Prep Football Round-Up – Week #8 – 10.17.14

PLAYERS & PARENTS ALERT!  Time is running out as the season begins to wind up. The Big“R” word – “Recruitment” and the Big“S” word –“Scholarship”  are still possible to use in your conversations if you take advantage of our pending feature on recruitment for Seniors and/or varsity players who want to start their process NOW, rather than later. If you are interested  in more information, then please read on. As the old saying goes,“You Have Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain!!”  This is an“Urgent”  reminder. Players, you only need to take a few minutes to immediately enroll On-line through the EliteSportsNetwork.Com website and register for their FREE recruiting service. It could be one of the most important “links” in furthering your playing career as a“scholarship recipient” to a college or university after you graduate. Your video highlight reel should already be completed at this point of the season. To review our In-Studio interview with the National Director of Recruiting, Elite Football Network, (EFN), Ryan Wright, we recommend that you go to our website posting for viewing. Rico Cabrera, Sr./ELASS.COM

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We have colorized in Pink certain words and phrases to show our support in recognizing “October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month.”

VIEWER ALERT!  Our Rivalry Game Day #2 Fan Poll, Roosevelt vs Garfield  Is Active. Cast your vote now!

Results/Week #8/10.17.14

               Garfield “Bulldogs”  28    South East “Jaguars” 21                               Recap: The“Bulldogs” protected their home field advantage against the visiting, but explosive“Jaguars.” Although the victory didn’t come easy in this very tough, but hard-fought match-up between Eastern League schools, Garfield prevailed in the end, putting up the insurance TD late in the game. The score at halftime was 14-7, Bulldogs, but in the 3rd quarter, South East tied the game at 14-14. The Bulldogs managed to ride the strength of their ground game and pushed over two short TD runs in the final stanza by Alfred Molina to insure the win. Head Coach Lorenzo Hernandez commented after the game, “We are finally getting healthy. We had 4 of our kids come back from injuries including Molina, who was on a running terror before his injury. He is a load at 6 ft.- 200 lbs, but an agile and smart player at that. We played a very good South East team that is jelling. They put up a fight and gave us a game. It does not get any easier for us at South Gate. We play the team with the best record, at their own place, so we will be in for another great game. Coach Casagran is a great X’s and O’s coach, so we must be prepared and ready to play our best game.” Garfield’s Players Of  The Game (POGs) – Overall: Stevie Williams/SR/QB/7-12 passing/76 yds./12 rushes-35 yds/3 punts-118 yds; Offensive POG: Alfred Molina/SR/RB/25 car-185 yds/3 rushing TDs; Defensive POG: Tristen Chavarria/JR/DE/5 tckls/2 solo-3 assts; Frankli Robles/SR/DL/4 tckls/1 solo-3 assts/1 rushing TD; Special Teams: Aaron Rocha/JR/K-PK/4 PATs. On the season, the Bulldogs are averaging 16 First Downs/9 Penalties/96 yds Penalty yds. per game.   Next: South Gate, (6-1) Overall – (2-0) Eastern League @ South Gate. 10.18.14      LH/GHS & RC, Sr./ELASS

 “FEATURED GAME OF THE WEEK”

     South Gate  “Rams” 42  Roosevelt “Rough Riders”  19    Recap: The “Rams” speed, size, physicality, and depth were the major differences in this statement win over the visiting“Rough Riders.”  The game started like many others this season for the Rams as their electrifying and All-City running back, Lavell Thompson, took the opening hand-off, broke cleanly to the outside and scored on a 40 yd. run. The Rams were quiet until a 2nd period 51 yd. TD pass from Andrew Toro to Antonio Washington made the score 14-6. By the 2nd quarter, the Riders were countering South Gate’s offensive intensity with good defense while their offense began to click through runs and passes. With 5 minutes left in the 1st half, the Riders scored on a“gadget” play from a receiver turned QB, who then completed a 30 yd. TD pass to the true QB, Sammy Hernandez. This made the score Rams 14-Riders 13 at the half.  The 3rd quarter featured only one South Gate TD, however, with 9 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, the mood and complexion of the game turned extremely unsportsmanlike as two Roosevelt players were ejected from the game. At the 6 minute mark, a South Gate player was banished, also for the same infraction. As a sidebar note to the ejections, per the L.A. City Section Commissioner’s Office, the penalties applied to the students/players are the following: suspension for one game and they are required to complete the National Fedration of High Schools (NFHS) sportsmanship On-Line course before they can return to play. Knowing that the opponent was at a loss to replace its ejected players, the Rams then literally took advantage of the situation, and began to score on an assortment of plays. Needless to say, the Riders defensive unit was never the same after the ejections. The Rams added 3 more TDs in the 4th quarter, while the Riders only managed to score on the final play of the game, an 88 yd. kick-off return by Francisco Franco. South Gate goes to 3-0 in League, 6-1 Overall, while Roosevelt drops to 2-1 in League and 4-3 Overall.

