Glendale and Hoover have been added back into the Pacific after a hiatus to bring the league back to an eight-team league. Burroughs, the defending league champion, has a new head coach, as does Pasadena, Arcadia and Burbank. Pasadena, 0-10 last year, looks like a team that can do a complete 360…well technically it’s a 180 but it will be such a large turn around that it’s closer to a 360.
Jesse Craven stepped down as head coach after a terrific season at Burroughs to take the head coaching job at Westlake. Laron Johnson, former Temple City/ La Puente head coach takes over a team that was 9-2 overall last year and 5-0 in the Pacific.
The Bears, yes Burroughs is no longer the Indians, did lose some players last season but they do have some talent coming back. Here are a few players to watch.
Sr. Athlete – Rocco Melilio Sr. LB- Max Batres Sr. OL/DL – Colin Jimenez Sr. WR/DB – Patrick Lima Sr. OG – Samuel Ventura Sr. DB- Julian Zubia
“After a huge senior class from last year we will depend on these six returners to help lead a really young group of guys. This young team is hungry and want to show all the hard work they put in this offseason,” Johnson said.
Burroughs will be right in the hunt but the Bears will also be fighting for their playoff lives in the Pacific.
Muir, under head coach Lance Mitchell, went 9-4 last year (4-1 in league) and advanced all the way to the Semi-Finals of the CIF Division 7 playoffs before being knocked off by Mayfair. The Mustangs have a D-1 prospect in edge rusher Cole Cogshell coming back but they dd graduate a couple of good ones in Issaiah Blades and Turran Williams.
Keyon Mills, who transferred in from Arcadia, will be at quarterback and Sean Baker, an athlete, can make plays on offense as well. The Stangs will light up the scoreboard, that’s nothing new, but they will need to make enough stops on defense as well to be successful.
Muir has good shot to win the Pacific crown and at the very least contend for a playoff spot.
Crescenta Valley finished third in the Pacific last year at 3-2 and made the playoffs before losing in the first round of the Division 10 playoffs. The Falcons lost their quarterback to graduation but do return two solid receives in Chander Thome (443 yards) and Xavier Thompson (594 yards, 6 TDs).
On Defense, Tyler Matsuda returns at cornerback for head coach Hudson Gossard where he had 73 total tackles a year ago. Matsuda will also play wide receiver. Linebacker Leonidas Grant is returning from a year in which he had 40 tackles.
CV looks like a top three team in the Pacific.
Pasadena had a mass exodus of players last year and as a result the Bulldogs ended up winless. Ron Jones, who was the DC at Pasadena two years ago before taking the same position at Burroughs last season, has returned to PHS as the head coach. He brought the former head coach of two years ago, Dejuan Shamburger back with him as an assistant.
The players have returned as well. Pasadena had a big summer led by transfer quarterback Hype Grand. Grand, a transfer and a D-1 prospect, who was briefly at Pasadena as a freshman, can make all the throws and can get out of the pocket and run as well. Grand will have plenty of targets to throw to and plenty of athletes on the field.
Here are some of Pasadena’s key players. Offense: Grand, Kyle Robertson, Cristopher Solis-Lumar, Allen Reyes, Brandin Carpenter.
Defense: Mike Ambrose, Dior Middleton, Ian Howard.
“A year later, I’m excited to see how we compete,” Jones said.
The biggest thing for Pasadena is restoring the confidence after a disastrous season. The talent is there and if the Dogs can win a couple of games early it will build some confidence and momentum going into league. They have a couple tough ones early with Cantwell and San Dimas.
Update: Quarterback Hype Grand, who transferred in from Orange, has been ruled ineligible to play varsity football for Pasadena this season. This could have a huge impact on the Bulldogs season.
Eric Elias took the reins as the head coach at Arcadia for Antyone Sims who stepped down. Former Arroyo head coach Jim Singiser was hired as the DC. The Apaches did lose their quarterback Keyon Mills, who transferred to Muir, but they do have some talented players coming back. A.J. Pressnall will be behind center and has some nice targets in Billy Carr and Dajour Hawkins. Defensively Timmy Morales leads a strong linebacking crew.
Here’s the key players for Arcadia this season.
Jacobi Law QB/WR/DB, AJ Presnall QB (SOP), DJ Hawkins WR/DB, Tim Morales LB, Billy Carr WR/DB, Dylan Mari OL, Max Yang DL/OL, Jacob Arias DL/OL, Aaron Morinaga RB.
“We have 3 returning seniors but lots of juniors who will step up and contribute this season. We have tons of potential and look to build on a great camp. Our staff is excited about the upcoming season and our group of student Athletes. We have seen a change in culture, attitude and effort across the board,” Elias said.
Arcadia went 5-5 last season and missed the playoffs. The Apaches were 2-3 in the Pacific so they have a tough hill to climb. They will need to knock off at least one of the top three teams to have a shot.
Burbank had a forgettable season in 2023. The Bulldogs went 3-7 overall (1-4 in the Pacific) with their only league win coming over winless Pasadena. Adam Colman resigned as head coach and Hector Valencia, who had a previous stint as the head coach at Burbank, returned as HC.
Elijah Pendleton WR/CB and Chase Miles WR/SS are both playmakers who will go on both sides of the ball. Ezekiel Alvarez will also line up at wide receiver and play in the secondary as well. These guys can play, no doubt, but does Burbank have enough to compete with the big boys of the Pacific?
