The Noodles Era at West Covina begins ...

It was only fitting that the Rancho Cucamonga Tournament came down to the host Cougars and Chino Hills on Saturday afternoon. Those in attendance saw loud and clear that the two most talented teams in Saturday's competition were the Cougars and Huskies.

Rancho wins it by beating Chino Hills by 2 in the final.

Here are my thoughts on what I saw ...

Everyone -- Just awesome to get back out there and see the coaches and players and their families. Everyone is so excited and it's only May. Rancho's staff and booster did a GREAT JOB putting on the show. GREAT JOB. It was quite simply a very fun WELCOME BACK TO FOOTBALL!!

Bishop Amat -- I watched all of Amat's game with Chino Hills. Keep in mind the Lancers were without DJ Daniels and Darin Andrews and that's a big blow. Amat looked like a run-first team in a passing tourney. The Lancers simply aren't designed for passing tourney success, kinda like West Covina, and that's no big deal. But still, you can get a look at the talent Amat is working with and I was impressed. Cook is one heckuva target at WR. Camargo is what everyone said he is -- a future stud. He's gonna contribute nicely this year. Dionza Blue cannot really show his stuff in a tourney like this because he's a tailback, but man that kid is gonna be good. QB Koa Haynes looked OK. He had to eat the ball about five or six times vs. Chino Hills. Amat has him rolling out quite a bit. My only worry for Amat fans is that you were out there today with two VERY GOOD but not ELITE Inland Division (D-2) teams and they passed the look test much better than you. That might be a worry since Amat is in the PAC-5.

Chino Hills -- QB Matt Simko got on a flight from NoCal around 1 a.m. to leave an Elite 11 camp and get down here and compete. He did not disappoint. Simko was the best QB I saw all day. He's polished. Reminds me of how Travis Santiago could quickly move past his first read if it wasn't there and find something else. WR Jack Austin is a man-child. Simko and Austin are gonna be scary. Beyond those two, I was very impressed with how well Chino Hills passed the look test. I kinda doubt I'll see another local team that looks that good. Could be No. 1 in the area by summer's end.

Rancho -- Wow. Reloaded or still loaded. Whatever you want to call it. These guys have athletes ALL OVER. And I have to think the line will be a force again. This team is gonna take some beating in the Baseline. They're a sight to see, so I suggest you do if you get a chance. I saw the Cougs play West Covina, and Rancho was on the board on its first offensive play -- a deep pass over the middle.

West Covina -- The Bulldogs don't quite pass the look test like they did the past two years. But this team is very, very quick. Very quick. Aggressive, too. But when you see WestCo vs. Rancho, you can tell there's a diff. Even WestCo warming up near Amat, you could see a difference. Now granted, WestCo's line and guys like Justin Hornsby weren't out there, so take it for what it's worth. I didn't expect much from WestCo's offense. They run first, so passing games have never been their thing. Watching Noodles was nice. He's got talent and can throw a decent ball. He got the first snaps of the game I saw vs. Rancho, so I'm not sure if that means he's No. 1 on the depth chart. Jon Najera also looked good at QB. As far as looks test, the Bulldogs look like a top-notch Southeast team. Last year, you may have said they could double as a Central or even Inland team. Again, that's without seeing the line and watching the offense do its least-favorite thing -- throw.

Diamond Bar -- Caught the Brahmas here and there, and they have some skills. Pretty impressive offense looks to be shaping up. There are weapons to work with. Obviously, D-Bar has a lot to answer for in the line area, so I'm not gonna trip out on the projections. But Saturday was all about skill players, and D-Bar looks good.

Ayala -- This is a sleeper team. There's talent and speed. I was pleasantly surprised. Like D-Bar, though, the Bulldogs better have some line guys. If they do, this team could stun some people in fall.

Pool A (Field 1)
Ganesha
West Covina
Rancho Cucamonga

Pool B (Field 2)
Claremont
Diamond Bar
Ontario

Pool C (Field 3)
Ayala
Huntington Beach
Corona Santiago

Pool D (Field 4)
Chino Hills
Bishop Amat
San Juan Hills

Games start at 8:45 a.m. and each team plays two games in pool play. After that, teams are seeded and it becomes a tournament.

