Don Lugo appears to be the class of the newly formed Gano League. The League, consisting of four teams, is named after the late great head football coach Greg Gano, who was a legend in the San Gabriel Valley. Gano’s last coaching stop was at Don Lugo. The Conquistadores went 5-7 overall last year and won the San Antonio League with a 3-0 record and advanced to the second round of the CIF Division 12 playoffs.
While Don Lugo is the team to beat the rest of the league may have hard time keeping pace. Montclair has a new head coach, Rowland went 2-8 last year and Chaffey went 1-9. The old saying is “any given Friday night” and that still applies, but it’s going to take something special to unseat the Conquistadores.
For Don Lugo Kalib Pacheco returns at quarterback from a year in which he was All-CIF and the Offensive Team MVP. Wide Receivers Blake LaPorte and Joshua Morales are both back and David Rivera and Jayden Ruiz lead a strong offensive line.
DB Sam Plunkett returns as does D-Linemen Jerry Beagles and Austin Brown. Linebacker Tony Martinez (Team Defensive MVP), Adam Luna and Shane Biggs make up the linebacking corp. Don Lugo has some new talent as well as wide receiver Caleb Calvin, Athlete Audo Richirt, Strong Safety Daniel Guerena, and DB Cameron Romero have made the move to the Conquistadores. Corey Wilson, who plays receiver and defensive back is an upcoming sophomore and a big-time player.
Josh Knight’s Coaching Strategy: Offense: Air Raid / Spread; Defense: 4-3 base.
Don Lugo’s key matchups this year: Chino and Cerritos in non-league.
“We’re happy to be a part of the Gano league. There are a great group of coaches and it should be great competition over these next two seasons with Chaffey, Rowland and Montclair. Our team goals are to win the Milk Can game against Chino, win league, make a playoff run, and give our kids opportunities to play college football and get a free education”, said Don Lugo head coach Josh Knight. “We just want to continue to get better daily and to stack up those daily wins. The rest will take care of itself if we put the work in for it. The team looks good. A year in the weightroom helps a lot. We are big upfront and have our offensive MVP back in Pacheco and our defensive MVP in MLB Martinez,” Knight added.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances Don Lugo should bring home the hardware in the Gano League.
Montclair went 6-6 overall last year and 1-2 in the Mt. Baldy 4 League. The Cavaliers even won a playoff game beating Garey in the first round of the Division 13 playoffs. Not bad right? Future looks bright. Well, the outlook for 2024 changed quickly when head coach Martin Bacon was dismissed in the off season. Montclair has some returning players including quarterback Kevin Ramirez who threw for 930 yards and 6 touchdowns last season.
The Cavs have some good non-league games facing Walnut, Pomona and Wilson. A few victories in non-league could produce some momentum heading into league. The question though is can a new coaching staff bring it all together in just a short period of time? Time will tell.
Chaffey hit a rough patch in 2023. The Tigers went 1-9 overall and 0-3 in the San Antonio League. Quarterback Seth Delgado returns for his senior year and may share time with Noah Stewart. Athlete Rayvon Adams is back as well and could make a difference on both sides of the ball. Chaffey has 6 returning starters on offense as well as 6 returning starters on defense.
Chaffey has a long way to go to just get to .500. Even in a four-team league can the Tigers do enough to get a playoff spot? We’ll see.
Rowland made a big move this off season. Longtime head coach Ryan Jacobson was replaced by Citos Marinez. The Raiders are another team that had a rough go last season. They went 1-2 in the Sierra League and finished 2-8 on the year. Marinez may bring some energy and a new voice. But he has his work cut out in bringing the Raiders back to prominence.
Projected Order of Finish
- Don Lugo – We like Kalib Pacheco.
- Montclair – Good year last year. Can the Cavs keep it going?
- Rowland – Citos Marinez looking to make a splash.
- Chaffey – Not ready yet.
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