By Tim Peterson
So I’m in Pasadena Friday night watching the Bulldogs do their thing and I receive a text saying that El Monte PA Announcer John Kovac said over the loudspeaker that myself, Duane Barker, Joe Torosian and Rich Whittington were all there covering the El Monte-San Marino game.
The texter also said that he called bullcrap. Well, it wasn’t complete bullcrap. Rich was indeed there on the sidelines covering the game. But it was, how should I say it?, partial bullcrap. I was in Pasadena, Duane was in Montebello chronicling Schurr and Arroyo and Joe was enjoying retirement in the friendly confines of his living room.
We appreciate the love John but only one of us made the trip. Rich, an El Monte alum and former Lion football player, was there in body and spirit however you have to wonder if by the end of the game, or maybe even by halftime, his spirit was broken. The Lions lost 48-6 to San Marino. This is coming on the heels of a 56-0 loss to Fillmore two weeks before. A few taps on the calculator tells you that the Lions have been outscored 104-6 in two games. Ouch!
El Monte has gone from State Champs to doormats in just two years. Regardless of why head coach Jesse Ceniceros left or was shown the door, everything in the Administration’s power to keep him should have been done. What’s more enjoyable for the school, city and players? A State championship or being on the wrong side of 104-6?
I know this is beating a dead horse, but sometimes a deceased horse is worth beating. Where have you gone Jesse Ceniceros? The city of El Monte turns its lonely eyes to you…
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Speaking of San Marino did you know Mitch Mooney, son of former Temple City/San Marino head coach and USC Trojan Mike Mooney, is starting on the offensive line for the Titans as a freshman? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
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The Northview football team sang “Happy Birthday” Friday night to head coach Marcel Perez after the Vikings 34-14 win over South Hills. No better way to celebrate a birthday than a victory on the football field.
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Santa Fe knows how El Monte feels. The once proud Chiefs program has been outscored 142-19 in three games and has been shut out twice. I’m old enough to remember when Santa Fe was good – a playoff contender year in and year out. And Temple City…well the Rams lost to Keppel two weeks ago. That’s all we really need to know.
How does it happen? How does it happen to a Santa Fe, a Temple City, and most recently an El Monte? That’s a topic for a whole different column but there’s a lot of factors involved…a prominent coach leaves, lack of support from administration, and as a result a lack of fundraising. And when that happens the losses pile up and when the losses pile up the players stop coming out. It’s a vicious cycle. It’s not that the programs can never come back. It will take some work and some time but it is possible. That being said it’s sad to see.
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On a positive note, has anybody seen Pasadena yet? Man they’re fun to watch. Receiver Mekhi Fox, who will play on Saturdays at UCLA, running back Ahmad Jolley and quarterback Kaden Taylor…these guys can play. And defensively Cameron Mitchell leads a ball hawking unit. We don’t know what playoff division the Bulldogs will be in yet. That will be decided at the end of the regular season but wherever they land Pasadena has a chance at doing some serious damage in the post season.
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Duane Barker said Arroyo and Schurr were maybe the most evenly matched teams he’s seen in years. The two teams traded blows throughout the contest before Arroyo eventually emerged with the victory. The difference may have been Schurr quarterback Jessie Preciado going down with an injury while playing defense and being forced to leave the game.
The Knights, coming off a nearly two -year absence, have been impressive winning their first two games. Omar Navarro is a dual threat at quarterback and Arroyo has a talented group of skill position players. The Knights again look like the favorites in the Mission Valley League. Look for the Peterson is a homer comments to start in 3…2….1.
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Rosemead is set to unveil the re-opening of Rod Marinelli Stadium, which has been completely refurbished, this Friday night against Schurr. The Panthers are coming off of a 47-20 win over Ganesha last Friday night. Arroyo beat Ganesha 42-13 a week ago. Arroyo-Rosemead, scheduled for October 15th at Arroyo, should be a classic. Man, it’s good to have the MVL back.
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I’m still trying to figure out why Mt. View wanted that Burbank game.
