Feeling like a red-headed stepchild
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I’m beginning to get it now. The Inland Empire is the Rodney Dangerfield of The Times’ coverage area, something residents out here have felt for a while. That’s why Corona Centennial Coach Matt Logan worked so long and hard to secure nonleague games against top programs from outside Riverside and San Bernardino counties
Now, the Huskies are running the table.
But still, I’m confident they’ll be sitting No. 2 when our rankings are released Wednesday. Mater Dei’s victories over West Covina and Long Beach Cabrillo must be too impressive (cough, cough) to sway my colleagues.
That would be OK, if it were just Centennial getting stiffed.
Redlands East Valley showed it was under-ranked Friday night. The three victories for the No. 16 Wildcats have come against teams ranked in our top 25 at the time. They continue to get better as sophomore quarterback Tyler Shreve gains confidence, and Chris Polk gets used to running the ball.
REV hosted No. 13 Dominguez on Friday night and beat the Dons in every facet of the game en route to a 44-14 route. The Huskies already had wins over Riverside North and Colton.
On the topic of Riverside North, it’s looks like the No. 18 Huskies will never be forgiven for their one-point loss to REV, and No. 19 Vista Murrieta feels so unappreciated, the Broncos went wild on host Coachella Valley, 75-3. (What was Coachella Valley thinking, scheduling Los Alamitos and Vista Murrieta?)
And, of the eight teams that didn’t receive enough votes to make our latest top 25, six were from the Inland Empire. A quick look at how those ‘others’ fared.
Norco bounced back from its loss to Leuzinger to defeat No. 23 Los Osos, 13-3, and the Cougars will get a lot better offensively when running back Joshua Nakamoto returns from an ankle injury.
Corona Santiago, which played No. 8 Servite dead even for three quarters earlier this month, shut down undefeated Temescal Canyon, 14-7, in overtime.
Rancho Verde scored on a last-minute touchdown to defeat Trinity League member St. John Bosco, 28-24.
Chaparral looked healthy and sharp while taking down Valley View, 28-7. The Pumas can further their cause over the next two weeks, when they travel to Santiago and then host Riverside North.
Temescal Canyon and Colton shouldn’t be eliminated from consideration either.
Temescal Canyon, as previously written, lost to Corona Santiago. Colton lost in the desert, 21-14, to a pretty good La Quinta team, just a week after losing in the last minute to Redlands East Valley.
So there.
- Dan Arritt
Editor Bob: Hey, both my kids have red hair, but neither is a step-child, and while I do respect Rodney Dangerfield, I still can’t vote Corona Centennial over Mater Dei; however, I will gladly do so if they knock off the Monarchs in two weeks. In the meantime, enjoy: