George Pamilton III and Maranatha travel to Covina to take on the Colts. (Photo by David Thomas).
By Tim Peterson
All kickoffs are scheduled for 7:00 PM unless otherwise indicated:
Thursday August 27
Maranatha (0-1) at Covina (1-0) (Covina District Field)
Covina is a coming off a big win over La Puente while Maranatha fell by 10 points to Dominguez. Cash Kimbro was at quarterback for the Minutemen as they await the status of transfer Arthur Moreno. Ethan Hayes led the way at quarterback for the Colts in an offensive explosion. Both teams can score. The Colts come out on top.
Covina 31 Maranatha 24
South (1-0) at Arroyo (1-0)
Oscar Lopez threw for over 200 yards and a couple of touchdowns last week in a 48-0 win over Azusa as the Knights offense came out firing. South beat Burroughs 45-29 last week in the opener. Arroyo needs to score early to get an early advantage. It may come down to a big play in the fourth quarter. The Knights get the W at home.
Arroyo 28 South 24
Friday August 28
La Salle (0-1) at San Marino (1-0)
La Salle was in an arena football league game last week in a 60-52 win over Cantwell. Denzel Carter ran for 254 yards and scored six touchdowns. San Marino put it on Vasquez 55-0. This is the first home game for San Marino head coach Dujuawn Jones. The two teams scored 110 points combined last week. Titans are the last team standing.
San Marino 38 La Salle 35
Charter Oak (0-0) at Upland (0-1)
Upland has had several players transfer out of the program but reportedly they have received some as well. This is the season opener for Charter Oak and the Chargers are chomping at the bit to get started. Look for receiver Zion Key to make a big play. Key, who plays on both sides of the ball, could be a difference maker for Charter Oak. The Chargers are still waiting on the status of transfer quarterback Dutch Burbidge. With or without Burbidge Charter Oak should have enough. Chargers win their opener. Update: Dutch Burbidge has been cleared by CIF.
Charter Oak 27 Upland 20
Santa Fe (2-0) at El Rancho (1-0)
Nice win last week for El Rancho over South Hills. Many people across the football landscape had the Huskies wining that game. Santa Fe beat Glendale two weeks ago followed by a victory over Pioneer. The Sentinels (yes, they’re now the Sentinels) have outscored their two opponents by the combined score of 86-14. But El Rancho is a different animal. With the win over South Hills the Dons have shown they’re already a team to be reckoned with. Santa Fe keeps it close but El Rancho comes away with the victory.
El Rancho 24 Santa Fe 17
Northview (1-0) at La Habra (1-0)
Last week I thought Northview beating Thousand Oaks was too much to ask. The Vikings shut me up with a 21-7 win on the road. Now they travel to La Habra. Is a win over the Highlanders again too much to ask? Is this too big of a hill to climb? La Habra beat Upland 55-13 last week. This may not be the same Upland team that we’re used to seeing but 55-13 is…well…55-13. La Habra has a talented quarterback in DJ Mitchell, who threw for five touchdowns last week. The Vikings will pound it with Aaron Guillen behind a big offensive line. And it will work at times but in the end La Habra will have too much. Highlanders improve to 2-0.
La Habra 35 Northview 21
Alta Loma (1-0) at St. Francis (0-0)
Alta Loma may be the most underrated team in the area. In fact one local writer didn’t even include didn’t even the Lions in the Top 12 this week. Oh wait, that was me. Last week Alta Loma laid the wood to Colony 37-0 as Maximus Fierro threw for three touchdowns with Bryant Avila on the receiving end of two of them. The Lance Mitchell era will get underway as St. Francis takes the field for the first time. The Golden Knights are coming off of a tough year and looking to bounce back. Mitchell is a solid coach and is a great hire. St. Francis always has talent and is hard to beat at home. But in this game, on this night, Alta Loma pulls the upset. Will it actually be considered an upset? Lions escape with a win.
