INLAND FIELDHOUSE

I’m covering the Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos-Ontario Chaffey quarterfinal CIF Central Division playoff game and I wanted to get down some of my pre-game thoughts.

The Grizzlies (7-4) face the Tigers (7-4) in Ontario at 7:30 p.m.

ON OFFENSE:
Los Osos is led by the capable tandem of senior QB Blake Loncar (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) and WR Sean Alston (5-10, 175). Loncar has completed 129 of 218 pass attempts for 1,988 yards and 16 TDs this season while Alston, a Fresno State commit, has 58 receptions for 987 yards and 10 TDs on the year.

Chaffey is paced by all-everything senior RB Ronald Douglas (6-2, 195), who ran for 2,435 yards and 22 TDs this season. Douglas had two games of more than 300 yards rushing (in the last three weeks) and had five other games of more than 200 yards rushing on the year.

ON DEFENSE:
Though they looked overmatched early in the year against a physical Riverside North offense in Week 2, Los Osos defense played well in Baseline League victories over Rancho Cucamonga and Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda. Senior LB Conner Jahnke made a team-high 47 solo tackles (103 total) while senior DE Tony Washington made 72 tackles (38 solo) and a team-high 9.5 sacks.

Senior LB Jacob Ahmad leads all players in this game with 83 solo tackles (103 total) for the Tigers. He also had one interception and two sacks on the season as his team won all but one Mt. Baldy League game.

SPECIAL TEAMS:
Junior K Andres Magallon made 39 PATs and five FGs to finish with 54 points on the season. Alston was the Grizzlies best kick and punt returner, averaging more than 30 yards per kick return, including a 97-yard return for TD against Riverside North in Week 2. He also averaged more than 16 yards per punt return.

Senior K Brandon Mercado made 21 PATs while three others converted 11 two-point attempts this season for the Tigers. A number of players return kicks for Chaffey, including Douglas. The Tigers typically feature three deep returners to cover all kickoffs.

THE COACHES:
Tom Martinez must have had some magic up his sleeve because the Grizzlies turned what looked like a down preseason into and an outstanding league season, finishing 4-1 to win the ultra-competitive Baseline League.

Chris Brown put his team through a pretty tough preseason that included losses to three teams playoff games tonight — Chino Hills, Riverside Arlington and Colton. His only Mt. Baldy League loss came to Ontario Colony, one of the stronger teams in all of San Bernardino County.

THE LOWDOWN:
Despite their surprising run through league, I can’t get the Grizzlies loss to North in Week 2 out of my head for two reasons. 1. North pounded the ball at Los Osos, much as Chaffey will do tonight with Douglas. 2. North didn’t make the playoffs or even finish with a winning record. How is Los Osos supposed to handle a tested team like Chaffey if they couldn’t get a grip on North?

The Tigers play in one of the weaker Central Division leagues in the area (Mt. Baldy) and lost to their main rival (Colony), which plays a more run-oriented offense than what they’ll see from Los Osos. That said, I expect to see Douglas go crazy tonight. Is another 300-yard game too much to hope for?