One Year Ago: Moors Clinch The Almont

Kody Chuang helps to lead the Moors to the Almont title.

One more from Week 9 of last year. Duane Barker covered Alhambra clinching the Almont League title with a win over Bell Gardens at Moor Field. The Moors had a memorable season going undefeated before falling in the CIF Division 13 semi-finals to Ramona.

By Duane Barker
(Alhambra)- The Alhambra Moors clinched the Almont League title Friday night at Moor Field with a 23-14 win over the visiting Bell Gardens Lancers and complete a return to prominence in the Almont.

No easy yards were given up early by either team with Alhambra only managing one lone score in the first quarter. The score came by way of special teams as Kody Chuang scooped up a punt and returned it 40-yards for the score. The extra point failed but the Moors had the 6-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter the Lancers got on the board with a touchdown of their own going 65-yards on eight plays with Giovani Giron getting the call from a yard away. Michael Reyes added the extra point to give Bell Gardens the lead.

Three minutes later Alhambra regained the lead driving 65-yards on 6 plays. Henry Soto got his lone carry of the night which turned in to a one yard touchdown run. Chuang added the extra point giving the Moors the 13-7 advantage.

Noah Rodriguez was solid running the show for Alhambra.

Bell Gardens answered the score with a 13-play 78-yard march to paydirt. Arthur Sanchez capped the drive grinding through the Moor defense to paydirt. Reyes put the Lancers up 14-13 with the point after.

The score remained 14-13 through the entirety of the third quarter and the Moors didn’t regain the lead until 6:43 left in the game. Chuang booted through a 28-yard field goal after a nine play drive stalled at the Bell Gardens 11.

With 3:35 left in the game and Alhambra driving, Bell Gardens forced and recovered a fumble at their own 15.

Trailing 16-14 the Lancers were faced with the task of going the length of the field to at least get in to field goal range. Their efforts were derailed with Jason Cuevas went down with a serious lower leg injury. After Cuevas was treated and carted off the field, the Lancers had little success moving the ball and were forced to punt.

The short punt set up the Moors at the Bell Gardens 48. Three plays later Noah Rodriguez found Chuang over the middle for a catch a carry of 42-yards. Chuang once again added the extra point to put the game out of reach.

Chuang had a big night scoring two touchdowns, a field goal and and extra point to go along with four receptions for 108 yards.

Rodriguez completed 20 of 28 passes for 239 yards and the lone touchdown.

Leading the way for the Lancers was Sanchez  and Gabriel Campos who combined for 113-yards and a touchdown.

25 Comments to "One Year Ago: Moors Clinch The Almont"

  1. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    October 25, 2020 - 10:25 pm | Permalink

    @ Name withheld: So why make an insinuation or two when there’s nothing to comment on? Try coming back with some verifiable facts; you also could add to your credibility by using your real name. It’s always easier to make unfounded allegations while hiding behind a screen name.
    By the way, that former Monrovia running back is Kurt Scoby. You spent nearly your entire post talking about him, and you couldn’t spell his name correctly.

  2. Name withheld for obvious reasons's Gravatar Name withheld for obvious reasons
    October 25, 2020 - 11:12 am | Permalink

    I have no idea if there was an illegal player on the A roster. I cannot comment upon that.

    But I can comment upon how some schools either participate in schemes to violate the rules or cast a blind eye to players and parents/guardians schemes to maneuver around the rules.

    Several years ago, as reported in the LA Times, Kurt Scoobie, who played at a different school every year of his high school career, was essentially going free agent. The problem as reported was he had too few units and too poor a GPA to play football as a senior.

    Eventually Scoobie’s guardian stated they would go to Monrovia High School and play football. Sondenheimer doubted that would or could happen.

    Morph to football season, and Scoobie is on the field and plays as well as advertised. I spoke to a Monrovia football booster on the sideline, and asked how his grades were going. He stated Scoobie was getting A’s and B’s. I was confused how that could happen due to the LA Times reporting.

    But about a year later I spoke with a local AD and was told that Scoobie had never stepped foot on the Monrovia campus. He never attended a class. Scoobie was being home schooled and Football at Monrovia was a home school enhancement program.

    Based on school testing results, while Monrovia is not exactly the MIT of high schools, it represented an academic, as good as or much better, than the high schools Scoobie previously attended. So enter some home school to make it all work, Who knows what happened in the home school program, but it is clear that Scoobie made a sudden and dramatic change in his academic performance.

    The whole thing smells bad, very bad. From adults at Monrovia to Scoobie’s guardian to the Home School to Monrovia’s success in 2014.