 South Gate Players of The Game (POG) – Overall: Andrew Toro/SR/QB/8-14 compl./287 yds; Offensive POG:Lavell Thompson/SR/RB/10 car-112 yds/3 recps-80 yds/1 TD; James Shaw III/JR/RB/3 rushes-53 yds/2 recps-19 yds/2 TDs/7 tckls; and Antonio Washington/SR/WR/7 grabs-105 yds/2 TDs; Defensive POG: Jonathan Estrada/JR/MLB/12 tckls/5 solo-7 assts; Francisco Gallegos/JR/LB/9 tckls/4 solo-5 assts; Cesar Bobadilla/JR/G/DT & Antonio Olivares/JR/DE/2 sacks each. Next: Garfield @ South Gate, 10.24.14        ES/SGHS & RC, Sr./ELASS

 Roosevelt Players of The Game (POG) –  Overall: Francisco Franco/JR/RB/20 rushes/128 yds/1 TD; Offensive POG: Francisco Rodriguez/JR/OL; and Defensive POG: Cesar Ramirez/SR/LB/12 tackles; & Angel Sanabria/JR/DB/credited with a “key” interception right before the half to stop a scoring opportunity for the Rams with a minute left. This play kept the score close at half time.  Next: South East @ Roosevelt, 10.24.14        JC/RHS & RC, Sr./ELASS

            Wilson  “Mighty Mules” 32   Torres  “Toros”  25        Recap: The “Mighty Mules” came into this contest against the“Toros” looking for a badly needed Northern League win. After 48 minutes and 4 quarters of“Friday Night Lights”  football, they found it and were declared the winners by a final score of 32-25. It was a back & forth type of game, but in the end, the Mules and Coach Martinez utilized the offensive line’s timely and repetitive blocking schemes to open up gaping holes for the outstanding running skills of their junior tailback, Elijah Collins. Offensive Player of The Game (POG): Elijah Collins/JR/RB scored 4 touchdowns to lead the Mules offense while securing their first league victory. He scored on runs of 5, 4, 1, & 5 yards. Defensive POG: Alex Guzman/JR/LB who, in his second start of the season, played a solid game in contributing to the victory. Head Coach Eddie Martinez made these post-game comments. “Our team put forth their best effort of the year. It was good to see them enjoy the win.” And in typical Coach Martinez leadership fashion, he made this timely post-game remark to the team in their locker room, “we didn’t end a losing streak, we started a winning streak.” Next: Sotomayor @ Wilson, 10.24.14  This is another Wilson“Throwback”  jersey game.      EM/WHS & RC, Sr/ELASS

The “Toros” were finally able to find their offensive rhythm in this game as evidenced by their highest scoring game of the season. According to Head Coach Peter Cuevas, “while the season hasn’t lived up to our original team expectations, it nonetheless demonstrated that the Toros will contine to improve and get better, never quit on themselves, and we are building a brand new nucleus of players for the 2015 season.” When asked for his assessment of the season, the Coach commented that “our student body, parents, alumni, and fans have all been very supportive and encouraging, in spite of our record. The year has been extremely difficult, but many lessons were learned, and adversity, coupled with a rash of untimely injuries, had to be dealt with. We’ve managed to do that. We will move on and hope to finish the season as strongly as possible.”  Selected Player stats reflect the following: Michael Alvarez/SO/QB/4-8/49 yds/1 TD; Robert Castro/SR/WR/ 2 rec- 39 yds/8 car-140 yds./1 TD; Gabriel Alas/SR/FB/10 car- 75 yds; Jorge Medina/SR/WR/2 recp-10 yds/1 TD; Ruben Osorio/SR/RB-LB/ 7 rushes-60 yds/1 TD.  Next: Franklin @ Franklin, 10.24.14  PC/THS & RC, Sr./ELASS 