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Why all of the hate for Alhambra? The Moors haven’t fallen off of the map. They’re still competitive every year. Heck, they went 12-1 (5-0 in the Almont) just two years ago. Looking at the Almont this season, they will be in the hunt for the league title again. Don’t we have to wait until they get outscored 104-6 to start ripping them?
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com, Twitter @tspeterson40 or on Facebook Tim Peterson.
What is all that from above . Be an Arroyo homer is one thing but please not the other.
To do everything in your power to keep a coach means you give the coach everything he wants. Right? Should the coach be held responsible for not meeting admin halfway and quitting? Should admin be doormats to coaches and indeed give them what they want? Good questions. If you ask me, Coach C knew he didn’t have talent and walked. If you ask me again, admin at public schools could care less about wins and losses. They don’t want pushback.
Anthony white going to be disappointed with you Tim not showing up
@ Moor football: Our new quarterback, Michael Gonzalez, is doing just fine. His stats currently compare quite favorably to those compiled by his predecessor. All you have to do is take a look on MaxPreps to find that out.
Alhambra’s main issues during the first two games of the season were untimely mistakes and the inability of the defense to stop the run. Well, our run defense improved dramatically in the Temple City game; the Rams rushed for a grand total of -7 yards against us.
The trick will be to come reasonably close to duplicating that performance against better teams. We might get an idea of how much we’ve actually improved when we play South Pasadena on Sept. 17.
I agree 100%. At most schools in the SGV you no longer have long term admin that take pride in all areas of their schools. Now schools are run by the districts and sports are not the priority. Schools don’t always provide a teaching position for a head coach. Every school with walk on head coaches loses any traditions from previous years. Some schools still have some community pull and still make things work, but they are becoming less and less.
@peterson you guys going to cover Santa Ana junior college football on Saturdays?
From T. Peterson: Probably not. Right now we’re too busy.
Only problem is qb1 leading those two successful Alhambra teams is at Monrovia
You have 1 person who hates on Alhambra but post under many names because he
A. Didn’t get the job.
B. Former player that rode the bench or got cut for being a cancer to the team.
C. Parent who thought his son would be a D1 athlete and should be on varsity as a freshman but instead had to transfer 3 times because it was always the coaches fault.
I’am not going to analyze players and teams today but comment on things I have heard. Many very successful public high school coaches are being pressured to move on. From the OC to all the Valley’s. The assistant coaches feel the vibe and wonder whats going on. The HC’s are mum and focused on the job at hand but the pressure is real in very clear ways. It’s not like HC’s don’t have enough to deal with already right? There are already a handful of proven great HC’s sidelined with more on the way. Is the pressure coming from the district, superintendents, school boards, PTA’s, teacher’s unions? All these entities put pressure on athletics but I have one question. Why do they keep making things harder for the coaches instead of making things easier for them. If these entities are helping out the coaches I would like to know what help they are giving.
@ Anonymous: Make that eight years; Coach Bergstrom took over the Alhambra program in 2013.
Since then, the Moors have won a league championship, made the playoffs twice (in 2016 & ’19), and barely missed the playoffs in two other years (2017 & ’18). The Almont League race in 2018 was so tight that a four-point loss to Schurr meant the difference between a league co-championship and not making the playoffs. We were that close to winning league titles in consecutive seasons.
To put things into sharper focus, last Thursday’s victory over Temple City gave Alhambra a record of 21-6 since the beginning of the 2018 season. The two successful years you brought up just happen to be the most recent ones (looking past the one-game “pandemic season” we had last spring).
I don’t understand your reasoning at all.
@peterson considering coach Eric has been at Alhambra 10 years and only 2 good years have been produced I think it’s fair to judge him, as he has had time to fix the program from the issues they had from hiring Lou, joe and chuck.
” Peterson and Singheiser sitting in tree k-i-……….”
From T. Peterson: Ha ha! I already called this one. So predictable. Be original for once. And you can’t spell! #gobacktoschool