Let’s turn our attention away from the National Football League this week, because quite honestly not much happened this weekend that was really all that interesting, except for maybe the Detroit Lions dropping their second straight game (should have knocked on wood, but oh well). It’s October! This month is coming to a close and that means that the world of college football is more than halfway through its regular season, and that can mean only one thing: upsets. Every season has its fair share of underdogs upsetting ranked teams and shaking up the BCS, changing the race for the national championship. This past weekend was loaded with upsets, and three in particular are very worth noting (even among so many great games).

There was a lot of hype behind Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame team coming into this season. Coming off of an 8-5 2010 campaign culminating in a win in the Sun Bowl over the Miami Hurricanes, Kelly’s team was expected to have a strong season in 2011 and compete for a spot in a BCS bowl game. After losses in their first two games, the Fighting Irish bounced back and won four games in a row including a convincing 31-13 win over the Michigan State Spartans. All this led up to this past Saturday’s meeting with the USC Trojans, led by junior QB Matt Barkley and head coach Lane Kiffin. The Trojans jumped out to an early 17-0 lead via passing touchdowns by Barkley in the first quarter and a field goal in the second; although the Fighting Irish would come back an bring the score to 17-10 by the half, the Irish never held a lead the whole game, an 80 yd fumble recovery and run by Jawanza Starling for a USC touchdown sealed the victory for the Trojans, with the final score being 31-17. Barkley finished 24/35 for 224 yds and 3 TDs, with no interceptions. With the Jeweled Shillelagh on its way back to Southern Cal, the Trojans have won 9 of the last 10 meeting between the two teams and have shut the door on Brian Kelly’s chances of cracking the BCS with three losses.

A picture perfect heave to the heavens, a mistimed jump, and a receiver being in the right place at the right time, along with the suspense of the review, all led to a Michigan State victory over the top ten ranked Wisconsin Badgers. With time expired, tied 31-31, rolling to his right, Kirk Cousins, the Spartan QB, threw a Hail Mary towards the end zone (it’s safe to say this Hail Mary was not full of grace), and after a tip, WR Keith Nichol must have been surprised that the ball was landing in his arms (“look what I found”), with a stretch, and a the right call after a review by the officials, Nichol had stretched just far enough for the game winning 44 yd touchdown. The favorite in the Big Ten, the Wisconsin Badgers, now have one loss, and with that loss the Badgers may no longer be in the national picture title. Including going a perfect 4/4 on the game-winning drive, Michigan State senior QB, Kirk Cousins, finished the game 22/31 for 290 yds and 3 TDs, and most importantly no interceptions. Except for a stumble against Notre Dame, the Spartans of Michigan State now control their own destiny in the Big Ten and if they can win out, including winning the Big Ten Championship, they will be playing in their first ever BCS bowl game.

Beyond the theatrics, this past weekend’s most notable upset was the 41-38 win by the Texas Tech Red Raiders over the #3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners, a game played in Norman, OK, ending the Sooner’s 39-game home winning streak. It appears as though any national title dreams of head coach Bob Stoops, or seniors Ryan Broyles and Travis Lewis have been struck down. All night the Oklahoma defense had to answer for the Texas Tech offense, which scored in every quarter. Most notably, the Sooner defense could not stop the middle screens and all-around game of Red Raider junior WR Alex Torres, who finished the game with 4 receptions for 94 yds and 3 TDs for an average of 23.5 yds per reception. The Sooner defense looked confused, and reacted far too slowly as Texas Tech QB Seth Doege picked them apart, going 33/52 for 441 yds and 4 TDs, with no interceptions. Led by QB Landry Jones, the Sooners rallied in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead from 41-24 to 41-38, but were unable to recover an onside kick, which sealed the victory for the Red Raiders. Overall, Tommy Tuberville’s Texas Tech squad was way too much for Bob Stoops and the Sooners to handle. A team considered the national title favorites in the preseason, the Oklahoma Sooners now must win out and hope that another top 5 team can lose, giving them hope of achieving a high enough BCS rating to make the national title game.