               Salesian  “Mustangs”  21    St. Paul  “Swordsmen”  7                                      Recap: The“Mustangs” were looking for that critical, yet victorious “Bounce-Back”  game and, that is exactly what they found and earned themselves, to even their Angelus League record at 1-1. Returning to their home field, Salesian used its size, speed, and depth to put up scores at crucial times in the game.  They also used their arsenal of offensive weapons and had it in consistent “attack mode” for most of the game. Their defensive unit managed to control the tempo and pace of the match-up with“drive-killing” efforts on many critical St. Paul possessions. Head Coach Angelo Jackson’s rotation system allows his players to obtain that valuable“PT” as manifested by his use of many underclassmen who excel at their specialty positions. The Mustangs are on a final push to“Win Out” and hopefully compete for that highly coveted playoff game. More great home cookin’ is on tap this Friday as the La Salle“Lancers” of Pasadena pay their visit to Salesian’s campus. Players of The Game (POG): Overall: Kyahva Tezino/SR/RB-LB/12 carries-119 yds./6 tckls/2 sacks/3 tckls for losses; Offensive: Damion Wright/SR/QB/10-17 compl/158 yds./2TDs; Felipe Meza/SR/RB/21 carries-79 yds./1 rushing TD; & Nick Pickett/SO/WR/2 recps/31 yds/1 TD;  Defensive: Marcus Cosby/JR/SS/5 tckls; & Noah Perez/SO/LB/4 tckls.        Next: La Salle @ Salesian, 10.24.14        RC, Sr./ELASS

          Eagle Rock  “Eagles ”  34    Lincoln  “Tigers”   7                                                     Recap:The“Tigers” found themselves in a“Survival of the Fittest”  type of game, coming unfortunately at the hardest part of the season when playoff predictions and seedings are the main topics of conversations in coaches offices, classrooms, and on campus in general. Lincoln didn’t have to travel too far, just north a bit and up the road to the campus of the Eagle Rock“Eagles,” their chief competitor for the top spot on the Northern League race. Eventhough the Tigers had begun to turn things around in a mostly positive manner, and were proud possessors of a three game win streak, Coach Albert “Woody” Carrillo knew it would still be one of their most difficult games of the season.  After the game, he briefly commented that, “it was a very tough league loss for us. We just couldn’t get our offense ‘in sync’ and their defense did a great job all game long. We have a Bye this week but will begin our preparations for a ‘must’ win against Franklin on October 31st. “Players Of The Game (POG): Overall-Albert Buenrostro/JR/QB/15-30 compl/194 yds/1 rushing TD/1 Int; Offensive POG: Brandon Oroxon/SR/WR/12 recps-157 yds; Defensive POG: Albert Ramirez/SR/DB/16 tckls/9 solo-7 assts;  and John Chan/SR/DL/11 tckls/8 solo-3 assts.      Next: Bye Week. Tigers return on 10.30.14  vs  Franklin @ Lincoln in their anual “Senior Night.”          AC/LHS & RC,Sr./ELASS

          St. Francis “Golden Knights”   52   Cathedral  “Phantoms”  41                            Recap: The“Phantoms” appeared to be on their way to their 7th consecutive win, but late in this huge “shoot-out” and “multiple Big play” game, the visiting “Golden Knights” re-grouped for a late game charge on the Phantoms and came away with a patented“come-from-behind victory.”  Offense dominated the lines of scrimmages in this Angelus League contest. But it was the proverbial unwanted“turnover”  that was the deciding factor in the end. After the game, Head Coach Kevin Pearson remarked about the match-up, “Friday’s game was a very exciting game for spectators to watch. We traded touchdowns in the first half and eventually got to 21-21. We recovered a fumble, turned that into a touchdown, and then on the next possession, they fumbled again and we turned that into a 34-21 halftime lead. However, in the second half we had trouble stopping their offense, they eventually caught-up to us, and then went ahead. We tried to come back, but came up short and lost 52-41. Our Quarterback, Andrew Tovar, threw for 320 yards and 5 TDs in the first half alone. He did, however, have 3 interceptions in the second half, with one that was returned for a TD.” Coach Pearson will study game film and make the appropriate adjustments on his defensive unit, as they normally do not allow that many points to be scored upon them. “Players Of The Game” (POG): Overall:  Andrew Tovar/SO/QB/Continues to put up impressive numbers each week and he’s just a Sophomore; Offensive POG: Aaron Moore/WR and Marshaun Cameron/WR. “Both had outstanding games on offense and were credited with over 150 yards receiving each.” Defensive POG: Jordan Franklin/SR/DT/G/Team Co-Captain, who’s always in the trenches battling his heart out and motivating his teammates.   Next: Harvard-Westlake “Wolverines” @ Cathedral, 10.24.14  KP/CHS & RC, Sr./ELASS