Look at This: Alhambra Has Made Top 20

It has been so long since the Alhambra football team was ranked in any poll that Coach Gilbert Ruedaflores would not even offer a guess as to when the last time might have been.

But a rare 4-0 start has earned the Moors a spot at No. 19 in The Times top-20 poll of area teams this week.

“These kids have not known a lot about winning, and they’re certainly not used to looking at the polls for their school,” said Ruedaflores, who took over the program in 1989. “I don’t think anyone has thought about our school in that manner for some time.”

Alhambra has not had a winning season under Ruedaflores, who is 23-30-1. The Moors made the Southern Section Division III playoffs in 1990 but were eliminated in the first round by Anaheim Esperanza, 47-0.

All of the elements seem to be coming together this year. The team is led by seniors who have played together for four years. There has been consistency in the coaching staff. Even the school’s field has been done over, allowing the team to play home games for the first time in 10 years.

Although Alhambra has an enrollment of 3,500, Ruedaflores has had trouble attracting players. The student body is predominantly Asian but most of the players are Latino.

“We only have about 32 kids out,” Ruedaflores said. “Most of the students here don’t know anything about football and have never played. We’re trying to change that.”

The Moors are led by twins Ayran and Ryan Hart, who start at quarterback and receiver, respectively. Running back Patrick Nieves, who took up the sport last year, has gained more than 100 yards in each of the first four games.

Alhambra seems to be getting better by the week. The Moors scored a 31-0 victory over La Canada last weekend and will play host to Montebello Cantwell-Sacred Heart on Friday before beginning Almont League play against San Gabriel Oct. 14.

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The fall from top to bottom has been a long and painful one for the Canyon High football program in Canyon Country.

The team was the epitome of success in the 1980s, setting a Southern Section record with 46 consecutive victories and three titles from 1983-86. Coach Harry Welch was among the winningest active coaches in the Southland.

The program had fallen off in recent years, however, and Welch had plenty of off-field problems as well. He resigned earlier this year and was replaced by assistant Larry Mohr.

The transition has been difficult. The Cowboys lost their first three games and four players quit the team last week, one of them a starter.

“I don’t think they have a whole lot of respect for me,” Mohr said of the players. “So I decided (Friday) I’m going to tighten the reins. I think I’ll be tested (by the players) for a long time.”

Canyon ended its losing streak Friday by tying Mission Hills Alemany, 13-13.

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Gary Day’s debut as Glendora’s football coach last month was embarrassing. The Tartans, a Southern Section Division IV semifinalist last year, were routed by Ayala in their opener, 40-0. Day and his staff were stunned.

“It left me wondering if I knew what I was doing,” said Day, who coached at Whittier Pioneer last season. “We had implemented a new defense so I knew it would take some time to work things out.”

The staff and team regrouped, and the anxiety has been eased by a three-game winning streak that has included victories over such powers as Rancho Santa Margarita and Covina Charter Oak.

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Santa Ana administrators have no one to blame but themselves for the sorry state of the school’s football program. Since Dick Hill was let go as the coach in 1991, the Saints are 3-21. They have been outscored in four games this season, all losses, 147-40.

Hill, Orange County’s winningest coach with a record of 199-89-3, retired from teaching after the 1991 school year but wanted to continue coaching. Santa Ana officials nixed the idea and released him.

He returned to varsity coaching this year, hired to rejuvenate the program at Orange. Orange improved to 3-1 last Thursday by defeating Santa Ana, 34-0.

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La Puente Bishop Amat strengthened its stance as the state’s top football team with its convincing 34-3 victory over highly-touted Bakersfield Saturday night before 23,701 at Bakersfield College.

The Lancers’ success is no surprise to Mark Paredes, who stepped down as coach last spring to take over the football program at Riverside North. Paredes won eight league titles and a Southern Section divisional championship in eight seasons.

“I knew what kind of a team I was leaving,” said Paredes, who is 2-0-2 at North. “It was the right decision for me at the time and my feelings have not changed. I still have plenty of friends over there, but I’m so focused with what I’m trying to do here that I’m not as concerned with what they’re doing.”

Tom Salter, a longtime Bishop Amat assistant, succeeded Paredes.

Prep Note

Montclair Prep suspended five players for last Friday’s game against Kilpatrick, which posted a 26-14 upset at Valley College. The Montclair players were benched for a recent hazing incident of a junior varsity player on the school bus after practice.

Times’ Top 20 Football Poll

The Times’ top 20 high school football poll, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Bishop Amat SS I 4-0 1 2. Los Alamitos SS I 4-0 2 3. Mater Dei SS I 4-0 3 4. LB Poly SS I 4-0 6 5. Loyola SS I 4-0 4 6. Hart SS II 4-0 5 7. St. Paul SS I 4-0 8 8. Esperanza SS I 3-1 7 9. Sylmar City 4-A 4-0 9 10. Edison SS I 4-0 14 11. Westlake SS III 3-1 10 12. Canyon Springs SS IV 3-1 12 13. Paramount SS II 4-0 15 14. Ayala SS III 4-0 NR 15. Colton SS IV 4-0 16 16. SO Notre Dame SS III 4-0 NR 17. R. Cucamonga SS VI 4-0 NR 18. Anaheim SS V 4-0 18 19. Alhambra SS III 4-0 NR 20. Fontana SS I 1-3 20