Thank God it’s October, and frankly, I can’t wait to see what November has in store for college football. I expect there to be further upsets and monumental performances, and I can’t wait to see how the BCS unfolds. As a yearly bandwagon hopper (I have no shame), I can only hope that my Stanford Cardinal and QB Andrew Luck keep winning, and win the Pac 12 to compete for a national title, but who knows, maybe they will also be upset (crosses fingers, knocks on wood, puts a horseshoe in back pocket, quickly prays).

Registration forms available for Youth Basketball Monday, October 24, 2011 through Thursday, November 10, 2011. The program is open to boys and girls grades 1-9. Registration will be accepted at the City Hall, Recreation Department Monday – Thursday between 8:00AM-5:00PM.

League play is scheduled to begin Saturday, December 10, 2011 and continue through February 25,2012. Cost for registration is $85 per person (price includes t-shirt, picture package and trophy).

For additional information please contact the Recreation Department, 524-1500 X216.

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The team traveled to the very hilly La Reina High School campus course on Thursday October 13thfor the mid season TVL league meet. The boys maintained their position as number 2 behind Oak Park for both varsity and junior varsity. The girls had a rough meet falling to 4th in the varsity and 5th in the junior varsity. The girls however are rebounding quickly and are eager to regain their previous spot in the doubly weighted League Finals. In related news the boys team is now ranked 10th in the State for southern section division 4 after their performance at La Reina.

For the girls it was Laura Garnica in 22:45 and 10th place overall who spearheaded the team. Kiana Hope was the second scorer at 23:41 to finish 18th. In 24:40 was Maria Villalobos who snagged a 25th place finish. Alexis Tafoya was the 28th place finisher in 25:26 while Amanda Vassaur was 32nd in 26:04. Lucia Diaz clocked a 26:56 to complete the mountainous terrain in 35th place.

The boys varsity had many place changes throughout the race but finishing first for the flashes was Adrian Mejia stepping up to the front for the first time in competition. Adrian was 8th overall in 18:23. Alexander Gonzales was 9th in 18:25. Hugo Valdovinos finished in 18:23 for a 12th place. Anthony Rivas powered to a 14th place finish with a time of 18:39. In 18:48 was the fifth scorer Jose Almaguer who garnered a 16th place finish. That means for the first five the spread was 25 seconds. Only four runners managed to squeeze in between the first scorer and the last scorer. For sixth and seventh runners it was Juan Mariscal in 19th at 19:06 and Issac Gomez in 23rd for a time of 19:35. One cross country pundit commentated that it was terrific seeing a team that had the possibility of all seven runners being able to step up and earn the top scoring spot. The depth of the team is truly its strongest spot.

For the junior varsity girls Amber Wilmont finished in 26th place with a time of 26:03. In 39th place was Justine De La Rosa with a time of 27:22. Sofia Gallardo came barreling down the mountain in 27:34 for a 41st place finish. Teammate Deanna Lomeli was 46th with a time of 28:00. Carla Pizano was 57th with a time of 29:03. Rounding out the team of seven was Dalila Ortiz and Sarahi Pascual. Dalia finished in 59th with a time of 29:12 and Sarahi was 68th with a recorded time of 31:10. Ashley Morino was 71st with a time of 31:23. Denise Hernandez came in 72nd with a 32:58 and Alexandra Vasquez was 76th with a clocking of 35:25. There were 78 runners.

The boys’ junior varsity race had 107 runners. In 4th place overall was Jaime Magdaleno with a time of 19:18. Justin Beach was 11th with a time of 20:21. Jovani Oregon was 13th with a time of 21:21. The fifth Flash was Christian Rodriguez who was 14th through the chute in 20:31. Just behind him at 15th was Frank Chavez who recorded a 20:32. David Enriquez was 21st overall with a time of 20:54. Jordan Mendoza was 29th overall in 21:15. Due to space considerations the table below lists the remaining 19 jv boys runners.

