MidValleySports.Com

Bradley Loiacono and the Maranatha will face Baldwin Park in the first round of the CIF Division 11 playoffs. (Photo by David Thomas).

By Tim Peterson

All kickoffs are at 7:00 PM unless otherwise indicated:

Friday November 7

DIV 4

Muir (9-1) at Charter Oak (9-1)

Charter Oak rallied to win by a point over Muir when these two matched up back in September. It turned out to be the Mustangs only loss of the season. Charter Oak’s only defeat came at the hands of Corona del Mar a week later. Both teams have athletes all over the field. Quarterbacks Corin Berry of the Chargers and Muir’s Trey Gamble have both had big seasons. It will come down to who makes the least mistakes. Turnovers will kill you. Expect a similar game as the first one. It will come done to the fourth quarter – maybe the last possession. Charter Oak comes out on top.

Charter Oak 34 Muir 31

DIV 5

Bonita (6-4, 7-3 on the field) at Northview (8-2) (Covina District Field)

Good local matchup. These two teams met twice two years ago and split the two games with each team winning by one point. Bonita’s win came in the playoffs and here they are again in the first round of the Division 5 CIF playoffs. Northview lost only two games all year but wrapped up a share of the Valle Vista League title with a 35-0 rout of West Covina in the regular season finale. Bonita lost to Charter Oak last week in the Sierra League title qame. Bonita has been without running back Joseph Lara for most of the season after he went down with an injury. Quarterback Travis Lippert was hurt as well but he’s back now and ready to go. The Vikings are fully healthy.

It will be slugfest. Both teams are physical on defense and can be explosively offensively. Lippert and Northview’s Robert Lucero can both sling it. The Vikes also have a huge weapon in the other Lucero, wide receiver Isaiah, who lurks in the secondary as well. Aaron Guillen anchors a strong Northview running attack. Northview gets it done in the fourth quarter. Vikings win…close.

Northview 27 Bonita 24

DIV 6

Los Altos (10-0) at Upland (8-2)

Interesting matchup here. Los Altos, who hasn’t lost a game all year while winning the Hacienda League, heading out to Upland face the Scots who have won only two games all year including just one on the Baseline League. Upland, usually a higher division team, dropped down to Division 6 this year after a less than stellar season. The Scots did have a tough schedule facing the likes of La Habra, Bishop Amat and Chino Hills in non-league. Los Altos has had a memorable campaign so far. The Conquerors really haven’t been tested all year. Their closest margin of victory was 14 points and that had happened with four different opponents. That being said Upland is a different animal. The Baseline League is brutal and Upland has been trading paint with those guys all year long. Los Altos may hang in for a while but in the end the Scots’ physicality and athleticism will wear them down. Upland comes out on top.

Upland 28 Los Altos 14

DIV 7

La Canada (9-1) at West Covina (7-3)

La Canada, second place in the Rio Hondo, can score. Quarterback Joe Bell and running back Dash Paper have been doing it all year. The question is can the Spartans match up physically with West Covina? The Bulldogs like to pound it and play solid defense. Other than a 35-0 loss to Northview last week the Bulldogs went to toe to toe with everybody in the Valle Vista and won every matchup. They knocked off playoff opponents Alta Loma, San Dimas and Baldwin Park in succession in league play to share the league title. The two teams do have a common opponent in South Pasadena. La Canada fell to 23-22 while West Covina beat the Tigers 35-14. The Bulldogs will slow down the pace, run the ball with Isaac Villescas and eventually grind out a win.

West Covina 21 La Canada 17

DIV 9

San Dimas (5-5) at Rowland (10-0)

Five of the six teams in the Valle Vista qualified for the playoffs including San Dimas who finished fourth. The Saints were 5-5 overall and had some good early season wins over Pasadena and Colony. Rowland has surprised everybody except maybe themselves as the Raiders have gone undefeated in the regular season. The Raiders have been tested but they have passed every exam. They rallied in the fourth quarter to stun Diamond Bar 22-21 and won a shootout over Chaffey 45-44. CJ Carrillo does a little bit of everything for Rowland rushing for over 900 yards and he has racked up close to 300 yards receiving. Even if the Saints can establish its running game with Jacob Gallegos and company they not have enough to hold off Rowland. The Raiders dream season continues.

Rowland 34 San Dimas 24

DIV 11

El Monte (8-2) at St. Anthony (3-7)

Tough break for El Monte. The Lions won the Mission Valley League with a perfect 6-0 record but moved up to Division 11 and now has to hit the road for St. Anthony for their efforts. St. Anthony was 3-7 overall but finished third in the Del Rey League. The Lions have competed with everybody on their schedule this year. Their only losses were to California and San Gabriel but they were in both games until the end. The Lions will battle and maybe fall behind. But in the end they’ll find away. Lions advance.

El Monte 30 St. Anthony 27

DIV 11

Maranatha (7-3) at Baldwin Park (5-5)

With guys like Cooper Berry and Nico Vergara Maranatha can score. With guys like Valentino May and Donovan St Cyr Baldwin Park can score. But the problem is, for both teams, is they also can give up a lot of points. Expect a high scoring affair with Berry and May both putting up numbers. It may come down to who makes the most stop…or the last stop. Baldwin Park wins on the last possession.

Baldwin Park 38 Maranatha 35

DIV 12

Nogales (7-3) at Bellflower 6-4)

Nogales has won five straight games and has rolled through the Montview League unbeaten. They have a balanced attack with Orlando Zamora running for over 1400 yards and Santino Garcia throwing for over 1100 yards and six touchdowns. Bellflower went 6-4 overall and took third in the Mid-Cities League with a record of 3-2. The Buccaneers like to pound it racking up over 1800 yards on the season with Austin Miller leading the way with 607 yards.

The Nobles have been on a roll the last three games outscoring their opponents 102-24. Bellflower may keep it close early but Nogales pulls away in the second half for the win. Nobles move on.

Nogales 31 Bellflower 21

Quick Hits

DIV 1 – Santa Margarita at Sierra Canyon – Sierra Canyon

DIV 2 – Damien at Vista Murrieta – Vista Murrieta

DIV 3 – Murrieta Mesa at Bishop Amat – Bishop Amat

DIV 5 – Lakewood at La Serna – La Serna

DIV 5 – Rio Hondo Prep at Thousand Oaks – Rio Hondo Prep

DIV 7 – Schurr at Saugus – Schurr

DIV 9 – Norwalk at Warren – Norwalk

DIV 10 – El Rancho at Pacifica/ GG – El Rancho

DIV 10 – Hillcrest at Monrovia – Monrovia

DIV 11 – San Marcos at South Pasadena – South Pasadena

DIV 13 – La Puente at Kaiser – La Puente

DIV 14 – Channel Islands at South El Monte – South El Monte