MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Peterson

Can we pump the breaks now on St. Paul being the worst team ever? With the messages, comments and social media posts that I was seeing you would think that the Swordsmen should mail in the rest of the season and fold the program.

Couple of questions come to mind. How many schools in the Southern Section would have beaten Bishop Amat or Mission Viejo? And how many of you that were coming after St. Paul would have taken a 28-0 win over Whittier? This, mind you, is a Whittier team that outscored its first two opponents 90-12.

I mean Mission Viejo? They would give the Chargers a game. Slow the roll folks. Put away the pitchforks. St. Paul will be fine. Head Coach Austin Montoya will be fine. Better days are ahead.

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Monrovia quarterback Jesse Saucedo, who suffered an ACL injury early last season against Baldwin Park, has been cleared by doctors to play next week against Pasadena. The Wildcats lost in Week Zero to Brentwood but have bounced back the last two weeks to rout Eagle Rock and Roosevelt. Keep an eye on Monrovia freshman Ian Macklin. He scored three touchdowns Thursday night – one receiving, one rushing and one on a punt return. The rushing touchdown went for 92 yards as Macklin did his Usain Bolt impression after breaking through the line. This kid can play.

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El Rancho, playing a schedule that some thought would leave the Dons at 0-3, have done the exact opposite. the Dons are 3-0! They beat a good South Hills team in the opener, shut out Santa Fe and Friday night went into West Covina to upend the Bulldogs. Head coach Adrian Medrano, who always seems to get the most out of his players, has El Rancho playing at a high level.

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Alert the Press! Rio Hondo Prep lost a regular season game! For the Kares the 32-21 loss to Quartz Hill Friday night was the first regular season loss since they fell to Torrance 28-21 September 27, 2024. The loss snapped a 15-game regular season winning streak. The Kares, who have won three consecutive CIF Championships, are at Marquez on Friday night.

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Speaking of Torrance the Tartars beat Northview 27-20 Friday night. They look like the real deal after beating Mira Costa in the opener and playing with Redondo Union last week before falling late. For the Vikings, who are playing a schedule that resembles a death march, the gauntlet continues next week against La Serna. Circle October 29 on the calendar when Northview hosts Charter Oak.

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I owe “Low Profile” a pastrami at The Hat for the Mt. View loss to Hoover Friday night. Well, the Vikings didn’t just lose, they were pummeled 56-6. So maybe I owe him two pastramis…with extra pickles. I still need to see more out of the Tornadoes though before I completely buy in. They’re at Crescenta Valley next week. We’ll see how that goes. The big question is how will Hoover fare in the Crest League with Glendale, Temple City and Arcadia? If Hoover wins the league I’ll throw in an order of chili cheese fries.

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The Downey-Millikan game was called with seven minutes still left on the clock due to excessive penalties in the fourth quarter. Downey won the game 39-10 for its first victory of the season after losses to Long Beach Poly and Capistrano Valley. Receiver Damani Porras had over 160 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

The outcome was not in question with the Vikings up big but unless there was an actual brawl did the game really need to be stopped?

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The fireworks continue at Nogales as the offense lights up the sky. After a 49-43 win over Cantwell Friday night the Nobles have scored 144 points in three games. Gatsbee Gumban (cool name) has rushed for 538 yards and eight touchdowns in three games.

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Nice bounce back for Muir Friday night with a big win over St Pius X/ St. Matthias. I’ll admit I didn’t see them dropping 50 on the Warriors so I’ll throw in something for Muir head coach Matt Villasenor as well. Maybe a pastrami burger. The Hat still makes those right?

Tim Peterson can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com or on Twitter (X) @tspeterson40. Facebook -Tim Peterson