33 Armando Vidal 21:23.8 69 Nick Johnson 23:39.2
35 Sammy Martinez 21:33.4 75 Roberto Munoz 23:59.8
36 Julian Garcia 21:33.6 77 Omar Ponce 24:17.6
37 Nicolas Frias 21:40.8 78 Francisco Erazo 24:20.1
38 Javier Rodriguez 21:42.6 86 Gilberto Acevedo 25:08.7
40 Jaime Vargas 21:45.4 87 Tyler Hackworth 25:12.7
45 Mario Gaspar 21:58.8 90 Jaime Valdovinos 25:22.4
47 Vincent Chavez 22:17.8 103 Anthony Larin 26:39.8
64 Andre Alvarez 23:13.9 104 Joseph Orozco 27:01.4
67 Ricardo Gutierrez 23:28.6

Up next the team travels to Mt. SAC for what is most likely the largest cross country meet in the world. They will take on thousands of teams in two day long staggered race competition. The action begins on Friday October 21st!

After obsessing with the Midwest for the past three weeks, I feel it is only appropriate that I finally show some love to California, and one of the most storied franchises in the history of the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers. (Not the Raiders, sorry Fillmore) First year coach Jim Harbaugh has guided the 49ers to an impressive 5-1 record in the NFC West, a division won by a sub .500 team last season. (Why do we have divisional play again?) Sunday, the 49ers added another impressive win against the undefeated Detroit Lions, a team that I’ve been praising as of late. (Please stay off my back, I’m writing this one for Cali) More impressive is probably the fact that the 49ers are being led by a first year coach, and are just one win away from matching their win total for the 2010 season. Aside from the post-game shoving match between Harbaugh and Lions coach Jim Schwartz, this game was an impressive statement for San Francisco.

There was both hype and doubt when Jim Harbaugh made the decision to leave Stanford University and Heisman candidate Andrew Luck to coach in San Francisco. There was no doubt that Harbaugh’s no BS, no prima donna system worked at Stanford, where student athletes depended on their athletic scholarships to stay in school and were willing to do anything for the possibility of entering the draft. Many, however, doubted that this system would transfer to the NFL, where the players sometimes are paid more than the coaches, and salty multi year veterans may not have much of a tolerance for a first year coach. Whatever Harbaugh is doing, he needs to continue doing so. At their current rate, the 49ers will run away with the division and earn their first playoff berth since 2002. (knocks on wood)

San Francisco is playing great football in what was supposed to be a rebuilding and reassessing year. With a new coach, new system, and a multitude of new players, no one saw the 49ers having a 5-1 record. Bringing his run first, I formation system from Stanford, Harbaugh decided to use one of his strongest offensive weapons, Frank Gore to get the running game going. With a productive running game, (Gore is averaging close to 100 yds per game) the 49ers have been able to get the passing game going. Alex Smith has a QB rating of 104.1, and has been able to spread the ball out to his many offensive weapons, including TE Vernon Davis and WR Michael Crabtree.

Defensively, the 49ers have done more than keep their offense in the game; they have been cruel to opposing offenses, punishing their running game. This defense has one of the best linebacker corps in the NFL, led by arguably the best linebacker in the NFL, Patrick Willis. (I would argue that along with Troy Polamalu, Willis is one of the best defensive players in the league, bar none)

In a division dominated in recent years by Seattle and Arizona, the 49ers are reasserting themselves as a dominant player in the West. The 49ers are also blessed with a favorable schedule, with 5 of their last 10 regular seasons games against NFC West teams, none of whom are above .500. Probably their toughest games left are at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants, and on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.

Since the departure of such names as Jim Plunkett, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Rich Gannon, professional football has been somewhat silent in our great state. The Chargers have provided some recent playoff appearances, but those postseason berths have been disappointing, at best. With the Chargers and Raiders at 1 and 2 in the AFC West, respectively, and the 49ers in first in the NFC West, it’s safe to say that NFL football in the Golden State is on the rise. (Now if only we could take care of the NFL team situation in LA, or lack thereof)

The power that sports possess is something truly astounding. Professional Sports have been for decades a method by which we cope with other problems or issues. In turbulent times we will always have our teams to give us an outlet, an escape from everything that is troubling us. (Unless there is a lockout, thanks David Stern/NBPA) I know that when I feel like I need something to lean on, I have the purple and gold; I have the Boys in Blue. As individuals we can do this, but when an entire city does so, we truly are witnessing something miraculous; something beautiful.

