By Tim Peterson
This looks like it’s Schurr’s league to lose. With a new head coach and a freshman quarterback the Spartans have had a nice summer. Bell Gardens, San Gabriel and Montebello can all compete but unless one of them can jump up and bite Schurr they will all be competing for second place.
Alhambra had a rough year last season and is looking to get back on track. Keppel has hosted its own passing league tournament the last two years. It hasn’t translated to victories on the field yet but the Aztecs are trying.
Projected order of finish:
Schurr: Last year 9-2, (5-0, 1st in Almont) Head Coach Austin Montoya
The Spartans won the SGV Shootout at Arroyo and have been raising eyebrows all summer. Freshman quarterback Jacob Torres has been terrific and he has a nice target in Ceasar Aguila. The Spartans should have a solid running attack as well with Mateo Carrasco and Elias Navarro. Navarro rushed for over 1300 yards last year. Schurr lost to Muir last year in the first round of the playoffs. The Spartans are looking to take that next step this season under first year head coach Austin Montoya.
Bell Gardens: Last Year 7-3 (4-1, 2nd in Almont) Head Coach Rudy Ramirez
The Lancers have the toughness to make some noise in the Almont. Quarterback Michael Mendoza is set to go and will have a target to throw to in Bryant Rios. Bell Gardens also has a solid offensive lineman in Juan Diego.
Defensively outside linebacker Ivan Barajas is back and brings his 52 total tackles with him. Tristan Moreno will join Barajas at linebacker as he mans the inside.
The Lancers look good for at least second in league but the question is can they knock off Schurr.
San Gabriel: Last Year 7-7 (3-2, 3rd in Almont) Head Coach Ray Torres
The Matadors had a memorable season last year advancing all the way to the CIF Division 14 Finals before losing to Pioneer. Marcus Galan stepped down as head coach after the season and Ray Torres took over. The Matadors have a good running back in Adam Mascorro who actually won the Mid Valley Sports poll for top returning running back. Louie Navarro will tote the rock as well and will also play linebacker as a key player for the Mats.
Ricky Garcia is slated to be the starting quarterback to lead the San Gabriel offensive attack. The Matadors should have enough to hold on to third and grab a playoff slot which could lead to a run in a lower division similar to last year.
Montebello: Last Year 4-6 (2-3. 4th in Almont) Head Coach Pete Gonzalez
The Oilers have fallen out of the Almont elite the last couple of years. This year the hope is they can secure that third playoff win and sneak into the post season. They have some pieces in quarterback Eddie Pimentel and running back Donovan Murillo. Receiver Franciso Mirelez will be on the other end of Pimentel’s throws and he will also be on double duty lining up at cornerback as well.
The Oilers should be fine for at least two league wins but they will need that key third one to have a shot at advancing to the playoffs.
Alhambra: 2-8 (1-4, 5th in Almont) Head Coach Mike Mackintosh
The Moors have plenty of players coming back. They look good on paper. Bryan Leonard is ready to begin his fourth year as the starting quarterback. Running backs Halen Tsang and Zack Chacon will man the ground game. Marco Vasquez will be at wide receiver as well as Calogero Duran.
Defensively Matthew Gandarilla will be at linebacker and Nero Navarro is set to start at defensive back. The Moors will be young along the offensive line after losing several linemen to graduation. They do have some pieces but the Moors will need to have them all come together to improve on last season.
Keppel: Last Year 0-10 (0-5, 6th in Almont) Head Coach Robert Gonzales
The Aztecs have to start somewhere and with head coach Robert Gonzales they have done exactly that. The last two years Keppel has hosted its own passing league tournament having the opportunity to get in some more work in the summer and competing with other schools in the area. This year they will again be looking for that one league victory – just one. Once they get one it can only get better from there.
Here are some key players that the Aztecs will be relying on this season.
Offense:
Sr. Ryan Gomez OL, Jr. Joshua De la Cruz RB, Sr. Aidan Tran WR, Jasper Wong WR, Fernando Aguilar WR OL, Fr. Bryan Tran QB
Defense:
Sr. Jesse Escobar LB 2024 All League
Sr. Hunter To LB 2023 and ’24 All League
Jr. Jacob Mascota NG
Fr. Derek Lang SS
The Aztecs have a couple of winnable games early with Compton Early College, Bassett and Bernstein. Can they get one in the Almont?
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low profile is correct in a time of ‘everybody gets a trophy
@ Low Profile & FBFan: CIF Southern Section ought to get rid of Division 14. It has been a bad idea from the very start; I think the main purpose for its creation was to make some additional postseason money.
For one thing, how can CIF justify making third-place teams the top seeds in that division? It is not a good way to promote quality football, and describing D14 as being watered down might even be a little generous. Let’s go back to having 13, or even 12, divisions.
@FBFan …., no doubt that CIF Southern Section is quality football with great coaching , holding a big advantage ( by and large ) over City section schools .
I agree with your assessment about the individual teams mentioned, but these are D 10-11 teams . Pasadena was a far different team last year after transfers became eligible . Early losses placed them in lower division where they dominated .
D14 is not for good teams . By definition it is the lowest 7% of all qualifying teams . D13 occupies the 7-15% range of lowest qualified teams .
This part is just math . Any other the teams mentioned beats D14 champ by 2-4 touchdowns , maybe running clock ; just look at Pioneers result last year vs Cerritos, Artesia and Kennedy ….:
The point I’m trying to make is not to devalue this division , but to point out that in season excellence is not rewarded by current system , and in fact often punished . While teams that are not great but have seen a good team or two benefit greatly.
Hope everyone has a great season !
@@Low Profile,
I disagree. The Southern Section is HUGE!
The divisions are fine. D-14 is very watered down, yes. But no one is tanking to go that low.
As for the others, there is quality football there. I’ve seen the games on NFHS and no one can tell me that Pasadena, Palmdale, Portola, and Silverado are bad football teams.
At @Low Profile …. They aren’t tanking, they are just not very good , but get favorable seeding and division . Its CIF
You’re probably right about this finishing third strategy, which is sad, because the tanking teams are only fooling themselves. The rest of us see right through this nonsense. How to clear-up this garbage routine? Simply mandate that any team with a negative power rating at season’s end is INELIGIBLE for the playoffs. Such an approach would trim the number of postseason divisions to around 9, which is more than enough room to include truly quality teams.
I keep hearing BG is a serious threat this year…
When the key to playoff success , as alluded to by Tim , is to finish 3rd in this league and get good seed in Division 14 , there is something very wrong with the system .
Good preview identifying key players on each squad . It looks like status quo in Almont ….
Louie and Adam have been playing together since they were 10 years old. Started as freshman’s on that 2022 championship team. Have compiled a 25-16 overall record the last three years and have over 11 playoff games experience. Both were team co-mvp’s last season, All CIF and All Almont league. They have been working hard this summer. Expect big things from both of them. Good luck to all of the Almont teams!