Alta Loma 21 St. Francis 17
Rowland (0-0) at Baldwin Park (0-1)
Baldwin Park got beat up last week by La Serna. And as the coaches always say, no excuses. That being said the Braves were without several players who had not been cleared by CIF including quarterback Lequand “Jack Jack” Jackson. And La Serna is a monster. So there’s that. This is the season opener for Rowland which is coming off a 10-1 season. A win on the road for Rowland would be huge to kick off the campaign. The outcome could hinge again on who is cleared and who’s not. Baldwin Park has some talented skill players that will be on the field with or without the CIF decisions. Rowland hangs around until the end but BP bounces back and emerges with the win. Update: Lequand Jackson has been cleared by CIF.
Baldwin Park 30 Rowland 27
Quick Hits
Thursday August 27
La Puente at Temple City – La Puente
Whittier at Gabrielino – Whittier
San Dimas at Chaffey – San Dimas
Glendora at Walnut – Glendora
Friday August 28
Schurr at La Serna – La Serna
Santa Monica at La Canada – La Canada
Arcadia at San Gabriel – Arcadia
Montebello at Cantwell – Montebello
Troy at Rio Hondo Prep – Rio Hondo Prep
Ganesha at El Monte – Ganesha
Chino at West Covina – West Covina
Muir at Pinecrest Academy – Muir
Workman at Mt. View – Mt. View
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@ Detached Observer: You called it, man. We’ll see if the victory over Mendez turns out to be a milestone for the Mark Keppel football program. Winning some games is a nice habit to have.
@Axtec … you are absolutely right and I stand corrected . That’s what happens when you trust AI. I really miss the days of CalPreps when you could readily review team records of past years; to me , the rates hs ratings charge are crazy .
Aztecs likely to celebrate Thursday night
#23 Nico Panelli is going to have a great night vs Muir , watch out
Heck I’ll add that I think Burbank has no shot against Centennial Vegas and probably also dont have one against Muir. PASC is the one team on Muir’s schedule who I can’t see them beating for sure.
TP come back when Muir loses. It’s gonna happen.
No way in the world does Muir beat PASC. Even if Agbunag plays they are still losing.
From T. Peterson: Pinecrest fan huh?
@DO
I sure hope so. Kepple is such a big school and competitive in so many sports except football. The kids and the coaches work hard and deserve to have a school that supports it. The basketball coaches and others need to stop hoarding all the athletes. No one will care about how great their basketball, tennis, golf, badminton, and academic decathlon teams are until the football team starts to win!!!
Keppel was 3-7 in the 2021-22 season. Not 2014.
Hard to believe there’s no mention of the Keppel vs Mendez showdown Thursday night . Keppel made a strategic business decision in bypassing trip to Compton and forfeiting last week: they are thinking of course, that if they are healthy of body and psyche they can win their first game since 2014 !
Mendez looked like team with three practices , two formations and no idea how to field a kickoff in their opener vs Basset. And there is a lunar eclipse of full moon on Thursday night as well.
The White House pressuring the Ontario High School Jaguars change their name to America High School Jaguars and the City of Ontario to change its name to the city of America.
Funny joke St. Paul will not score against Mission Viejo even in garbage time. They couldn’t score on Bishop Amat they sure as hell ain’t scoring on the Diablos. Montoya should start getting his 7v7 team together to start recruiting players and promising college scholarships.
Last week, St Paul was rated in the top 12. This week, the Swords are not even mentioned, as they prepare to get blasted by Mission Viejo. That’s no way to treat a team that’s trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. I’ll fill in here by offering my projection: MV 65, St Paul 7. That’s right, young Austin will celebrate his first touchdown as the SP coach, even if it has to come in garbage time as a gift from the South Orange County powerhouse.
Muir has not a prayer against Pine. Pines Bubbas are made up of Tongans,Samoans and a splash of Hawaiians. The skill guys are tall and lean with jet speed and are the state finalist last year. Even missing jumping Jack Flash BP should not have given up 100 points to La Serna which would have happened if not for the running clock. I go with Rowland.