Detroit: “Rock City,” “Motown,” “Motor City,” “the 313,” is a city that is still recovering from troubling times. For years Detroit was the center of the American auto industry, and boomed as more and more jobs opened up. However, economic downturns, gasoline shortages, and outsourcing have had disastrous effects on the city. These problems led to a high rate of crime, rampant drug use, and population migration out of Detroit, a 10% decrease from 2000 to 2010. Within Detroit are entire neighborhoods abandoned, empty. What motivates those who stay to continue to labor? Why are those who stay becoming more and more united? What is fueling Detroit’s recovery?

It would be a complete stretch of the truth to say that sports are responsible for all this. (I’m not that foolish) However, we cannot deny that sports have the ability to serve as motivation for recovery; sports can help us cope with our problems. Sports are not the reason why Detroit is recovering, but they do play a role and are helping fuel this recovery. From the Red Wings (a Detroit sports constant) to the Tigers, the Lions, and the Pistons, Detroit has been blessed with resilient sports franchises, and although they have seen their fair share of lows, these teams continue to fight, much like the citizens of Detroit.

The Detroit Red Wings are the city’s professional hockey team, and are one of the most celebrated franchises in the history of the National Hockey League, have won 11 Stanley Cups, 4 since the 96-97 season. The Red Wings have made the playoffs 25 times in the past 27 seasons, including 20 in a row as of the 2010-2011 season. This team truly has blessed the city of Detroit with a constant. The Red Wings have in many ways been the rock for professional sports in the city of Detroit. For all hockey fans in the city, this franchise has not let them down. The city’s other professional sports teams, however, have had much rockier histories.

The Detroit Pistons, the city’s representative in the NBA, are one of the most interesting franchises in the history of basketball. The most notable Pistons teams are those of the Bad Boys era, led by Isiah Thomas, Bill Lambier, and the likes of Dennis Rodman and John Salley. During this era the Pistons won two NBA Championships. The Pistons rose again to title contention in the early 2000s, and won an NBA championship in 2004. Since then however, the Pistons have slipped out of playoff contention, with the bottom feeders of the NBA. Now regrouping and rebuilding, the Pistons are poised and looking forward to the future.

In 2003 the Detroit Tigers suffered the worst regular season in the history of Major League Baseball. Just three years later, however, with a new manager, and a new lineup, the Tigers won the AL Pennant, and have regularly been contenders in the AL Central, winning the division and although currently down 2-0 in the ALCS to the Texas Rangers, the Tigers will never give up.

More recently, one team has served as a symbol for how resilient the city of Detroit. The Lions, the team’s NFL representative. In 2008 the Lions suffered the worst record in the history of the NFL, at 0-16. The Lions went “O-fer” (Pronounced like gofer without the g), the first and only team in the history of the NFL to do so. Like the city of Detroit, the Lions reached a low like never before; they had no reason to be happy; no silver lining to look at. The Lions hung tough, they did not give up, and today the Lions are 5-0, tied for first place in the NFC North with the Green Bay Packers, and one of only two unbeaten teams currently in the NFL.

The parallels between the city of Detroit and the Lions are truly something special. Sports are a very great way to spend free time, and they offer us a good method by which to stay in shape. On a much deeper level, however, sports can give us something that we need. Sports can give us the only thing that will keep us from giving up. Sports can give us hope.

The team traveled to Fresno this weekend to preview the State course and came away with an impressive showing. The 33rd annual Clovis invitational hosted the team as the boys varsity finished 8th out of 29 in their divisional race and the girls varsity was 14th out of 23. The boys junior varsity was unscored. On the strength of their results the boys have moved up to the 5th ranked division 4 team in southern section.

