The Peterson Principle: 8/24/2022

By Tim Peterson

How do you turn the ball over six times and win? Well when the opponent coughs it up four times as well you have a pretty good shot.

La Serna quarterback Jake Long threw a pick on the Lancers first possession of the game Friday night and it got worse from there. By the time the first half had ended Long had thrown four picks but there was one problem. Pasadena couldn’t take advantage. As La Serna trotted off the field down 14-2 the feeling was it should have been 28-2. or 35-2.

12 points wasn’t nearly enough and that proved to be the case in the second half. The turning point of the game came early in the third quarter when La Serna, on the verge of a touchdown, fumbled at the one-yard line. Pasadena’s Michael Liggins recovered and the Bulldogs were off the hook. At least for a minute.

On the first play from scrimmage Owen Long stepped in front of a quick out pass by Bulldog quarterback Indiana Wijay and waltzed in for six. La Serna was still down 14-8 after a two-point conversion attempt failed but you could almost feel the wind coming out of Pasadena’s collective sails.

Sure enough La Serna scored again and then held on for dear life for the victory. Credit goes to La Serna head coach Andy George who held his team together and Jake Long, who despite a rough evening, still led his team to victory in the second half.

La Serna is going to be a tough out going forward. It’s safe to say that the Lancers won’t turn the ball over six times again anytime soon. But on this night they did receive a nice assist from Pasadena.

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Huge wins last week for Monrovia and Northview. The Wildcats win at Bonita on the road in overtime was special. Bonita is arguably the best team Monrovia will play all season until the playoffs begin.

Anytime you can beat Muir on the road it’s a big win. First game of the season, middle of the year, playoff game…doesn’t matter. To go into Muir and win is a victory to remember for Northview. And to shut the Mustangs out? That’s just gravy.

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Because of Northview’s win and the fact that the Vikings are coming off of a CIF Championship, this week’s game against Charter Oak at Covina District Field is getting a lot of hype. Charter Oak has had a big summer, brought in a new quarterback in Richie Munoz and has made some coaching staff changes including hiring new DC Lavar Arrington. Twitter has been blowing up this week with Charter Oak and Northview fans alike stating cases for their teams. The hype is great. I just hope it lives up to it.

The only problem I have is the game is Thursday night. Friday night lights is always the best but if you need some Thursday night football Covina District Field is the place to be.

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Schurr’s loss to Cal Friday night was a hard one to swallow for the Spartans. Schurr scored with 34 seconds left in the game to take a 32-28 lead. The Spartans then tackled the Cal quarterback on 1/2 -yard line on the last play of the game. The near linesman called him short but he was overruled by the referee and Cal was granted the touchdown for the 34-32 win. Video showed he was short. Ouch!

“Yes it was tough but we had a lot of positives to build on,” said Schurr coach David Ramos.

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Friday night notes: St. Paul’s game at Huntington Park has been moved to 4:30 p.m. due to stadium light issues.

Gabrielino has canceled its game Friday night at San Gabriel due to not enough players on the roster.

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Keppel has fielded a team after all. The Aztecs lost to Hoover Friday night 70-0. Note to Keppel: Shut down the games for this season, practice all year, bring in more players and get ready for next season before anybody gets seriously hurt.

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I don’t envy El Monte coach Hector Spathias having to face Rio Hondo Prep Friday night. The Kares, well coached, well prepared, are going to be a handful. El Monte’s only hope is that the Kares turn the ball over six times. Of course they could still win.

That’s my principle.

Tim can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com, Twitter @tspeterson40 of Facebook – Tim Peterson

8 Comments to "The Peterson Principle: 8/24/2022"

  1. THE WHOLE PIE is better's Gravatar THE WHOLE PIE is better
    August 25, 2022 - 3:55 pm | Permalink

    Man… I have never seen so many collectively hate one person. Look maxie. You did this to yourself. Nobody to blame but you. Yapping and Yapping got you nothing but the attention you wanted. Here it goes! Its only going to get worse from here on out unless you eat that humble pie! The WHOLE PIE not just a slice!

  2. Come for the sports talk's Gravatar Come for the sports talk
    August 25, 2022 - 2:56 pm | Permalink

    Another note
    Keppel at least 25 years
    Yes, there should be minimum standards to compete.
    Come to think of it, maybe political comments would be better suited in the political comment section.If your standards had been in effect, we wouldn’t have had tRUMP

  3. Observant cat's Gravatar Observant cat
    August 25, 2022 - 12:26 pm | Permalink

    Maxie will always blame someone else but himself….not a matter of if but a matter of when, his offense will disappoint.

  4. Concerned about Maxie's Gravatar Concerned about Maxie
    August 25, 2022 - 9:40 am | Permalink

    Where’s Coach Maxie to explain no production on offense? La Serna tried to give you the game, and defense did their job. Will Maxie make a public statement and say it’s on him, or is he blaming kids again?

    Glendora is down this year, Better score 50 with all that talk over the summer. Maxie is just another hype man fraudster!

  5. Another Note's Gravatar Another Note
    August 25, 2022 - 2:47 am | Permalink

    How long has it been since Keppel fielded a team of any promise? If the organization we call CIF is to be worth anything, it should establish minimum standards for roster numbers, coaching staffs, practice days and the like–to ensure safety and respect for the game. Failure to meet such minimum standards should automatically terminate a program’s season. Come to think of it, how about minimum standards of competence for the U.S. presidency?

  6. Area's Gravatar Area
    August 24, 2022 - 11:03 pm | Permalink

    La Serna will be challenged within 2 years.

  7. FBFan's Gravatar FBFan
    August 24, 2022 - 9:21 pm | Permalink

    When is CIF or whoever is in charge of it going to get the leagues right? You have some competitive leagues but they only have 4 teams in them. Then you have schools like La Serna, Monrovia, and La Habra (will soon add Pasadena to that list) who will never be challenged in their league. Makes things retry boring. I like the super conference with La Mirada, Downey, Warren, Mayfair, etc. That’s the league La Serna should have petitioned to join.

  8. ?'s Gravatar ?
    August 24, 2022 - 7:07 pm | Permalink

    The way a football player coughs up the ball that much is that he is more concerned about HIS numbers than the team. Toss it into coverage maybe my guy can catch it for 40 yards. Run with the ball outstretched, I will look good on film facing down the field. My reaction is both these teams had to many guys with star dust in their eyes rather than remembering they are just one of forty. MVS does no favors of over hyping teams before they even do anything. To say anyone led his team to victory is quite a reach considering the opposite could have easily been true as well.

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