By Tim Peterson
After a passing league tournament the first question you hear is ”How did they look?” This question is usually followed by a statement – “Passing leagues don’t mean anything.” Saturday was the annual throw at Charter Oak. So here we go.
Bishop Amat doesn’t typically win passing league tournaments. Heck a couple of weeks ago Amat sent their JV team to the Baldwin Park Tourney. But then again they don’t mean anything right? Well, it looked like it meant something Saturday at Charter Oak. Some of the games throughout the day were intense. Bishop Amat beat Muir in a highly competitive contest. Amat pulled it out as Muir was scurrying up to the line to run a play as time expired. You would have had a hard time convincing me that it meant nothing to those kids on the field.
It meant something to Bishop Amat as it won the whole thing. The Lancers beat Tustin in the Final with a lockdown defense that stymied a talented Tillers squad. Quarterback Dylan D’Epifanio led the way and was impressive throughout. D’Epifanio, a transfer from Northwood, continually found his receivers and was able to deliver strikes.
Receiver/running back Justin Cinton, D’Epifanio’s favorite target, had a big day. It seemed like every time we looked up he was celebrating in the endzone. Head Coach Kory Minor has brought a spark to his team that was evident last season in his first year. How did they look? Good…real good.
Baldwin Park, who fell to Tustin and Charter Oak, who came up short against Bishop Amat, both made it to the semi-finals. Baldwin Park, led by quarterback Lequand “Jack Jack” Jackson is looking to have a big year. The Braves, (they’re still the Braves for now) played well and had a shot to advance to the Final before falling to Tustin. “I’m happy with the way we played. Look at the Final Four teams – Bishop Amat, Tustin, Charter Oak and then us, Baldwin Park. I’ll take that,” said Baldwin Park head coach Robert Maxie.
Don’t look for BP in Division 11 this year. You should be able to find them in 5 or 6.
Overheard on the sidelines by a well-connected observer at Charter Oak: “Man this “Jack Jack” kid is better than I thought. He’s a D1 guy. Throws like a young Michael Vick.”
Charter Oak quarterback Dutch Burbidge transferred in from Pasadena and as of right now he is the starter for the Chargers. And he looked the part Saturday as he had a good day. But if the Chargers, for whatever reason, need to a make a change Jayden Rodriguez, who will be a sophomore this season, looks ready to step in. He played significant snaps during the tournament and made an impression. He was slated to be the guy before Burbidge transferred in and could ultimately play a big part in Charter Oak’s success.
Heard through the grapevine that Muir lost a few kids due to the coaching change. I didn’t see that. The Mustangs looked athletic, fast and talented. Quarterback Arthur Moreno is legit. They gave Amat all that it wanted.
Things are going to be different in San Dimas this year. There is a new head coach in Dylan O’Leary and a new offense as well. The Wing Z, Double Wing, Wing T, whatever you want to call it, is out and the Saints are going to be…wait for it…throwing the ball. And as of now San Dimas will be doing it with a freshman quarterback. It’s a lot to take in for a young quarterback but he’ll have the summer to get ready. The Saints advanced to the Consolation game where they fell to Mira Costa.
David Ramos is back at the helm for Schurr making it a smooth transition with Austin Montoya leaving to take the St. Paul job. The Spartans were young last year but they have everybody back including quarterback Jacob Torres, only a sophomore. Schurr should be fine.
South Hills has Fabian Marez returning at quarterback and he had good day Saturday. The Huskies were competitive in the tournament early on.
Maximus Fierro, cool name, made an impact for Alta Loma last season at quarterback as a freshman and is on a path for bigger and better things. Alta Loma beat a good South Hills team 35-7 Saturday. “We were up and down and didn’t travel our best players,” said Alta Loma head coach Tyler Perri. “A lot of young guys stepped up though and we able to beat South Hills and Paramount. We lost in OT in the first round. Fierro played really well.”
Some people don’t like Rowland’s “gold chains” tournament shirts. I think they’re kind of cool. If nothing else people will remember them. In football circles someone will ask “Hey who was it that had those gold chains on their shirts. And “Oh that was Rowland!” will be the reply. The Raiders went 10-0 last year in the regular season. With Citos Marinez at the helm they are making memories.
La Serna and St. Francis, two historically successful programs in the SGV, competed Saturday but didn’t make it to the big dance. Once the helmet and pads come on both will be ready to rock.
There were some great moments, some big wins and some tough losses. For nearly six hours the teams battled and competed for the Big Lou Charter Oak Passing Tournament Championship trophy presented by Charter Oak head coach Dominic Farrar at the end of the day. Bishop Amat was the last team standing.
But this is just shirts and shorts. Passing League. It doesn’t matter…or does it?
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com or on Twitter (X) @tspeterson40. Facebook- Tim Peterson.
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BP in division 5 or 6 ?
Come on Tim , something way different will have to happen there . Line play matters when pads come on . Coaching becomes more complex I don’t see anything better than D9- happy to put a pastrami on that one
I don’t think it will be as easy as you think.
Win their league, probably be placed in a lower division and probably actually have better playoff results than previous years.
Schurr has enough linemen to do what?
The Angelus League is Still Cathedral’s. They are Loaded and have Big Suze.
Schurr has linemen. Very good linemen. Add in the fact that they steamrolled everyone at the lower levels. In their league, that should be enough.
Let’s clarify Schurr was young at QB because they stated a freshmen last year, but graduated almost everybody else save for a 2-3 kids
they never ask ” how did they look” they want to know who won! get it straight.
From T. Peterson: Nah, they usually ask me how did they look? A lot of people, especially coaches, don’t really care who won. A few coaches (that weren’t at the tournament) have already messaged me since Saturday and asked me ‘How did they look?”. They would ask about specific teams.
I get that the main point of your write up is that 7 v 7 does matter to those compe Not in it even though it’s not always an indicator of success or lack thereof.
But it’s really hard not to notice when you say Freshmen were playing QB. If they are current freshmen who will be Sophomores in the fall then that’s all good. But Freshmen could possibly indicate Freshmen in the fall. And if that’s the case, then those teams are breaking some serious rules!
St Francis beat Amat in pool play?, but couldn’t pull it off when mattered.
So what would be the punishment for such a violation of eighth graders playing.
How are freshmen playing in a May passing tournament? The school year hasn’t even ended. That would be a major violation to have current 8th graders playing with a hs team.
From T. Peterson: That’s what you got out of all that? hahaha! There were freshman last year that are returning but they haven’t completed their freshman year just yet. Obviously eligible to play though. There were no eighth graders out there that I know of.