For the boys varsity Jose Almaguer was once again the leader with a 16:42 mark on the 5km course to finish 29th out of 208. For those unfamiliar with the metric system that is roughly 5:23 a mile. In 31st place and mere feet behind Jose was Anthony Rivas with a clocking of 16:43. Anthony gave it his all and sprinted to the finish just barely being edged out at the line by the 30th place finisher. Alexander Gonzales finished 44th with a time of 17:00 even. In 52nd was Adrian Mejia recording a time of 17:09. Rounding out the scorers was Isaac Gomez who completed the course in 17:26 for a 68th place finish. This provided a time spread of 44 seconds first to fifth finisher and the top 4 were a mere 27 seconds apart. the strength of the team is truly it's team spread. Keeping the spread going Hugo Valdovinos placed 71st with a 17:27 and Jordan Mendoza was 80th with a 17:36 to bring the total team spread 1st to 7th to a scant 54 seconds. Excellent job boys.

The ladies stepped up to the competition as well. Kiana Hope sporting a new hair style still left rubber on the road as she powered to a 12th place finish with a clock reading of 19:20. Charging in next for the girls was Jordyn Vassaur with a time of 21:18 and a place of 72nd. In 88th place with a time of 21:52 was Maria Villalobos. Lucia Diaz drove through the chute in 22:06 for 92nd place as Alexis Tafoya returned from an injury to complete the course in 22:45 to finish 114th. Amanda Vassaur was 136th in 23:55. There were a total of 168 competitors in the race.

The boys junior varsity team was led by Jaime Magdaleno who was 82nd in 17:57. Jovani Oregon was next for a 135th place finish in 18:35. Justin Beach gave his all as he breathlessly placed 142nd in an 18:30 clocking. Christian Rodriguez zoomed to an 18:33 finish for 148th overall. Sammy Martinez sped to a 179th place bid in 18:49. Vincent Chavez and Frank Chavez completed the squad with respective times of 19:06 and 19:26. Vincent was 206th while Frank was 234th. There were a total of 443 runners in the race.

Up next for the Flashes is the mid season TVL meet. The team will travel to La Reina to challenge the rest of the league on the mountain that is La Reina's course. Action begins at 3:30pm on Thursday.

The first of three tri-valley league meets was held on Tuesday September 27th at Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura and the Boys took home dual 2nd place finishes as the girls sped to 3rd in varsity and 4th in junior varsity action. Both boys’ teams lost to Oak Park (ranked 8 in the state for Division 3) and the girls barely got passed by Oak Park and La Reina. Oaks Christian also slipped by the junior varsity girls. The other teams in the League are Nordhoff and Saint Bonaventure. As of Monday the 3rd there are now 3 teams in the league in the top ten for their division and 2 for the girls. Fillmore is the only school with teams in both genders. The Flashes are 10th for division 4 in southern section.

On to individual results! Juan Mariscal took the lead this week as he strained up the mountains to finish 4th overall in 17:46. 15 seconds later Anthony Rivas finished 12th overall in 18:01. Adrian Mejia was hot on his heels to finish 14th in 18:10 and Jordan Mendoza crossed the line a scant 17 seconds behind that to finish in 18:27 at 16th. Isaac Gomez rounded out the top five with an 18:41 finish at 18th. Rounding out the team and denying valuable points to Nordhoff’s 4th and 5th runner was Jose Almaguer and Alexander Gonzalez. Jose was 19th in 18:58 and Alexander was 20th in 18:49. The truly phenomenal aspect was the differential between the first Fillmore runner and the 7th. A scant 1:03 past between the time Juan crossed the line and the time Alexander finished. It was truly an impressive display of team running!

