HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Chaminade, Paraclete fall short of making regional bowl games

It was a long, expanded high school football season, but not long enough for Chaminade and Paraclete, the last two area Southern Section programs left standing.

Both lost Friday in the section championships, as Chaminade fell 30-28 at Serra, and Paraclete was defeated 23-7 at Monrovia.

Had either prevailed, a regional bowl berth probably would have been waiting considering Serra and Monrovia made the cut. Instead, there is lots of time to ponder the what-ifs until next season.

"The kids played so well, so over-their-head all year that it's impossible not to be proud of them," Chaminade coach Ed Croson said. "But they're still depressed because they know they should be the ones putting on rings and playing Edison (in the Div. II state regional)."

Chaminade has a right to feel a bit resentful. With just over one minute left and the Eagles on the comeback trail, what appeared to be a successful onside-kick recovery was negated by officials, who ruled the football was touched before it traveled the required 10 yards. Television replays clearly showed it was a bad call.

"I'm not commenting on the officiating. It just makes things worse," Croson said. "It's human error, the human element. I didn't think it was even close, but nothing is perfect. The sad part is we played well enough to win."

Over the past three seasons, Chaminade has appeared in a final preceded by two semifinal losses.

There has been plenty of joy in

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West Hills but no happy endings. Although star running back Terrell Newby (105 career touchdowns) is graduating, there is plenty of young firepower including quarterback Brad Kaaya, multi-purpose back Donovan Lee and leading tackler Rick Gamboa -- all juniors -- so Chaminade figures to be in good shape next season.

"We've also got four of our top six offensive linemen returning, and most of the defense were juniors, so we're excited," Croson said. "I think Donovan Lee at running back is going to be right up there with Terrell Newby. Plus the JV team went 9-1 and beat everyone by a mile, and there are some good young receivers from that team. Watch out for Dallas Tessar, a sophomore who is the younger brother of (former Chaminade standout) Brando Tessar, and a couple of freshmen, Jarrin Pierce and Blake Rutherford. All three are going to be really good."

Chaminade, which finished 12-2, has added Hart to its nonleague schedule next season, and the Eagles also play Valencia, Oaks Christian and Notre Dame in what figures to be an intriguing slate.

Paraclete (12-2) is expected to return receiver/linebacker Triston Brown, touted freshman running back/defensive back Melquise Stovall and standout linebacker Christian Ruiz, but otherwise the Spirits will be rebuilding after bidding farewell to several four-year starters, including two-time leading tackler Bryan Rodgers.

All-Star game scheduled

The 17th annual Daily News All-Star Football game is slated for 3:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at College of the Canyons, and some of the area's top quarterbacks have committed, including Sean Murphy (Valencia) and Devon Dunn (Alemany) for the East and Kelly Hilinski (Notre Dame) and Cody Cordell (Crespi) for the West.

The coaches are Larry Muir of Valencia for the East versus Jeff Woodruff of Oaks Christian for the West.

Among the other commits are Oaks Christian teammates Cameron Judge and Francis Owusu. Judge, a linebacker, is headed to UCLA, and Owusu, a receiver, is going to Stanford. Also, Moorpark running back Aaron Stanton, Crespi kicker Patrick Cassley and Canoga Park linebacker Anthony Rios-Carlsen are scheduled to participate.

"I can't wait to play. It will be exciting to play one last time with all the kids from the same area," Judge said.

Proceeds benefit the Valley Youth Conference, which governs Pop Warner football in the San Fernando Valley.

For information, contact organizer Bill Speer at (818) 999-5197.

Nadeeagle1 wrote: That call sucked!  I'm still not over it.  

1ventura wrote:

Nadeeagle1 wrote: That call sucked!  I'm still not over it.  

Wow, if you're talking about the onside kick, get over it.  The TV angle I saw was not convincing one way or another.  The guy's momentum was such that it was very hard to tell . . . not an obvious bad call at all. 

Man, if you can't get over that, you've got problems.  There are way worse calls, with much more affect on the outcome, that happen all the time.  Even the pro refs screw it up regularly.

