Did you guys miss yours truly? You probably didn’t even notice that I wrote no articles for the newspaper this week. I’ve been on Turkey Tussle magazine patrol, but the magazine’s all but put to bed and I’m ready to get out to Arcadia for what I’m hoping will be a Pacific League showdown. This could be a close game for several reasons. Pasadena’s defensive line is strong and has a lot of size, led by defensive end Alex Baer (6-3, 215) and nose tackle Anthony Robinson (6-1, 225). Arcadia counters that with Clearance Irvin, a Star-News All-Area defensive lineman. Both teams have mobile quarterbacks, but the edge here goes to Brandon Cox who is surgical on the run. He’s elusive and can accelerate perhaps like no other quarterback in the Pacific League. The wide receivers edge goes to the Apaches, who are led by Washington-bound Taylor Lagace. The running backs edge also goes to Arcadia, but slightly. The Apaches have Jake Medel who has come out of nowhere, and it doesn’t end there either because Rodney Arnett is just as talented. Someone made a point to say that Myles Carr would have just as good if not more yards as Cox for the simple fact Carr has sat out of second-half games because large margin wins. This further makes my point that Pasadena’s Cox means a lot more to his team because he’s the focal point to the offense and undisputed leader. Don’t get me wrong, Carr is a leader, too. But Carr has teammates of his caliber, if not better, and if he were to go down, sure, Arcadia would definitely miss him, but I don’t see the Apaches’ season coming to an abrupt end because others can step in and keep the train going. The same can’t be said about Pasadena. Either way, I have Arcadia winning this game. They’re more disciplined and understand the pressure that comes with big games like this. Pasadena still is young and learning how to win THE big one. We have our best reporters covering our other big games tonight. Sam Andress will be at Alhambra-San Gabriel and Nathan Cambridge will be at San Marino-South Pasadena. Our Steve Ramirez will cover St. Francis-St. Paul and Steve Penaloza will cover Village Christian-Maranatha. I’ll get score updates sent to me, and when I get them I’ll tweet them, so be sure to follow me on Twitter @StarNewsPreps.
TWO MINUTE DRILLS
PASADENA AT ARCADIA
ST. FRANCIS AT ST. PAUL
ALHAMBRA AT SAN GABRIEL
SAN MARINO AT SOUTH PASADENA
WEEK 9 SCHEDULE WITH PREDICTIONS Tonight’s games Alhambra at San Gabriel, 7 p.m. — San Gabriel Keppel at Bell Gardens, 7 p.m. — Bell Gardens Bishop Montgomery at La Salle, 7 p.m. — La Salle St. Francis at St. Paul, 7:30 p.m. — St. Francis Gabrielino at Arroyo, 7 p.m. — Arroyo Mountain View at Rosemead, 7 p.m. — Rosemead La Puente at Duarte, 7 p.m. — La Puente Village Christian at Maranatha, 7 p.m. — Maranatha Pasadena at Arcadia, 7 p.m. — Arcadia Burbank at Muir, 7 p.m. — Muir Flintridge Prep vs. Pasadena Poly at Occidental College, 7 p.m. — Poly Chadwick at Rio Hondo Prep, 7:30 p.m. — Rio Hondo Prep Blair at La Canada, 7 p.m. — La Canada Monrovia at Temple City, 7 p.m. — Monrovia San Marino at South Pasadena, 7 p.m. — South Pasadena