For the ladies Kiana Hope finished 4th with a time of 20:44. Laura Garnica powered through the hilly terrain to complete the course in 22:34 and finish 15th. Maria Villalobos traveled the beaten path with a surge at the end for a 23:22 to finish 18th. Lucia Diaz was 20th after taking out her frustrations on the packed earth in an impressive 23:23. Jordyn Vassaur, with a grim look of determination and a no nonsense charge, took 22nd to complete the course in 23:48. Securing the 3rd place finish was Amanda Vassaur with a 32nd place finish at 25:04.
In junior varsity results Amber Wilmot placed 21st to get a photo finish of 25:32. Finishing 39th, 40th and 41st were Carla Pizano was 39th with a time of 26:58; Sofia Gallardo was in at 26:59 and Deanna Lomeli completed the course in 27:02. In 51st was Dalila Ortiz at 28:24. Justine De La Rosa and Denise Hernandez completed the top 7 lady flashes for junior varsity. Justine was 62nd in 30:03 and Denise was 64th for a time of 30:10.
The junior varsity boys featured Hugo Valdovinos and Jaime Magdaleno in the top 5. Hugo was 2nd in 18:47 and Jaime was an impressive 4th in 18:59. Christian Rodriguez was 11th in 19:21. The fourth scorer was Justin Beach in 19:55 to finish 13th. Jovani Oregon was 16th to run through the chute in 20:06. Frank Chavez achieved a 21st place finish of 20:16. Eddie Baez completed the course in 20:31 for a 27th place finish and locked down the2nd place team effort.

This is a terrific league start for the Flashes.

Justine DeLa Rosa competes against Oak Park and La Reina during league last week.
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In a phenomenal race the flashes traveled to UCSB’s Lagoon course to take on Ventura, Dos Pueblos, San Marcos, Lompoc, Nordhoff, Saint Bonaventure and Carpinteria. The boys took home first place and the girls were 4th behind Dos Pueblos, San Marcos and Ventura.

Jose Almaguer, returning to the front spot, was 8th overall in 16:37. This is a new personal best by over a minute and the third fastest time for a Flash on the course. The real story of the win came from the next four finishers who rounded out the five scorers and finished one after the other to lock down the win. Finishing 12th through 15th were Adrian Mejia in 16:51 finish, Anthony Rivas in 16:53, Juan Mariscal in 16:58 and Alexander Gonzalez in 17:02. Adrian and Anthony both set new personal bests on the course. Hugo Valdovinos and Isaac Gomez were the remainder of the top 7. Isaac was 19th in 17:10 and Hugo was 27th in 17:32.

With a 17 second improvement over last year, Kiana Hope finished in 4th at 19:27. Laura Garnica was 10th in 20:10 with an astounding 1:10 course improvement. Jordyn Vassaur was 23rd in 21:32. The 25th finisher Maria Villalobos charged through the chute in 21:41 and Lucia Diaz was the fifth flash for a 31st finish. Alexis Tafoya was hot on her heels with a 32nd place finish in 21:59. Amber Wilmot was 60th with a time of 23:22.

The team will next travel to Clovis for the Clovis invitational on Saturday the 8th for what the team hopes will be a preview of the State meet.

Just three years after going 0-16, the Detroit Lions are 3-0 and tied for first place in the NFC North. The Buffalo Bills just snapped a 15 game losing streak to the New England Patriots and are 3-0 in sole custody of first place in the AFC East. Even a casual football fan has to be taken aback by the absurdity of my previous statement, and the fact that it’s true is even more surprising.

The season so far has been loaded with surprises, both good and bad (well that depends on who your team is). Although professional sports are virtually unpredictable, unless you travel to the future and return with a Sports Almanac (1980s Michael J. Fox movie reference), this season in the NFL has been anything but predictable. Only 3 weeks into the season and the league seems nothing like it was one year ago.

The Indianapolis Colts are 0-3 and in last place in the AFC South. More importantly, however, the saga of Peyton Manning’s return is only getting more and more confusing. At this point in his rehab, there is a chance Manning may be done for the season, and there are those who are calling for him to retire. Could we have seen the last of Peyton Manning in a Colts’ uniform? Without Manning at the helm, where will the Colts go from here? With only one Super Bowl ring, will Manning be among the elite QBs we’ve seen? Are all these questions way to soon?

