MidValleySports.Com

Tim Peterson

By Tim Peterson

Nathan Peterman just threw another pick…

Was Tyrod Taylor hurt? Suspended? Abducted by aliens? No, none of the above. Actually the Buffalo Bills backup quarterback was perfectly fine as he showed Sunday afternoon when he trotted out to start the second half against the LA Chargers. So then the next question to Bills HC Sean McDermott is “What were you thinking?” The Bills were 5-4 coming in, right in the thick of the playoff race. A win would have increased their post season chances significantly. The word was that the Bills aren’t happy with Taylor and wanted to look to the future. So Taylor isn’t your future but Peterman is? And even if he was, God forbid for Bills fans, why wouldn’t Buffalo wait until they were eliminated from playoff contention to see what Peterman could do or at the very least use him in a mop up role?

After the performance, or non performance, that Peterman delivered – five interceptions in one half that led to a 37-7 deficit – McDermott should be next in line to be fired. This was Peterman’s first NFL start and it painfully showed. I mean, it was seriously tough to watch. Maybe It wasn’t as much as his performance, although it was dreadful, as the timing of  it. Are the Bills trying to lose? Just unbelievable.

Peterman was so upset after the game that he threw his helmet in disgust, but it was intercepted by a cornerback and returned for a touchdown.

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Speaking of firings, the timing of Jim Mora’s dismissal by UCLA may have been wrong, but it was the right move. Yes, Dan Guerrero could have waited the day after Mora’s birthday to deliver the bad news but either way it had to be delivered. The last two years have been bad and six years is more than enough time to turn things around. If the Bruins had waited they would have run the risk of losing even more recruits and also a chance to land a big name coach. It had to be done now and UCLA should be applauded for having the guts to do it. Now, lets hope they don’t mess up the hire. No, Matt Koffler isn’t interested.

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South El Monte isn’t a one man show. Although you may look at Sal Tovar’s numbers, over 2000 yards rushing, and it appears that he is carrying the load. He is a big part of what the Eagles do, no doubt, but if Daniel Olmos didn’t suit up last Friday night South loses that game. Rancho Christian was keying on Tovar in the first half and it was Olmos who took over. He busted off touchdown runs of 47 and 44 yards and finished with 149 on the ground overall. Tovar got going in the second half but Olmos was the constant, even intercepting a pass late in the fourth to ice it. AJ Carreon, a transfer from Monrovia, also came up with two big touchdown catches in the fourth quarter. Tovar is dangerous, make no mistake, but don’t sleep on Olmos and the rest of the Eagles or you might be in trouble.

Who do I like when Santa Maria visits ‘The Swamp” Friday night? I’ll let you know later this week in “Game Night”.

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Everybody keeps asking me “Peterson, what happened to your boys at Arroyo?” Well I couldn’t make it out to the Rancho Mirage game. A trip out to the desert on a Friday night after working all day just didn’t work for me. But here’s what I got from head coach Jim Singiser on the 27-21 overtime loss.

“Running back Steven Ocariz (who was out with an injury) was legitimately 30 % of our offense and we played a pretty darn good team. We had six drops and we had a fumble returned for a touchdown. We can’t win big games giving up points and possessions. I think both teams defenses played really well. For the second year in a row we held them to only two touchdowns. 30 mph winds were a factor but not enough to be an excuse. We lost. Period,” Singiser said.

It was the Knights first loss since Country Day (La Jolla) beat them last December in a State Bowl game.

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Covina was an underdog last week and the Colts probably will be again this week at Culver City, but they keep grinding on. At this point Joe Brown should be getting plenty of votes for Coach of the Year. Does quarterback Nin Burns II look familiar to anybody? Well if you’re familiar with Covina football he does. Burns has been on the Covina sideline for years as a ball boy going back to his grade school days. Great story.

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Don’t ever count Burbank out. The Bulldogs weren’t supposed to win last year and they advanced to the CIF Finals. They weren’t supposed to compete this year after losing several players to graduation and they won the Pacific League. They weren’t supposed to beat South Hills Friday night yet they are now in the Division 7 Semis. Are the Bulldogs supposed to beat Don Lugo?  No. So we should all expect to see them in the Finals.

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Was Cathedral’s loss to Upland a surprise? No. In fact we had Upland winning big in our “Game Night” predictions. The Phantoms are good, extremely talented. Every year the Phantoms are a threat to win a title. But Upland, especially this year, is on a different level. Although the Highlanders have a tough road to hoe this week at Oaks Christian.

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If Charter Oak can beat Westlake on the road after falling behind by three touchdowns than they can absolutely beat Rancho Verde on the road as well. The Chargers are still perfect at 12-0 as they enter the semis.

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Ouch! That was a bitter pill to swallow for Arcadia.

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Nathan Peterman just threw another pick.

That’s my principle.

Tim can be reached at tim @midvalleysports.com or on Twitter @tspeterson40.