    Scoobie never stepped foot in any Monrovia Classroom.

    But this is not anything new, boosters that lease a room in their home to some prospect that lives in another town, or even another state to get a blue chip to their school. And who knows what else under the counter to seal the deal. Houses that have multiple electric meters for those that dont want to move into the school district. And hell, private schools that do not even need to put on any residency pretext.

    So could a SG player feign a move to Alhambra? It is entirely possible, just win baby! The only losers are those that observe the rules, such as they are.
    From T. Peterson. Scoby. Kurt Scoby.

  3. Jackson Maine.'s Gravatar Jackson Maine.
    October 30, 2019 - 4:45 pm | Permalink

    @Anon?
    Relax guy! You guys are definitely better then the past but don’t start acting like you’ve been doing this for a long time. It’s been 3 Presidents since you guys have won anything. Show some class. Btw, MHS didn’t care or say a word about your current situation. If I were you I would just sit back and enjoy it.

  4. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    October 30, 2019 - 12:55 am | Permalink

    @ SG Alumni: So, then, what are the facts? You just made a negative generalization about Alhambra’s athletic program, but where are your supporting details?
    My understanding is that the AUSD’s Title IX policy is a reaction (or overreaction) to a lawsuit that was initiated by the AHS softball coach after Moor Field had been improved for the baseball program during the early 2000’s.
    Let me know if I’ve missed anything. Please bring on any facts that you might have.
    By the way, San Gabriel High School has a beautiful on-campus stadium, and I think that’s great.
    But, the football facility at Moor Field, where AHS plays its home games, has remained a dump for decades. How is that fair?
    Anyone who doesn’t believe me is welcome to take a walk around the place. Or, just come to a game and look at the ridiculous scoreboard clock.
    By the way, Mark Keppel’s stadium, which dates back to 1939 or ’40, has been upgraded some and is quite serviceable. However, the Aztecs could use a modern artificial track like the one at San Gabriel High.
    At AHS, the students are using the same dirt track that I ran on during my P.E. classes in the early 1970’s.
    I believe that all three AUSD high schools should have adequate and safe classroom and athletic facilities. What a novel concept.

  5. Joe Moor's Gravatar Joe Moor
    October 29, 2019 - 11:03 pm | Permalink

    @SG Alumni

    First of all, that wasn’t even the football team that was the cause of the title 9 stuff. Second, this coming from a program that has only had success during its peak cheating (recruiting) years? Ha, that’s laughable!

  6. SG Alumni's Gravatar SG Alumni
    October 29, 2019 - 8:22 am | Permalink

    Alhambra high known cheaters that’s why we have all these b.s. title 9 rules @ AUSD ..FACTS”

  7. ?????'s Gravatar ?????
    October 29, 2019 - 4:25 am | Permalink

    @Alhambramoorfan you guys did have mhs number this year but the real fishy thing is how come you guys couldn’t say anything did you really nerd the extra help

  8. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    October 29, 2019 - 1:05 am | Permalink

    @ Alhambra-hating Anonymous: That’s character assassination of the rankest kind, since you’ve given us no proof of misconduct.
    You can hate someone all you want, but you have to provide facts if you’re going to make that sort of claim in a public forum. You have no credibility whatsoever, as far as I’m concerned.

    @ (some other) Anonymous & Alhambra Moor fan: That kind of finger-pointing is counterproductive. It’s premature at best, and, in my opinion, it’s likely to be completely unfounded.
    We need to be classier than that.

  9. Joe Moor's Gravatar Joe Moor
    October 28, 2019 - 7:57 pm | Permalink

    @Insider

    Nice try, SGHS coaching staff. If you can’t beat em, just start unfounded rumors to try and take down successful programs. Smh.

  10. Stay strong's Gravatar Stay strong
    October 28, 2019 - 7:56 pm | Permalink

    @ Insider
    I personally know the district AD and what she has done for the district is amazing and she is a class act. She represents all three schools and would never put a coach or team at risk and for sure not hide something. The San Gabriel coaches are the ones that seem to be starting something that can really put a bad taste in people’s mouths. SG needs to show the wins on the field and not towards Alhambra’s team, their AD, or the District AD. Students that I know love her and how supportive she is. Stop trashing a good women and a strong program. AHS supporter… stay strong AHS football!