Cam Newton, the guy who was labeled not ready for the NFL, and who scouts said had a weak arm and poor mechanics. Yes, that guy, has already thrown for over one-thousand yards and has 4 TD passes on the season. Although his yardage decreased dramatically in Week 3, there are a few important statistics to note after this past game: Newton did not throw a single interception, he was not sacked once, and he led his team to a win (the most important stat of all). Could the emergence of Cam Newton really happen this quickly? Are we seeing a star rising or is this just a flare up that will fizzle soon?

The Buffalo Bills are in first place in the NFC East and doing so with a QB and RB who didn’t play football for an FBS team. Their QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick played college ball at Harvard (Although I am indoctrinated to loathe Harvard, as a fellow Ivy Leaguer I must admire Fitzpatrick for representing the Ivy League in the NFL), and Fred Jackson, their leading rusher, played football at Coe College (I had to look it up on google also), a Division III program. More importantly, they were able to defeat the Tom Brady led New England Patriots to make a statement that they are for real in the division (Still doubtful though). Are we seeing a new top dog in the AFC East? Are the Bills for real? Are the Patriots on their way out?

The Detroit Lions are also 3-0 and tied for first place in the NFC North, and have done so with a blueprint that should be revered and labeled extremely smart and strategic. What is the key to their success? The answer is quite simple but takes time to develop: Good drafting. Their core is centered around a plethora of former first round draft picks who now play impact roles on the field including: WR Calvin Johnson (2007), OT Gosder Cherilus (2008), QB Matthew Stafford (2009), TE Brandon Pettigrew (2009), RB Jahvid Best (2010), DT Ndamukng Suh (2010), and DT Nick Fairley (2011). The Lions are a very young team and they should only get better as their talent matures (This Blueprint could make Jay-Z jealous). The only thing standing in their way of ascending to the top of the NFC North is the team that all still must bow down to; the Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay Packers. Is this the new power struggle in the NFC North? Are the Lions for real?

Don’t have heart attacks people, there may a lot of crazy surprises this year in the NFL, but there is still a lot that we did expect, and the league hasn’t completely 180’d just yet. The defending Super Bowl Champs are 3-0 and still the team to beat. Quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees are still setting the standard for the elite leaders of their respective teams. The NFC East is once again going to be the most competitive division in the NFL, and we may not know the clear favorite until the last week or two. There are still numerous players getting fined for illegal hits (then complaining about it in postgame interviews, or twitter). Wes Welker is still the Slot Machine, hauling in more receptions than anyone else; still the blue-collar productive player who never complains and always comes through when you need him to (and the only player in the NFL who is shorter than the person interviewing him after games). And, of course, the name “Ochocinco” can still be read on the back of a jersey (sizzling bacon action, this is ESPN).

However, there is one thing that we can all agree on and rest assured in, and that is that we’re still only 3 games into the 2011 season, and there is no way we can predict what will happen from here on out.

Friday night the offense and the defense played an amazing game. On Offense fillmore had 7 different players scoring for the team lead by sophmore running back Eddie Cardenas who scored twice on runs of 25 and 35 yards.

Adam Jimenez opened the game up with his first and only carry going for a 50 yard TD on the very first play of the game for the offense. The very next offensive series Andrey Sanchez raced 45 yds for a touchdown on his only carry of the night. Other offensive touchdowns came from Chuy Mendoza, Justin Coert, Damien Gonzalez, and Daniel Flores. On Defense the flashes held the visiting Falcons to negative yards.

Fillmore was able to force 3 turnovers on defense. The defensive line did a great job of putting pressure on Falcon’s offense the entire night. The Defensive line lead by Brendon Gonzalez, Gil Sandoval, Joseph Gonzalez, Chuy Mendoza, and Andy Vasquez.

