Day after blog
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Cool. Uncool.
Cool. To be able to lift the Smudge Pot (pictured on the right) in front of your fans for the first time in a long time -- only the second time in 12 years, actually.
Uncool. For the principal (or the athletic director, not sure which one) to ask the coach where the Smudge Pot is and the coach not know.
More than 30 minutes after the game ended, when most of the players and fans had left the stadium, no one could find the Smudge Pot. What I’m assuming is the principal asked Saints Coach Bill Zernickow where the pot was. She wanted to see it one more time before she left. The coach’s reaction? ‘You have it, right?’
The coach went inside the locker room, but came back empty handed. He quickly headed to where another coach was and asked him if he knew where the pot was. The principal simply stood their, frozen, in disbelief.
Another coach, who was eating a hamburger, told both of them that the pot was inside. Either no one listened or no one heard him -- it’s not polite to speak while chewing food, coach. He said, ‘Its cool, it’s in here,’ but again, no one heard him. Finally he went in, brought it out. Hamburger in hand, the coach posed with the pot for two camera phones.
The principal, now breathing easier, told Zernickow to lock it up and to make sure it was ready for assembly on Monday at 9 a.m.
On to Three-and-out...
First Down: Los Altos. The Conquerors (4-1) lost another key player, but not another game. Los Altos got past Western, 35-27, on Thursday to set up a great matchup with South Hills (3-2) on Friday.
The price of victory was steep, though, as the Conquerors lost TE Ray Rodriguez to a broken arm. Rodriguez was also a key player on defense as well as the No. 2 offensive threat.
Second Down: Maranatha. The Minutemen (3-2) got some Love, Mark Love. Their top running back returned and so did their winning ways with an impressive 7-0 victory over Rio Hondo Prep. Love, 11 carries for 88 yards, scored the game’s only touchdown on a 21-yard run early in the third quarter to down the Kares (0-4), who two years ago won a CIF championship.
Third Down: The SGVT’s Prep Sports blog. They covered the the San Dimas-Bonita game from every angle with a story, a video about the fans and a video about the game. And it’s not just the staff that’s getting props here, it’s also their readers -- who quickly head to their keyboards after the games to post comments, injury updates and their own Top 10 ballots.
Punt: ‘I guess when you want to win the Smudge Pot you risk paralysis,’ said San Dimas Coach Bill Zernickow on his reaction to seeing Bonita’s Jiovanni Mier play in the game. Mier had not played since Sept. 14, when he suffered what was first diagnosed as a season-ending neck injury. ‘I don’t know. Maybe the Smudge Pot is that important to some people.’
There will be a new No. 1 in my SGV poll. Check back later in the week to find out who.
- Jaime Cardenas