By Tim Peterson
The Boys are back in town at Arroyo which means the Knights are the prohibitive Mission Valley League favorites. With Jim Singiser and his staff back in control Arroyo should rise to the top. Arroyo finished third last year and made the playoffs but with a first-round playoff exit and an overall record of below .500 it wasn’t exactly a banner year at B.L. Bergstrom. The Knights will have a few hurdles to clear to reach the MVL finish line first.
South El Monte is coming off a league championship with a perfect 5-0 run. Although the Eagles did lose some key players to graduation they do have talent coming back. El Monte took second in league a year ago and with multiple players coming back the Lions have their eyes on the MVL crown.
Gabrielino is looking to crack the top three and head coach Luis Gutierrez is bullish on his squad. Rosemead and Mountain View have some work to do but both have high hopes for the 2025 campaign. Arlin Slayton is back at the helm for Rosemead and has some talent to work with. Mountain View landed head coach Mark Paredes who has a wealth of experience and a championship pedigree.
Marshall is in its first year back competing in the MVL as a varsity team.
Here’s a look at the MVL.
Projected order of finish:
Arroyo: Last Year: 5-6 (3-2, 3rd in League) Head Coach Jim Singiser
The Knights not only have the coaching staff back but they have several key players ready to go as well. Oscar Lopez Jr. and Angel Casillas are competing for the starting quarterback position. Lopez, a freshman and the son of Arroyo assistant Oscar Lopez, has had a nice summer. On offense the Knights will also feature running back Romeo Arevalo and receivers Benny Nguyen and Noah Fonseca. Up front Andres Mardueno, Zhayden Khiet and Nate Castillo will pave the road.
Defensively Arroyo will rely on Nate Carrillo at defensive end and tackles Damian Torres and Justin Rivera. Joel Ceja and Zion Soberanez-Pena will be at linebacker with Adrian Villa, Jagger Castaneda and Alex Robles in the secondary. Paxton Parps (cool name) is the kicker/punter.
With a legendary coaching staff and the talent on the field the Knights are poised to take the league title.
El Monte: Last Year: 7-5 (4-1, 2nd in League) Head Coach Hector Spathias
The Lions surprised some people last year losing just one game in league. El Monte has many of the players returning from a year ago and should make some noise again. Quarterback Alex Aleman will run the show at quarterback with Isaiah Standley behind him in the backfield. Noah Munoz and Alonzo Hernandez will line up at wide receiver. The Lions have some hogs on the line with center Jonathan Perez and tackle Beto Marin.
On defense El Monte will feature Andrew Lopez and Nathan Jimenez at linebacker along with Gilbert Rosales. Brandon Torres, David Flores and Anthony Ramirez are set at defensive backs. Ethan Morales is a player to watch on the defensive line.
The Lions look to finish among the MVL elite and could challenge for the league crown.
South El Monte: Last Year: 7-4 (5-0, League Champs) Head Coach Frank Gallardo
The Eagles lost several players from last year’s league championship team but they do have some skill guys returning including quarterback Michael Maldonado. Damian Cordova returns and will be toting the ball at running back. At receiver Gabriel Canchola and Isaac Gonzalez will be the targets for Maldonado and tight end Anthony Mirano will also be key in the offense.
Miguel Rivera and Canchola will man the secondary.
It will be a challenge for the Eagles to match last year’s success but they do have the components to grab a playoff spot.
Gabrielino: Last Year: 4-6 (2-3, 4th in League) Head Coach Luis Gutierrez
Gabrielino made some strides last year winning four games overall and two in the Mission Valley League. The Eagles will need to take an even bigger step to break into the top three. They have some players ready to take that step. Two- way players Peter Ruiz WR/S and Nick Hoang WR/CB will be counted on on both sides of the ball. On defense Chace Hoang LB, Alex Andrade DT, Adrian Orozco LB and Ishmael Lopez LB will anchor the unit.
Also on offense lineman Angel Marin, receivers Marelle Moore and Ethan Tran, quarterback Ely Lobban and running back Alijah Sheppard are all starters and should provide a spark.
“Peter Ruiz and Nick Hoang are going to be big players for us and guys to follow,” said head coach Luis Gutierrez.
The Eagles ae hoping they can lead them into the playoffs.