The cross country team traveled to Lake Casitas in Ojai for the 24th annual Ojai Invitational. With a cool breeze and an early morning run the team traversed the hills and dells of the Lake for a tremendous performance. The event was split into a small school boys’ race and small school girls’ race and medaled the top 20 for each school class: freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. For full results of all the Flashes go to the website: https://sites.google.com/site/fillmorecrosscountry/

For the girls, Kiana Hope once again led the charge with Laura Garnica, Jordyn Vassaur, Lucia Diaz and Alexis Tafoya all medaling in their respective grade levels. The five were also the top Lady Flashes finishers. Maria Villalobos and Amanda Vassaur displaced other teams’ scorers to round out the top seven. Sophomore Kiana finished 6th overall at 20:04 just behind two seniors, two juniors and another sophomore. Junior Laura completed the 3 mile course in 20:26 at 12th and had a course best of 1:25. Jordyn and Lucia finished together at 48th and 49th respectively. Sophomore Jordyn earned a 21:57 and Junior Lucia had a course accomplishment of 22:00. This was 1:03 better than last year. Freshman Alexis crossed the line in 22:11 for 53rd place. Maria ran for 22:48 and 72nd place. Amanda had a blazing improvement of exactly 4:00 from last year to finish at 23:27 and 93rd place. There were a total of 197 runners in the race.

The boys also had a standout day as Jose Almaguer blasted through the finish chute in 16:51 to earn 11th place. Anthony Rivas was 16th in 16:59 to have a 54 second PR versus last year. Adrian Mejia also had a course PR, his was 35 seconds and he ran 17:13 to finish 25th. Juan Mariscal was 31st in 17:23. Conquering the course at 39th overall was Isaac Gomez who garnered a time of 17:37. The top five flashes boys also earned class medals and the juniors took home 20% of the junior medals. This time was good enough for a 1:46 improvement over last year. Alex Gonzales was hot on the heels of Isaac with a finish of 17:38 in 41st place. Jordan Mendoza was 44th with a time of 17:42. This time also earned him a new personal record of 48 seconds. There were 293 runners in the race.

Also having great PR’s on the day were Justin Beach with a 2:54 improvement to finish in 18:10 and earned a medal. Sammy Martinez finished in 18:36 for a 34 second improvement. Vincent Chavez had a huge improvement of 1:40 as he strove for an 18:45 accomplishment. Frank Chavez took a stretch for 2 seconds better this year as he leaned for an 18:56 and snagged a medal. Ricardo Gutierrez completed the course in 19:19 which was 3:19 faster than his 2010 time. Nick Johnson also was more than 3 minutes faster than previous as he improved 3:28 to reach for a time of 19:50. Javier Rodriguez had a critical hit with a 37 second bettering of his previous time to burn through the chute at 19:52. Julian Garcia ran a 20:09 which is 2:25 faster than last year. Jaime Valdovinos had a slightly better increase with a 2:38 speed increase from last year as he crossed the line at 20:11. Robbie Munoz also burst the 2 minute mark as he sped for a 2:07 bettering to clock a 20:40.

The big improvement for the second week in a row, however, was Nico Frias with a phenomenal speed increase of 5:10 on the course versus last year. His virtually unheard of increase left him with a new best of 18:58 on the course and a finish in roughly the top third of the race. This improvement was more than enough to earn a medal as well.

Earning medals for the freshman were Jaime Vargas and Fransisco Erazo with respective times of 19:50 and 20:19.
The team next travels to Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura for the first tri-valley league meet of the season versus Saint Bonaventure, Nordhoff, Oaks Christian, La Reina and Oak Park. This will be worth one-fourth of the league title. Action begins at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, September 27th.

Alumni News If you, or anyone you know, is a former Fillmore cross country runner then we want to hear form you! Let us know how things are going and we will even post the news! Still running? Having a baby? Getting married? All this and more is fair game for the Alumni News. Email Coach Tafoya at ktafoya@fillmore.k12.ca.us or Mr. Mac Mahon at jmacmahon@fillmore.k12.ca.us to report the news.

WEBSITE
There is also a cross country website! Go to: https://sites.google.com/site/fillmorecrosscountry/ for all the latest and greatest in Flashes Cross Country.