Burbank may improve by a win or two but could be still a year or two away from getting back in the mix.
Good news, bad news for Glendale and Hoover. The good news is both schools are now back in the Pacific League where they would have a chance to qualify for the post season. In the Lower Pacific League last season there were no playoffs regardless of what their records were. The bad news is making the playoffs in the current format of the Pacific is a long shot for either team.
Neither team had a bad year in ’23. Glendale went 5-5 and Hoover finished 4-6. But the schedules they will be dealing with this year will be a different animal.
A few players to keep an eye on for Glendale are Mark Dacles LB/FB, Rudy Cuellar WR/S and Brady Aldrete TE/DE. Both teams deserve a shot at the post season but that will only come with possible realignment down the road.
Projected Order of Finish:
- Muir – Mustangs ready to take charge in the Pacific.
- Crescenta Valley – CV always in the mix.
- Burroughs – Laron Johnson has some talent coming back.
- Arcadia – Apaches need a win over somebody in the top three.
- Pasadena – Hype Grand’s ineligibility changes things.
- Burbank – Hector Valencia back for a second stint as HC.
- Glendale – Nitros happy about the move back into the Pacific.
- Hoover – A win over Glendale November 1 would be huge.
Loading ...
With the unanticipated loss of QB Grand , Pasadena is truly looking like 360 full circle turnaround lol. They will be better than last year and win a couple games
PHS will go 0-10 again. Book it.
I agree and never said otherwise.
Respect all coaches.
August 20, 2024 – 2:17 pm | Permalink i AGREE with you about giving head coaches a bit more respect. I do not think most bloggers insult head coaches as much as a few do. And I suggest, not claiming being totally correct, that many of the people who criticize head coaches are ‘self appointed geniuses’, when actually they may not have ever competed against some good coaches (as a coach)
Low Profile
August 20, 2024 – 8:55 am | Permalink Do you have any idea that a high percentage of administrations are very easy to “pull the wool over their heads?? Any knowledge at all (or a possible guess) what percentage of these high school administration actually have a ‘clue’ about sports? Or do they even care? Possible hiring a head football coach and what the administration needs= what subject openings are there? How many high school administrators played a college sport? Not as many as most people think
I’ve noticed you always have an issue with Burroughs. What is it? Do you even know anyone at the program or are you a BHS fanboy? No matter what that program does, you always have something negative to say.
The middle of the pack.
Muir, Cv, Burbank or Burroughs then Pasadena. Now that Hype is not playing this year. Arcadia
Let’s have Tim fact check that . I do know that 5 TEAM league only gets 2 automatic bids though ….3 in basketball, but 2 in football .
Sounds like excuses to me . First you say AD made schedule, then you like how he said. schedule “made sense “. ….. for giving him spurious great record . Then Sotomayor bows out this year in second of two year contract .
If that’s your guy , great ! Good luck to Burroughs , where do you predict them to finish in Pacific League ?
Low profile, that is a false statement, sir. 8 mean leagues still only get 3 playoff spots. 4 man league = 2 spots. 5-8 man league = 3 spots. 9 man league = 4 spots.
The dude had a horrible roster at Temple city and an assistant coach from hell who sabotaged the program.
The Lp schedule was done by AD. You guys should pay attention or really read into things before you say ridiculous things. I actually heard him speak about why the Lp schedule was done and it made sense. They only had three leagues last year as well. And he only lost one league game to Garey.
We as fans should do better
“Pasadena, 0-10 last year, looks like a team that can do a complete 360.” I think you mean 180 here, dude.
The Bulldogs went 3-7 overall with their only win coming over winless Pasadena.” Who were the other two wins against?
“Sean Baker, an athlete, can make plays on offense as well.” Aren’t they all athletes?
Do better with these.
From T. Peterson: Burbank’s other two wins were over Fillmore and St. Genevieve. But the one Pacific League win was against winless Pasadena. This story is about the Pacific League as evidenced in the headline, dude “Pacific League at a Glance”
Baker is an athlete, yes, but teams now post their positions this way. Example- WR, DB, QB, ATH, ETC. So you’re saying Sean Baker is not an athlete?
So I’ll give you that. Technically i’s a 180. But it will be such a huge turn around that it’s closer to a 360. So I’m leaving it. But again just to confirm…Sean Baker is not an athlete? Next…
I get the drift ……I refrained from commenting until now because I of your point .
However , how can you respect a coach who bottomed out Temple City( 0-10), left them totally in the lurch early in the summer of 22; then he goes to LaPuente and creates an embarrassingly weak schedule so he can have an attractive record, and pulls the wool over the eyes of administrators who don’t look at CalPreps to get a much better spot at Burroughs . His comments pave the way for excuses in what I predict will be big falloff for Burroughs who was strong league champ last year.
Gives league one more automatic bid for playoffs . It’s now 4 of 6 , rather than 3 of 6 because Glendale and Hoover not a threat.
Did you read what the reporter said and the HC said very young team. But you guys find anything negative to say about these people that spend their time helping kids.
Muir should dominate this league this year. Will Pasadena clear xfers? They need’em, bad. Burbank will not finish below Arcadia, Burroughs, and Pasadena..will probably be CV and Burbank playing for second place. Hoover coach been pushing to return to league for a couple years, but admin did not give green light. Hoover admin gave the go ahead this year, and Glendale admin reluctantly followed after pressure.
Laron Johnson one of the worst coaches outside of Arroyo hc he’ll finish 5th even with talent.