GAME OF THE WEEK: Montclair at Arlington
THE DETAILS:
Montclair vs. Riverside Arlington
CIF-Southern Section – Division 13 – Championship
At Riverside (Calif.) Ramona High School
Kickoff: 7 p.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 26
MONTCLAIR (9-4 overall, 2-1 Mt. Baldy League) is the No. 2 seed in Division 13 playoffs but has proven itself to be a team that plays to the level of its competition. Senior RB Mathew Tenajero started the season slowly but has set career-highs each of the last two weeks, including a 23-carry, 248-yard performance in the semifinals to surpass 1,100 yards on the year.
HEAD COACH: Martin Bacon
ROSTER – QB: #12-Erick Harrison, Jr. (5-foot-8, 140 pounds); RB/LB: #6-Mathew Tenajero, Sr. (6-foot, 190); ATH/WR: #4-Elijah Tehe, Soph. (6-foot, 190); WR: #8-Jeremiah Ortiz, Jr. (5-10, 190); C: #60-Adam Tafolla, Sr. (5-7, 235); OL/DL: #54-Jason Ramirez, Jr. (6-1, 290); OLB: #10-Rene Bogarin, Sr. (5-9, 170); DB: #14-Isaiah Torres, Jr. (5-9, 150); FS: #5-Rafael Briseno, Sr. (5-9, 155); K: #26-Nicolas Casillas, Jr. (5-9, 160)
ARLINGTON (5-8 overall, 2-3 River Valley League) lost its first seven games of the season before finding some self-belief with 10-0 win over Hillcrest in Week 8 and following that up with a firm 57-13 victory over La Sierra in Week 9. A three-point loss to Patriot in the regular-season finale only served as motivation, and now the Lions are riding their longest winning streak into their first final since 1990.
HEAD COACH: Kevin Argumosa
ROSTER – QB: #10-Mitchell Wood, Sr. (6-foot, 175 pounds); RB/FS: #25-Ray Warhop, Sr., (5-10, 190); RB/SS: #25-Christian Bozeman, Soph. (6-foot, 200); WR: #23-Davion Boyd-Phenix, Jr. (5-11, 165); TE/DE: #88-Mario Palagi, Soph. (6-1, 185); OL: #66-Jonathan Carbajal, Sr. (6-1, 265); DT: #65-Jay Castillo, Jr. (5-11, 230); MLB: #56-Sami Abdul Majid, Sr. (6-1, 230); CB: #21-Isaac Gomez, Sr. (5-7, 150); K/P: Nathan Durant, Jr. (5-9, 155)
THE DIFFERENCE:
Confidence. Montclair probably feels like it should be here. Arlington, on the other hand, has that “we’ve-never-been-here-before-and-we-don’t-care-what-you-think” boldness.
THE FINAL SCORE (PROJECTED):
Montclair 27, Arlington 21
INLAND FIELDHOUSE 