By Tim Peterson
Talk about March Madness! This is the Maddest March ever. The NCAA Tournament and the baseball lockout delaying the off season hot stove league combined with the football trades blowing up and the news never stops. Which of course brings me back to my favorite topic, in season or not, High School Football.
Everybody was going crazy about Freddie Freeman signing with the Dodgers and all I wanted to know was who was going to be the new head football coach at Rosemead or El Monte. Ok here’s the scoop. I still don’t know. I’ve heard some things, some names…some possible hires…nothing concrete as of yet.
Dale Ziola, who stepped down at Covina after the season and was just named the new head coach at Los Altos, was interested in the El Monte job but took his name out of the running to pursue a return to his old stomping grounds as the Conquerors head coach. Good hire by the way. Ziola knows the landscape at Los Altos and has had success there before. I was surprised he left the first time.
Another local coach, who prefers to be nameless at this time, looks good for the El Monte job. There’s mutual interest by both parties and he has turned programs around in the past. The interesting thing is that his name has been out there for about three weeks and still nothing official. And he has applied at both schools – El Monte and Rosemead. Could he be waiting to see who comes up with the best offer?
Another local longtime assistant, who has been coaching out of state for the last several years, is returning to the San Gabriel Valley and has had two interviews at Rosemead. Yes two. Two interviews tells you that he is definitely in the mix to be the Panthers next HC but he’s still waiting to hear.
It feels like both schools just want to get it right – thus the long delay. That makes sense. El Monte, coming off of the CIF and State championship year under Jesse Ceniceros, and then making the playoffs in the one year Victor Romero was at the helm, wants to keep up the momentum. A “name” hire and a name with experience would do just that.
Rosemead has brand new facilities and won a playoff game last year under Matt Castaneda before he left to take the Diamond Bar job. For the Panthers to stay on the right track, they need a quality head coach to keep it going.
So waiting makes sense. But as the late great Tom Petty once sang, “The waiting is the hardest part.”
Last interesting note on Rosemead which was confirmed by a good source. Former Rosemead head coach Matt Koffler was asked to return to the Panthers sideline but he declined.
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Did you know that La Puente is still open as well? LP parted ways with Martin Soto back in December and has still yet to name a new head coach. The Warriors had some interest in Ceniceros but he opted to take the Sierra Vista job. La Puente is another school with great facilities and would be a nice job for the right coach.
Speaking of Sierra Vista word is the Dons have great numbers and kids that are ready and willing to play. They expect to contend right away.
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“If this young man wasn’t on your radar he should be,” St. Paul assistant coach Donald Bernard tweeted about Swordsmen quarterback Andrew Maushardt. Maushardt, only a junior, has previously played receiver but has continued to work on his quarterback skills and will step in as the starter at St. Paul this season. He has already received an offer from San Jose State.
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Nico Iamaleava, who started at Long Beach Poly before going to Warren, has now transferred back to Long Beach Poly. Then this week he announced where he will ultimately end up as he said he has committed to Tennessee. Did the decision to transfer to Poly have anything to do with his decision to go to Tennessee? How many games will he play at Poly? And I’m sure if the Jackrabbits are up 42-7 at halftime you won’t be seeing Iamaleava in the second half. The other question is will he go to Tennessee? He hasn’t actually signed his letter of intent yet. Stay tuned…
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Random thoughts on the Madness:
The Kansas City Chiefs got five draft picks including a first rounder from the Miami Dolphins for Tyreek Hill. Plus they don’t have to pay Hill who will end up being the highest paid receiver in the NFL. But guess what they don’t have? Tyreek Hill. Not sure how this is a win.
The Raiders won in landing Davante Adams. Huge!
Did the Atlanta Falcons dislike quarterback Matt Ryan so much that they were willing to take a $40.525 million dead cap hit by trading him? Do they really think Marcus Mariota is going to turn things around?
If I was the Pittsburgh Steelers I would be taking a long hard look at Baker Mayfield. Mitchell Trubisky isn’t they guy.
I have UCLA beating North Carolina but losing in the Elite Eight. My Final Four: Duke, Purdue, Villanova, Kanasas.
I didn’t understand the fascination with Freeman. The Dodgers already had a first baseman in Max Muncy and you could plug in anybody at DH. That money could have been spent wisely on a starting pitcher or to shore up the bullpen. By the way did anybody else notice that Joc Pederson signed with the Giants for $6 million? If the Dodgers had played their cards right they could have brought Pederson back. There’s your DH and they still have a lot of bread to spend.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com or on Twitter @tspeterson40. Facebook-Tim Peterson.
The Ceniceros in Chino explanation is simple. What has Chino HS done since Jesse C. left? The answer to his impact is that simple. Revolving door at HC, type of scheme, and a loding record since. Nuff said.
@EMBH,
I never said he got fired. I said he got ran out and that was because kids weren’t going to chino to play in that offense. His last year at chino was not very successful at all especially at the second half of the season….
You said he left because he wasn’t appreciated. Isn’t that the same reason for him leaving El Monte? While you can’t argue with his overall success, you have to wonder about ego. I’m not sure why he left Norwalk after being successful so I won’t comment on that. But leaving the last 2 schools because administrators didn’t bow down seems like more of a Coach problem than an admin problem.
Word on the street is all the warren transfers are in exodus to the flavor of the month school.
Ran out of Chino the guy had the last two playoff appearances and milk came victory till this past season. Sometimes people just know their worth and get out of places when not appreciated.
It’s correct that, with Cineceros being wed to the double wing, his prospects for moving to a bigger program are limited. Look what happened to Troy Thomas at Servite when he tried to install the veer offense. Kids who have the size and ability to play college and pro ball want their high school playbook to closely resemble the one they will use at those upper levels. The lesser programs, loaded with guys who will not play college football, can do very well with the simple schemes, which rely on execution and effort in place of raw talent.
I know Spat loves working with the new admin at Bassett. He also has a great team coming back with many key starters that won league last year. I don’t think he is going anywhere, but that being said he did grow up on the other side of the 605. I hope he stays and the district should do everything in their power to keep him. The first time they let him get away the student body drop to half from 1,600 to 800. If the student body drops even a quarter that would be bad, until the decision makers understand how important some individuals are to the district they will be all looking for a job like Gladstone.
I get that. Did he really get run out of Chino? I honestly don’t know. He seems pretty confident in what he’s doing and basically said he can win anywhere. Turning around El Monte (especially with the transfer) and turning around Sierra Vista is a whole lot easier than turning West Covina or South Hills into CIF state champs.
Cisneros would never be at a bigger program running the double wing. Might help them win games and it might have been cool
Back in the markham days, but not in the 21st century. It’s why he got ran out of chino.
Coach that turn programs around Spathais at Bassett then Workman then Bassett again is he the one in the running for the El Monte or Rosemead job? That be a sad day for Bassett if he left!
@Two: Are not all high scgool fooball coaches like that? Even the ones that go 0-10?
Is there a booth or penny somewhere in the pipeline?
I would have like to see Cisneros at a bigger program.
Peterson just cursed UCLA…
I’m most eager to see how Ziola and Cineceros do at Los Altos and SV respectively. Both men are proven coaches, and both are expert at getting immediate results. Their secret? They are both football fanatics, living almost exclusively for the sport.