  11. Alhambramoorfan's Gravatar Alhambramoorfan
    October 28, 2019 - 6:14 pm | Permalink

    So instead of saying something 4 weeks ago ,sour sore loser fans from Montebello school district want to say that alhambra has a ineligible player now ? Hmmmm sounds kind of fishy . We shall see if there is any validity to this or not , but know this on the field alhambra had your number this year !

  12. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    October 28, 2019 - 12:27 pm | Permalink

    Congrats to the Moors. The montebello schools will try and find a way to throw a wrench in your success. They could not beat you on the field so they are trying to beat you with paper. Enjoy your success you earned It on the field.

  13. Insider's Gravatar Insider
    October 28, 2019 - 11:00 am | Permalink

    @ MVS, true story ask SGHS staff and the district AD

  14. Supporter's Gravatar Supporter
    October 28, 2019 - 10:30 am | Permalink

    Be careful what you say about teams and AD’s when you don’t know the facts. For one there is an Alhambra AD and a District AD. Two, don’t put down a number 1 team and an AD you don’t know.

  15. Supportive Almont League parent's Gravatar Supportive Almont League parent
    October 28, 2019 - 10:04 am | Permalink

    This is so far off! You don’t know these people and you should get your facts straight for the Alhambra team is a class act and so is the AD’s, plural cause there is more then one.

  16. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    October 28, 2019 - 9:39 am | Permalink

    @insider
    If this is true they would have to forfeit all games up to this point. Meaning no undefeated season and
    No Almont league title. Sounds like someone is about to drop a bomb on Alhambra’s cheating coach!

  17. MVS's Gravatar MVS
    October 28, 2019 - 12:31 am | Permalink

    This Alhambra team could be like the 14 and 15 CV team that missed the playoffs at 8-2 and came back to have a perfect season 14-0.

  18. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    October 27, 2019 - 10:22 pm | Permalink

    Wow! Congrats to Alhambra. They finally got over the hump. Do they have any transfers or are all the kids home grown?

  19. MVS's Gravatar MVS
    October 27, 2019 - 8:13 pm | Permalink

    Come on man don’t start anything you don’t know about.

  20. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    October 27, 2019 - 7:38 pm | Permalink

    @ Here Here: Ha, ha, you’re too much. Where have you been? Since when has a Division 13 champion gone to a state playoff game? Never, if I’m not mistaken.
    You’re getting a little detached from reality there, but have fun anyway. The league championship is a great start, but our goal now is to continue playing well into November.

  21. Insider's Gravatar Insider
    October 27, 2019 - 6:58 pm | Permalink

    Isn’t Alhambra using an ineligible player from San Gabriel who was kicked out of SGHS due to behavioral issues. That means the player would have needed to sit out. Also, since the district only has 1 AD, the word is the AD wants to keep it hush hush. That’s what they told the SGHS staff. Too bad there are many horrible and useless ADs.

  22. Here Here's Gravatar Here Here
    October 27, 2019 - 3:06 pm | Permalink

    It’s true that rings have traditionally been reserved for CIF championships, but I’m urging the Moors, with all my heart, to consider them for commemorating this extremely rare occurrence, which is the Almont league title. Too many times, we’ve seen a CIF winner go on to lose that first round of state, putting a damper on what should have been a glorious ending. For Alhambra, I’d hate to see the kids get soundly beaten in CIF and turn-in their uniforms on a sad note. Taking my advice, the league title rings would still be there to tangibly remind them that, once upon a time, Alhambra got their heads above water.

  23. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    October 26, 2019 - 4:09 pm | Permalink

    @ Here Here: Rings are for CIF Southern Section division titles, my friend. But, we’ll gladly accept a brand-new Almont League championship banner. That will look nice in the AHS gym.
    In addition, we fully intend to make a run in the Division 13 playoffs. Don’t count Alhambra out just yet.

  24. Here Here's Gravatar Here Here
    October 26, 2019 - 9:15 am | Permalink

    The Alhambra photos are great, the win streak is awesome, and rings should be ordered NOW to mark the league championship. Why? As Ron says, it’s been ages since the Moors did anything in football, far too long in my opinion, so we must not allow what happens in the postseason to overshadow this Almont ecstasy.

  25. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    October 26, 2019 - 1:53 am | Permalink

    Great photos by the Mid-Valley Sports staff, and congratulations to the Moors on their first Almont League championship since 2006!
    Alhambra has won 10 straight games dating back to the final game of the 2018 season; that’s the longest winning streak for the Moors’ football program since 1955.
    The Moors’ 9-0 start to this season is their best since 1994, when Gil Ruedaflores coached the team.
    Our players and coaches made history tonight.

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