The view from the insider

Varsity Times Insider is The Times’ newest blog and a source for observations, news and game coverage. It has been up and running since the season’s start and can be found at latimes.com/highschool.

Here are some excerpts we like to call “Best of the Blog”:

FROM THE CITY SECTION

Los Angeles Roosevelt Coach Javier Cid loves the smooth music of Santana. One of the Rough Riders’ plays is called “Black Magic” after the band’s “Black Magic Woman.”

The pass play, from Jesse Diaz to Manny Ayon, went for an 88-yard touchdown and helped Roosevelt score a 23-15 upset over Garfield in the East L.A. Classic on Friday at East Los Angeles College.

“If it wasn’t my favorite Santana song before,” the coach said. “It is now.”

-- Mike Terry

FROM ORANGE COUNTY

Matt Barkley, who had not been sacked all season, was sacked twice in a 31-12 loss to Orange Lutheran. USC-bound Blake Ayles sacked the Mater Dei quarterback with 5:37 left in the second quarter. That’s 354 minutes 27 seconds without a sack.

“I didn’t think I’d get him,” Ayles said of bringing down Barkley while also stripping him of the ball. “I was stoked.”

-- Martin Henderson

FROM LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Compton senior running back Donald Green suffered a couple of broken ribs in Friday’s 42-14 loss to Long Beach Poly and is expected to sit out the Tarbabes’ next game Friday at Lakewood. Although he went to a hospital after being injured and was told not to play for two or three weeks, Green is aiming for a return by the time playoffs start. And the Tarbabes (8-1, 4-1) will make the playoffs.

“We just got to put this one behind us and move on,” said Green, who took a hit with a helmet to the ribs in the third quarter after rushing for more than 100 yards in the first half.

-- Lauren Peterson

FROM THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY/NORTH

It seems as if everybody on Saugus admitted they were a little nervous at one point during Friday’s 18-14 victory over Canyon. Down 14-0 late in the third quarter, things weren’t looking good. Or at least until Ryan Zirbel decided to kick it up a notch.

Both Saugus Coach Jason Bornn and QB Desi Rodriguez said the game took a definite turn in Saugus’ favor after Zirbel busted off a 59-yard kickoff return with just a couple minutes left in the third quarter.

“We have a system and we believe in that system,” Bornn said. “At halftime the other coaches just said, ‘You know what, let’s just do what we do.’ We just kept on doing what we do and we wore them out.”

-- Austin Knoblauch

FROM THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

Friday’s Sierra League game turned when Glendora emptied the kitchen sink and threw everything at Chino Hills Ayala quarterback Matt Baca. The defensive pressure led to Baca never getting comfortable in the pocket and, eventually, a 24-17 victory for the Tartans.

“We made him have to think about his throws a lot,” Glendora Coach Mark Pasquarella said.

Baca was very good, but give it up to the Glendora front seven for making life difficult for him all night.

-- Jaime Cardenas

FROM THE INLAND EMPIRE

Ronald Powell, remember that name. Only a sophomore at Moreno Valley Rancho Verde, he was all over the field Friday while playing outside linebacker in a 27-24 loss to Norco. Sure, he had a few blown assignments. When the opposing quarterback rushes for 224 yards, a lot of players have blown assignments.

But Powell, 15, who isn’t even listed on the team’s roster on MaxPreps.com, has some of the finest physical tools I’ve seen in a player his age. He stands about 6 feet 4, weighs 250 pounds and can run like a gazelle. I’d swear his legs take up two-thirds of his body.

-- Dan Arritt