By Tim Peterson
Rio Hondo Prep is going to be tough to unseat in the Gold Coast. The Kares are coming off of back-to-back CIF titles and have several players returning. They moved up in Divisions last year from 9 to 7 and still won the championship.
Projected order of finish:
Rio Hondo Prep: Last Year 13-2 (2-0, 1st in Gold Coast) CIF Division 9 Champs Head Coach Mark Carson
To start things off the Kares have running back Noah Penunuri returning. The Mid Valley Sports Player of the Year rushed for 1,965 yards and 31 touchdowns. This guy just keeps getting better. Nathaniel Shine (cool name) is also back and will get some carries out of the backfield (324 yards last year) and will also play linebacker.
Quarterback Yanick Diaz does a great job in managing the game in the Kares devastating running attack but can make a throw when needed. Elias Har will be one of his targets at wide receiver and will play cornerback on defense as well. Cologoro Chico will be at receiver and play corner when needed.
Tyler Dang is a force on defense in the secondary and has a nose for the football.
The Kares will win league. The real questions are what division will they be in post season and can they three-peat?
Brentwood School: Last Year 8-4 (1-1. 2nd in Gold Coast) Head Coach Jake Ford
Quarterback Ben Mikhail is back and bringing his 2,832 yards with him. He has a couple of nice targets in Marcus Rosenthal and Dean Pretlow. Defensively Brentwood will be depending on linebacker Enzo Longhi and Keller Agam..
The Eagles made the playoffs last year and should be fine again for post season. But they’ll be looking up at Rio Hondo Prep in the Gold Coast.
Viewpoint: Last Year 6-4 (0-2, 3rd in Gold Coast) Head Coach Ken Papotta
The Patriots have some players returning. Last year they finished above .500 at 6-4 but lost both of their league games.
Ben Burkin will be toting the rock to anchor the running attack. Returner Darren Haggerty had over 600 yards receiving last year and will line up wide. Shane Anderson will play on both sides of the ball at wide receiver and cornerback.
Viewpoint can win more games than it loses again but a league win will be imperative for the Patriots to advance.
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Next years is a good time to re-league the private schools in the area: Rio Hondo Prep, St Frances, St Paul, Damien, Bishop Amat and Cathedral. I think this will elevate some schools and help others be relevant again. All these schools are relatively close and would make for great rivalries. Let me know what you think?
The real question about this posting is: can Peterson use the term three-peat without compensating Pat Riley? Oops, I guess I owe the man too!
How does 3 teams comprise a league ?
From T.Peterson: Campbell Hall was in the league as well but they dropped the football program last year leaving them with only three teams. It should be rectified next year with the re-leaguing.