What you should be bummed about is that Chaminade was down 9 late in the 4th quarter and left themselves in a situation that a questionable call would decide their fate.  Or maybe that they didn't kick a field goal or two.

Nadeeagle1 wrote: That call sucked!  I'm still not over it.  

Nadefan wrote: 
That shouldn't have even been a topic of conversation man

There sure was a lot of talk about crespi failing to meet the playoff requirements yet still expecting to get in.
That shouldn't have even been a topic of conversation man

The view on HUDL shows that the player was a t least 2 yards across when he actually touched the ball.  He was running parallel to it, It definitely was a bad call.   Nothing we can do about it now,  sh!t like this happens, it just sucks when it happens to you. 

I was just sharing………………. I went through the denial stage and then I was angry for a couple of days and now I just wanted to talk about it.   

Nadeeagle1 wrote:

The view on HUDL shows that the player was a t least 2 yards across when he actually touched the ball.  He was running parallel to it, It definitely was a bad call.   Nothing we can do about it now,  sh!t like this happens, it just sucks when it happens to you. 

I was just sharing………………. I went through the denial stage and then I was angry for a couple of days and now I just wanted to talk about it.   

Kriest wrote:

Nadefan wrote: 
That shouldn't have even been a topic of conversation man

since you have so much time on your hands, do a national search of 8-2 teams that didn't make the playoffs. i'm curious to know about the other schools like that. especially since crespi was what...8 or 10 points from being undeafeated in pac5 socal? that is a valid conversation, especially when it was centered around wtf is CIF's deal stacking that playoff with MP and WL, or keeping Bosco or top seeded teams safe from the celts. this topic sure beats nade JV highlight threads.

as far as complaining about a failed onside kick being the reason nade missed out on their freebie chance- i'd say use your goddamn fg kicker. you say your school is filled with smart people. in football, there is a play called the field goal. use it.

Nadeeagle1 wrote:

The view on HUDL shows that the player was a t least 2 yards across when he actually touched the ball.  He was running parallel to it, It definitely was a bad call.   Nothing we can do about it now,  sh!t like this happens, it just sucks when it happens to you. 

I was just sharing………………. I went through the denial stage and then I was angry for a couple of days and now I just wanted to talk about it.   

I was thinking the same exact thing concerning the placement of the camera and the angle

Nadeeagle1 wrote: Well, does it help that I was there....behind the ref that made the bad call,  from the naked eye it looked good, it wasn't even that close.  Also the view from huld was from the 50 yard line across, the play in question was a the 40, I doubt the angle played too much of a role here.

Nadeeagle1 wrote:

The view on HUDL shows that the player was a t least 2 yards across when he actually touched the ball.  He was running parallel to it, It definitely was a bad call.   Nothing we can do about it now,  sh!t like this happens, it just sucks when it happens to you. 

I was just sharing………………. I went through the denial stage and then I was angry for a couple of days and now I just wanted to talk about it.   

hartsc wrote:

Nadeeagle1 wrote:

The view on HUDL shows that the player was a t least 2 yards across when he actually touched the ball.  He was running parallel to it, It definitely was a bad call.   Nothing we can do about it now,  sh!t like this happens, it just sucks when it happens to you. 

I was just sharing………………. I went through the denial stage and then I was angry for a couple of days and now I just wanted to talk about it.   

Wow 2 yards?  Are you sure you were watching the Nade-Serra game and not another one?  Very close and questionable call here that could have went either way...

To blame the game on this call and Croson showing an official his phone was a joke...

You should be blaming not kicking FG's or a bad offensive game plan by Nade for the loss.

I am sure the Green Bay Packers were not blaming their loss against the Seahawks on Monday Night football on the referees.  They were focused on all their mistakes made earlier in the game and how they shouldn't have been in that position.  Is that what you are suggesting Hart?? 

Cahsfootballfan wrote:

I am sure the Green Bay Packers were not blaming their loss against the Seahawks on Monday Night football on the referees.  They were focused on all their mistakes made earlier in the game and how they shouldn't have been in that position.  Is that what you are suggesting Hart?? 

hartsc wrote:


You should be blaming not kicking FG's or a bad offensive game plan by Nade for the loss.