Game On! Chaparral, Vista Murrieta set to face off in a rematch of last year's Inland title game

PUMAS, BRONCOS KICKING OFF SOUTHWESTERN LEAGUE PLAY WITH THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Monday, October 11, 2010 

TEMECULA ---- The way losses mounted at Chaparral to start the year, the Pumas' end zones might have become a makeshift pet cemetery, of sorts, if coach Tom Leach didn't have such an affinity for the black rabbit's foot he carried throughout last year's section-title run.

The loss to Oceanside didn't do the trick. Neither did the one to Fresno Central.

But by the time Corona Centennial poured on 45 points in a rout, Leach ---- as superstitious as he is boisterous ---- knew it was time to ditch the good-luck charm for a new furry talisman.

"I had that black one from last year's championship game and I rode it three games too long," Leach said Saturday morning during a break in reviewing film in preparation for Thursday's 7 p.m. Southwestern League opener at rival Vista Murrieta. "I thought, ‘Hey, this one's special.' I mean, we won the championship with it, so I stuck with it. ...

"If we play hard and we're lucky without any injuries and we still lose, I'll keep it. If we lose, we're a little unlucky and we've got a lot of injuries, I'm burying it."

That's precisely what Leach and his Pumas (1-4) are hoping to do with a season-opening four-game losing streak that torpedoed talk of ascending national top-25 polls, and Thursday's Southwestern League opener against the Broncos (4-1) ---- the highly anticipated rematch of last year's CIF Southern Section Inland Division championship ---- serves as a fresh start for two programs looking to regroup after sustaining unexpected preseason blemishes.

No, Thursday's prime-time bout isn't quite the showdown between state powers that it was pegged as when Fox Sports West selected it in September for a regional broadcast, but it's a game with major Southwestern League title implications, nonetheless, between two programs that hook up for compelling matchups on a yearly basis.

"I don't think it's disappointing; it is what it is," Broncos defensive lineman Jon Sanchez said of both teams' stock drop. "It's still a big game to them and a big game to us. It's our biggest game of the year and it's still going to be hard fought and a good game."

How could it not be in a matchup where storylines abound? Chaparral's star wide receiver, Antoine Arnold, will be suspended for the game because of his actions following the Pumas' victory in the Inland Division title game against the Broncos, which featured two head coaches who have led their programs to new levels of success the last half of this decade with vastly different approaches ---- one with unmatched regular-season success and the other with better playoff track records.

One needs only a brief stroll through online message boards to get a taste of how these two polarizing communities, separated by just eight miles, feel about each other. Better yet, peruse the scores from the last half of the decade to see just how close this yearly contest has become.

Since 2005, five of the six meetings have been decided by six points or less, including two in overtime. Last year, the two programs hooked up twice, once in a 32-13 rout that handed the Broncos their third undefeated Southwestern League championship in the last four years and again in the division's championship game after both programs turned heads with deep playoff runs.

Vista Murrieta, after all, upended a storied program in Norco en route to a 13-0 start that had a state bowl berth within grasp. The Pumas cut through defending state champ Centennial on the way to their third section title berth since Leach joined the program in 2006. When Chaparral used a smothering defense to escape with a 13-7 victory on Vista Murrieta's home field for the program's first section title, there was some thought that the Pumas, with a number of quality wins, had a legitimate claim to the state bowl berth that went to undefeated Oceanside.

"If you're looking for a game to televise, for the past six years I can't think of another rivalry that's started so quickly and has become so competitive between newer schools," Vista Murrieta coach Coley Candaele said. "Besides one game, they've all been decided by the last drive of the game ... and both of our programs have risen to a level that people are interested in."

Neither program, of course, is where they projected to be at this point in the season.

With a Division I quarterback in Utah-committed senior Derrick Brown, the Broncos opened the season ranked No. 6 in the state despite fielding nine new starters on defense and seven on offense. Both units showed flashes of brilliance mixed with inconsistencies until Encino Crespi ---- perhaps the Broncos' toughest preseason opponent to date ---- handed Vista Murrieta its first nonleague loss in six years behind more than 500 yards of offense.

Chaparral, likewise, opened the season ranked among the top 25 teams in the country in some polls despite graduating the top quarterback, running back, defensive lineman and linebacker from last year's section title-winning team. A kamikaze-like nonleague slate exposed the Pumas' shortcomings.

Defending state champ Oceanside ran away from Chaparral in the final quarters of the opener, Central Section power Fresno Central frustrated an offense led by a first-year starter at quarterback and Corona Centennial completely overwhelmed the Pumas.

By the time Chaparral arrived in Santa Ana for a matchup with Anaheim Servite, the third-ranked team in the state, Leach's Pumas were nursing injuries up and down their roster, not to mention icing a collective set of bruised egos.

"I've never lost four in a row and a lot of people on the team had never lost four in a row," Pumas defensive back Dylan Valentine said. "It hurt seeing everyone jump off the bandwagon, but we're doing this for ourselves. We know when we need to win and we're going to win when we need to.

The Pumas ---- like the Broncos ---- were certainly better last week in final nonleague blowout victories. Both programs hope Thursday's game turns the page on last year, once and for all, as well as a preseason that didn't live up to expectations for either side.

"I think for both programs, truly, it's about this year," Leach said. "Look at what we've been through, and I know Vista Murrieta, that Crespi game hurt them. But even talking with Coley, we feel our programs in the end will be really good.

But for now, we feel like it's Centennial and everyone else in the division. We feel like we need to get better every week and I know Vista does, too."

Said Candaele: "For us, it's a completely different team than last year. Most of the kids on last year's team are no longer even here. It's a new year and we' ve always had great, competitive games with Chaparral. These kids are used to it being a great game."