bottom tier battles each other for 2 years.
Pomona is trash, bunch of sand baggers!
Wilson is still in the Valle Vista because everybody is scared to kick Pomona out of the Miramonte.
San Dimas got a WWE beatdown when they threw against Ganesha…lol