Prep Impressions, Week 11

I covered the Victorville Silverado-Rubidoux Patriot varsity playoff football game for the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Friday, Nov. 21, and came away thinking Silverado really has something in junior QB Jemeryn Jenkins.

Jenkins (6-2, 205 lbs) is the best prospect I’ve seen all season, even if his play looks a little like that of Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young. Jenkins completely dominated Patriot in their CIF Inland Division First Round game at Rubidoux HS. He averaged more than 10 yards every time he touched the ball against Patriot. He completed 22 of 27 passes for more than 250 yards and a touchdown, and also had more than 120 rushing yards and two second-half touchdowns on 10 carries.

To put it simply – Jenkins was Silverado’s offense. And baring transfer or injury, he will be the hottest desert commodity since sand. Hopefully, for him, his grades are intact and are good enough to garner intrest from college recruiters.

On the other side of the field, Patriot High School was playing in its first ever playoff game, though I wouldn’t have known it by the halftime score (Patriot led 28-20). Coach Kevin Corridan seemed to really have his guys prepared for Jenkins in the first half and were even commanding the line of scrimmage on offense.

Senior QB Kyle Sullivan (5-10, 160 lbs) completed two passes on two attempts for two touchdowns and senior RB Ken Braden (6-1, 230 lbs) recoved a fumble in the endzone to tie the score and seemingly change the game’s momentum. Patriot was efficient, if anything.

But the Warriors (the Patriot Warriors? Really?) couldn’t ever have done enough to prepare for what Silverado’s Jenkins was going to do in the second half. He was the best player on the field, hands down, and would have given any prep team fits with his ability to make plays.

Corridan, a former defensive coach at Riverside Community College, said Jenkins was a “special player” and that he knew Patriot’s chances hinged upon his defense’s ability to stop him.  Given the results, I wonder if he would have schemed differently on defense. Maybe have someone spy Jenkins on every play? The way the Silverado QB played on this night, it wouldn’t have mattered.

“Turning the page” on K-Rod!

Angels owner Arte Moreno said on a radio show recently that the team was “turning the page” on record-setting closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, a free agent, is apparently out in Anaheim. After helping the Angels to a World Series title in 2002 and setting the MLB record for saves last season, K-Rod is persona non-grata. Moreno did say, however, that the Angels were open to re-signing the closer should they be unable to sign any of their other targets.

I’m pretty sure this means that K-Rod’s time under the Halo is over. And I’m glad that’s settled. I’ve grown sick of his ninth-inning antics. Or maybe his ninth-inning antics make me sick. Either way, I’m glad he’s gone.

Now GM Tony Reagins can shift his focus to re-signing 1B Mark Teixeira and another front-line starting pitcher. Teixeira is the protection Vladimir Guerrero needs if the Angels are going to get back to a World Series. Reagins must find a way to sign him, even if it means 10 years, $100 million. He’s the cornerstone the franchise has been waiting for since Wally Joyner broke Gene Autry’s heart.

Another starter would mean admitting the Jon Garland experiment was a mistake. But that’s OK. Getting C.C. Sabathia or Ben Sheets will wipe away any memory of Garland. Even getting Jason Jennings or Oliver Perez would probably wipe away any memory of Garland. Shoot, even Braden Looper or Pedro Martinez would wipe away any memory of Garland.

Prep Impressions, Week 10

I covered the Moreno Valley-Riverside La Sierra varsity football game for the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Friday, Nov. 14, and came away thinking Eagles head coach Craig Cieslik was resigned to the fact that despite his team’s 3-and-4 record in the Inland Valley League, La Sierra (6-4 overall) would not be playing beyond that night.

His post-game speech to his players sounded more like a post-mortem. He told his players to return their gear on Monday, and please have it washed. There was no: “We can’t hang our heads.” No: “We’ve got to get back to work.” No: “We have another game to play.”

None of that. Friday’s 50-14 loss was effectually the end of their world, or at least their season.

