Create your own site

Headlines

Subscribe to our Newsletter









Coaches’ focus narrows in Classic


By RON GUILD, Sports Editor

Story Published: Nov 4, 2009 at 5:02 PM PST

Story Updated: Nov 4, 2009 at 5:02 PM PST

It’s understandable all the existing excitement and hype surrounding a football rivalry now in its 75th year, that has “classic” in its title and annually draws 23,000 fans.

But from the standpoint of the coaches — Roosevelt High School’s Javier Cid and Garfield’s Lorenzo Hernandez — the East L.A. Classic is just a football game once the two teams tee it up, as they will do at 7:30 p.m. Friday at East L.A. College.

“As a coach, I can’t get caught up in the hoopla,” Cid said. “I can’t look at it as we are in the ‘Classic.’ We’re playing Garfield. It’s my nature to think that way. All the festivities leading up to the game are great, but I’ve got to look at it like it’s just a football game.”

Cid, who played for Roosevelt in the 1982 and 1983 Classics and is in his fourth year as head coach of the Rough Riders, said that way of focusing comes from his old high school coach, Bob Drake.

“He taught us to just focus on the jobs in front of us,” he said.

To Hernandez, coaching in his eighth Roosevelt-Garfield game, “That it’s the Classic is an added incentive. As a coach, I have to look at it as how it helps us in the league standings and the playoff situation. We prepare the same way for this game as we do any game. We don’t try to break our routine.”

Cid feels a lot of life lessons are learned playing in this sort of environment.

“I had a great experience playing in this game,” the Rider coach said. “What I took from it was playing in front of such a big crowd, you get the feeling, maybe I can go on and play college football, which I did (at University of Pacific).

“This lets a player know they can go out and do bigger and better things. What they take from this game is work ethic, teamwork and sportsmanship. Also we want them to be proud of the community they come from.”

This year’s matchup pits Roosevelt (7-1, 4-0), which leads the Eastern League with two games left, and Garfield (4-4, 2-2), which is battling for a playoff spot.
Don’t think the difference in their records necessarily means a one-sided result.

“This is one of the toughest game to predict because it has had its upsets (in the past),” Cid said. “Garfield is not the same team that started the season. They’re jelling at the right time and that’s what concerns me.”

Both run-oriented teams have made midseason changes at quarterback that have proved beneficial.

The Rough Riders moved receiver Manny Ayon back there and the senior has completed 17 of 28 passes for 223 yards and rushed for 390 yards and seven touchdowns while sharing time with Brandon Sifuentes.

“I think they did the right thing when they put him at quarterback because he is their best athlete,” Hernandez said. “He and (junior tailback) Jesse Lira are their two best athletes on offense and No. 7 (junior cornerback Jonathan Mariscal) is their best athlete on defense.”

The main offensive weapon for Roosevelt is Lira, who has carried 120 times for 875 yards and 13 TDs. Fullback Elgin Rosales has 473 yards rushing and leads the team in receptions with 15 for 193 yards.

Mariscal, the leader of the defense, has four interceptions.

For Garfield, tailback Jonathan Lopez carries much of the load, having run for 856 yards and six TDs on 132 carries. Julio Silva has run for 418 yards on 71 attempts.

Junior Leonardo Vaal, installed as the quarterback four games ago, is 21-of-39 for 298 yards and a TD.

Bobby Vargas is the leading receiver with 11 for 194 yards and two scores. He also leads the team with three interceptions.

“I foresee this as a very good defensive battle,” Hernandez said. “Our strong point is defense, theirs is offense.”

“I think it’s going to be a defensive struggle,” Cid said. “Garfield is averaging about seven points per game on defense and we’re averaging eight or nine. So it’s going to be important for us to score points and to hold them.”