Friday Night Highlights
ML King vs. JW North, 9/22/23
Martin Luther King Wolves (3-2) vs. John W. North Huskies (1-4)
Highlights, Friday 9/22; Video Courtesy Riverside TV
UP NEXT FOR NORTH (1-4): Orange Vista (2-3) at Home, 9/29 (Homecoming) to open Ivy League play. Huskies started last season 1-4 as well, but ended up finishing 2nd in the Ivy League, by virtue of wins over Rancho Verde & Elsinore. The Huskies, however, were dispatched in the First Round of Division 8, by Vista Del Lago, 26-20. Rancho Verde (4-1) looks like the early front-runner, with their only loss coming to San Jacinto, 21-16. The Coyotes of OV are 2-3, but their losses have been to Cajon (3-2), Vista Murrieta (4-1) and San Diego power Mission Hills (4-1).
UP NEXT FOR KING (3-2): Great Oak (2-3) at Home, to open their league slate. King finished 5th in the six-team Big West (Lower) in 2022, but qualified for CIF Playoffs, and even won a game in Division 7 over Troy, 40-21, their first playoff win since 2016. This season, the Wolves look to earn back-to-back CIF Playoff berths for the first time since 2006 and 2007. In the Big West (Lower), Corona (4-1) has run out to a fast start, under second-year Head Coach Andy Diaz, averaging nearly 35 points a game, nearly 40 in their four wins. Watch Murrieta Mesa (0-5) as well. The Rams slow start, largely due to their opponents having a combined record of 21-5 (.808), including Beaumont (5-0), Vista Murrieta (4-1) and Murrieta Valley (4-1).
THIS WEEK ON RIVERSIDE TV
THURSDAY: Norte Vista (4-1) vs. Hillcrest (1-4)
River Valley Opener, as Ken Batdorf begins his 30th Year at the helm for the Braves. Travis Carter, in his fifth year as Head Coach of the Trojans, is 2-2 against Batdorf. Hillcrest won a thriller against No Vi, in the 2022 regular season finale.
Geoff Gorham interviews Norte Vista Head Coach Ken Batdorf, August 25th, 2023, on the Friday Night “Pep” Rally
FRIDAY: La Sierra (1-4) vs. Arlington (3-2)
River Valley League Opener for both teams, this is the game I’ll be calling, with Geoff Gorham. Eagles coming off a pretty good performance, against Rubidoux, which they ended up having to forfeit, due to an ineligible player being used. They’ve had the Bye Week to get their paperwork in order, and should be ready to go. Second-Year Head Coach Shawn Moore has bought in some transfers, with the hopes of changing the Eagles’ fortunes. La Sierra hasn’t made the CIF Playoffs since 2014, though they did share the River Valley League title in 2017, when five teams in the league all ended up at 3-2. Also at stake, La Sierra looking to win their first league game since September 28, 2018, a 25-24 triumph over Jurupa Valley. That’s a string of 24 straight losses in River Valley League play.
Arlington Head Coach, Kevin Argumosa, brandishing 2021 CIF D13 Championship Plaque (Photo Courtesy KCVR)
We saw Arlington earlier this season, in a 13-7 win over Poly, on August 25th. Lions’ Head Coach Kevin Argumosa led his team to a 2021 CIF Championship, and State Title game, after narrowly qualifying for the playoffs, by virtue of a tie-breaker. The Lions took a step back in ‘22, going 3-7, scoring just 31 points in a six-week stretch, before exploding for 54 points in the 2022 finale, against (you guessed it) La Sierra.
The Lions have won three of their last four games, the exception being a 28-27 OT road loss at Buena Park (4-1), September 8th. Arlington is also coming off their Bye Week, having last played September 14th, when they blanked Bell Gardens, 35-0. The Lion ground game has churned out over 200 yards, each of the last two weeks, allowing them to score 62 points, after posting just 49 over the first three games.
FRIDAY 9/29: JW North (1-4) vs. Orange Vista (2-3)
Ivy League opener is Second Part of our Double Header, as league play goes into full swing, around the Inland Empire. The Huskies and Coyotes have split four games all-time, with Orange Vista winning last season’s match-up, 34-14.
After all the action wraps up, join us for the Friday Night “Pep” Rally, with Geoff Gorham, Pep Fernandez, and our cast of thousands. Here’s last week’s episode, where San Gorgonio Head Coach Chris Chaddick and Offensive Coordinator Gary Hedlund stopped by. They even brought some Kimchi for Geoff!