While I interviewed Coach Cieslik, players walked by and said things like: “Thanks for not giving up on me, coach.” And: “I wouldn’t be the person I am without you, coach.”

It was all very heart-wrenching, except for the fact that Cieslik wasn’t touched by his players sentiments in the least. In fact, he was quite the opposite. He called his players “soft” and “lazy.” He said that his players quit on him after Week 6 or 7 and hadn’t much cared for their feelings since.

He said that the whole team lacked “heart and determination” and “any will to work to get better.” He went as far as to say: “I just want to get the f*ck out of here.” It was all very amusing, in it’s way. Coaches are often linguists in their team’s darkest hour. The truth is that he said nothing different than any coach in his situation. 

La Sierra High School is the pits, when it comes to football. Despite their standing as a CIF-Southern Section Division II school, the Eagles have made all of ONE playoff appearance (2006) since the early 1990s.

The regularly dress less than 25 players (they had only 21 on Friday) and lack the proper facilities to get any better. They do not have an adequate weight room. What they do have is a storage trailer filled with free weights and no ventilation. And the problems at La Sierra are only exacerbated by their placement in D-II, among the likes of powerhouses Corona Centennial, Norco and Riverside North.

So even if they did make the playoffs, they’d get squashed like bugs.

The Eagles run a Double-Wing offense which relies more on deception than power or speed and where big plays are few and far between. One bystander called it “smoke-and-mirrors.” That’s pretty accurate.

Their best player, senior RB Jerry Parker (5-11, 191 lbs) ran for 110 yards on 28 touches but hardly has a future in football. He might get by as a special teams player at a JC or NCAA D-3, but that’s about it. Their QB, senior Connor Sudol (6-3, 184 lbs) doesn’t have a strong arm and appears to be a head-case. He was just 3-of-9 passing for 45 yards and stood outside the huddle — on every huddle.

Defensively, the Eagles are small and ineffective. They allowed Vikings senior RB Don’ziel Collins (6-0, 205 lbs) to score four touchdowns on five carries, none shorter than 32 yards. In all, they allowed more than 400 rushing yards to MoVal, which scored three touchdowns in the first quarter on just three offensive plays.

Collins ran for a 45-yard score on the Vikings’ second play from scrimmage. Then senior DB Carl Spotvile (5-10, 175 lbs) returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown on the Eagles’ ensuing possesion. Collins then ran 47 yards for another score on MoVal’s first play of its next possession. It was only Collins’ second touch of the game (junior Dorrian Cannon got the other carry). Three offensive plays, three touchdowns.

MoVal, which runs more traditional offensive formations, was anchored by senior RB Jonathan Norton (6-0, 175 lbs). Norton, one of Riverside County’s leading rushers. finished with 184 yards (and two TDs) to finish the regular season just short of 1,500 yards.

Obviously, Moreno Valley has playmakers unlike that of La Sierra.

The real tragedy here isn’t that La Sierra is under-supported, under-financed or under-sized. It’s that in lower division, La Sierra could actually win a CIF title with the team it had this season. They pounded D-IV teams like Riverside Norte Vista (60-0) and Perris (58-27) and even beat league rivals Riverside Ramona (30-6), Moreno Valley Canyon Springs (36-27) and Moreno Valley Valley View (26-21). It’s against bigger, faster teams which they struggled, going a combined 0-and-4 against Moreno Valley Vista del Lago, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde, Riverside Arlington and Moreno Valley.

Why La Sierra is a D-II school is a bit confusing. Until you look at the success of some of the school’s other sports like volleyball and cross-country, which are both perennial CIF title contenders. The volleyball team went undefeated this season and the cross-country team will be competing in CIF meets for the 18th consecutive year.

So it starts to look like being a D-II program can either be considered a blessing or a curse. If you’re a school that takes pride in football, it may be a tremendous opportunity for exposure. But if you’re a school that takes lumps in football, you just get exposed.