Not much has gone according to plan for the West Covina High School football team this season.
The Bulldogs haven’t had their two best offensive weapons for the entire season and have had other injury issues that have led to a 4-4 record.
But as the season winds down, West Covina finds itself still very much in the hunt for the Hacienda League championship. But a repeat league championship and even a playoff berth will become a tall task if the Bulldogs can’t get past Los Altos on Friday.
“We want to get to the point where next week (against Charter Oak) would be a league championship game,” West Covina head coach Mike Maggiore said. “It’s just a huge week and it’s the same for Los Altos. They want to get to the playoffs. We want to get to the playoffs.”
West Covina can thank last week’s 21-7 win over Chino for opening a whole range of possibilities. The Bulldogs are 2-1 in league, which puts them tied for second place with Diamond Ranch, which beat West Covina earlier this season. Charter Oak is in first at 3-0.
There’s numerous scenarios that could play out over the next two weeks that could really shuffle the standings. The best thing for West Covina to do is simply win out and let the rest take care of itself.
It’s only fitting the Bulldogs are in such a dramatic situation given the way things have gone this season. Standout Isaiah Love, who was expected to do big things on both offense and defense, hasn’t played this season due to a broken bone in his neck suffered in an offseason car accident.
There’s still a chance that Love may return at some point. That’s not the case for top running back Henry Martinez, a 1,000-yard rusher from a year ago, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game.
“Without Henry and Isaiah, we’ve had to pull together and some other guys have had to step up,” Maggiore said. “Those guys were our two best players coming back and to lose them was not what we expected. It seems like they’re starting to do that, so hopefully we can keep going.”
Last season, Charter Oak and West Covina were co-champions. The Chargers won the head-to-head meeting and went into the playoffs as the No. 1 team. Los Altos finished in third place and advanced the furthest of all by reaching the Central Division championship game.
San Marino, South Pas pay the price
Last Friday’s showdown between rivals San Marino and South Pasadena may have exacted a heavy toll on both teams in terms of injuries.
South Pasadena wide receiver/defensive end Max Luck left the game in the first half with a leg injury and later underwent surgery for a broken tibia plateau under his right knee, according to Tigers head coach C.B. Richards.
Luck will miss the remainder of the season and is hoping to be back for boys volleyball season where he is also one of the area’s best players.
Meanwhile, San Marino’s second-leading receiver Aiden Santino left the game with a ankle injury and was on crutches afterward. His status for Friday’s game against La Canada is not known.
San Marino beat South Pasadena, 35-0. The Titans are alone in first place in the Rio Hondo League. South Pasadena has a big game this week against Monrovia. Both teams are currently tied for second place.