Rosemead: Last Year: 2-8 (1-4, 5th in League) Head Coach Arlin Slayton
Rosemead is coming off of a tough year. The Panthers won just one league game (over Mt. View) and just two overall. Head Coach Arlin Slayton doesn’t have the numbers he would like and will be counting on several players to go both ways. Adrian Marquez plays quarterback but will also be seen at linebacker. Here are a few other key other players that will go on both sides.
Jacob Wang WR/DB, Michael Avila OL/DL, Brennan Mancha DB/WR.
David Bowa RB/WR/DB, Andres Estrada LB. Estrada is projected to be the best linebacker on the squad. He will also be the long snapper.
Jorge Carrasco DT/DL, Jashua Rodriguez C/DL, Logan Mojica QB. Mojica played his freshman year but missed last season. He is now returning for his junior year.
Rosemead will need to find a way to way to win a couple more league games, but depth could be an issue.
Mt. View: Last Year: 1-9 (0-5, 6th in League) Head Coach Mark Paredes
The Vikings landed a big fish when Mark Paredes agreed to take over as head coach. Paredes has a ton of experience having been the head coach at Bishop Amat, JW North and Damien. He won CIF titles at both Amat and JW North and had success at Damien where he coached from 2013 to 2018.
We know he can coach but the question is how long will it take him to get Mt. View on track? The first season may be an adjustment season as Paredes begins to develop a wining culture. Two MVL wins would be a success. Three and a playoff berth would be off the charts. Stay tuned.
Marshall: First year back in football as a varsity team
Marshall will need a couple of years to adjust before it is back in the mix.
Loading ...
Tin Lizzy: The Boys Are Back in Town! Great song!
@mvl hoops . Thank you for detailing my comment “ this used to be a quality league “. Gab has had one winning season in the last 20 years , and now Rosemead has sunk to their level. Mountain View a rung below that . Now Marshall enters league off jv schedule . So league nothing like it was 10-20 years ago
Has anybody been paying attention to the Mission Valley League in the last couple years, SEM has been dominating it. This a three team race. Arroyo, SEM and EM. You can make a case for each team winning league, we will find out soon enough. I can’t wait.
The MVL has a long tradition of being a solid, competitive league in football. The league has produced 5 CIF champions: Schurr in 1980, Rosemead in 1982, Arroyo in 1986, Arroyo in 2016 and El Monte in 2019. It has also had 4 schools reach the CIF finals and lose: Arroyo in 1987 and 1991, Duarte in 1992 and Rosemead in 2008. The league was very competitive through the 1980’s and 1990’s with Arroyo, Rosemead, and Duarte-even Keppel fielded good teams during that time. South entered in the league in 1994, and shared the title that first year with Arroyo. El Monte had good teams in the 90’s and 00’s, and had a good run in the late 2010’s. The one thing the league had during those times was good, consistent coaching!
Ken Davis at Schurr, John Dunaway at Rosemead, and DJ MacKinnon at Arroyo started what became a very good group of coaches in the league. Bill Thompson started the program at South, and Erick Escamilla took it to the next level. Jim Singiser took over at Arroyo and not only kept the winning tradition, but took the program to even greater heights. Joel Sanchez had some good years at El Monte, then they won the CIF title with Jesse Ceniceros. Gabrielino came into the league in 1998, and within a couple years, won the league title with Vince Lopez as the coach. When the schools lose that consistency with the coaching, they struggle. How many coaches have Rosemead, Mtn. View and Gabrielino had over the last 10-15 years? You cannot build a high school program with having a solid coaching staff-even more so in the MVL! The schools that have been able to do that are the ones that have had the most success over the years.
In the 1980s the league was very good proven with Arroyo winning one CIF championship and earning ‘finalist’ the next year during mid eighties. Rosemead also was very good and were Co Champs in 80 or 81?
@What Happened,
Demographic shifts. Football not at the top of the list for these families.
This used to be a quality league . The fact that a return of coaching staff alone puts Arroyo on top of projections says volumes . (D14 first round exit last year.)
Rosemead has low numbers ? I wonder why . This program has plummeted since arrival of coaching staff 2022 , lots of losing and fights, forfeits , etc. One might think administration would see a problem there , but they continue to maintain course .
Bringing Marshall in gives everyone solace with projected feel good win, but makes league even weaker .
Agreed that Arroyo is poised to take this league, but I’m definitely intrigued by what Parades can do in just his first season at Mt. View. Since sports at the high school level is heavily dependent on attitude and psychology, we may see something surprising from Mark and crew.