If you don't know Chino Hills football, then you don't know Jack!

Chino Hills standout WR Jack Austin has picked up college offers from Boise St. and Utah.

Austin, a 6-foot-3 target, is arguably the top receiver in the area and figures to get plenty more interest from college recruiters going forward.

Austin had 62 receptions for 921 yards and 11 TDs last season.

Aram's take: You can see Austin and the Huskies this Saturday at the Ranch tourney. The Huskies play Bishop Amat in the first game of the day for both teams at 8:45 a.m. on Field 4.

Let the fun begin for Monrovia linebackers George Frazier and Brett Walsh. The two defensive standouts received college offers this week ... and this is likely just the beginning.

Frazier (G5) got an offer from Washington State on Monday. Meanwhile, Walsh picked up an offer from Fresno St. on Tuesday night.

Washinton St. joins Colorado and San Jose St. in offering Frazier. Walsh also has an offer from South Dakota.

Frazier and Walsh aren't the only two 'Cats garnering recruiters' attention. WR/DB Anthony Craft has an offer from San Jose St. and all-purpose brainiac Mason Bryant has an offer from West Point and interest from several Ivy League schools.

Aram's take: Love it. These guys are a sight to see and a major reason why Daddy says M-Town is Numero Uno in the SGV.

Bishop Amat has joined Saturday's field of teams competing in the Rancho Cucamonga Tournament.

The Lancers will take the place of Colony, which has defected (probably because of the coaching situation). That means an already impressive field just got better.

Here's the lineup: Bishop Amat, Rancho Cucamonga, West Covina, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Ayala, Ontario, San Juan Hills, Ganesha, Claremont, Huntington Beach and Corona Santiago.

Saturday's tournament really amounts to a quarterback derby. Several teams are currently auditioning new QBs and/or have all-out battles for the starting job taking place. For example ....

Chino Hills: Matt Simko, Jordan Thropay, Zach Chadwick.

West Covina: Noodles, Jon Najera.

Diamond Bar: Tyler Peterson and Nolan Luzzi.

Amat: Koa Haynes and the field.

Rancho: FIVE QBs battling it out with nobody in the lead, according to coach Nick Baiz.

First games are at 8:45 a.m. and the championship is expected to be around 1 p.m., so everyone should be home in time for the Preakness.

Aram's take: Here's the best news: Tommy Kiss, AKA Chino Hills Tom, AKA The Inland Insider, is expected to be there with his camera!!! So you won't have to rely on me and my Toshiba Thrive. Moving on. Yes, it's only May. But this is as good as it gets for this time of year. Passing games are a great way to see what kind of athletes your team is working with. And in some cases (CO last year), it will become very obvious that certain teams are loaded with skill.

New Rosemead head coach Marc Paramo reports that his program has just 62 players across all grade levels out for spring football.

The Panthers had 72 when offseason preparations started, but like all programs that number has dipped.

Prior to starting spring ball in earnest on Monday, Rosemead was working every Wednesday for the past nine weeks, Paramo said. But the early start hasn't produced a boost in numbers like coaches had hoped.

"I really am concerned," Paramo said. "I really want the numbers to go up.

"That was one of our biggest goals. It was one of the reasons we started so early, to create some excitement. And it has with those kids are who just dialed in. We really need to tap into more of our Asian population here. We have two very good Asians on our team.

"A lot of times their parents won't allow them to play."

Aram's take: Former coach Matt Koffler expressed concern to me about the program's declining numbers last season. Considering this is a Rosemead program that has been among the area's most consistent winners, the drop in player turnout has to be concerning for everyone. Like surrounding areas, Rosemead has experienced a significant demographic change. But it still has the Rosemead Rebels youth football program as a feeder. It will be very telling to see just how many players Rosmead's frosh team fields in August. This is something to keep an eye on going forward.

The Daily Pilot reports that 6-foot-5, 290-pound tackle Sam Bush has left Newport Harbor for Mater Dei WITHOUT MOVING and will take the sit out until Oct. 1.

Bush is expected to develop into one of the top lineman recruits on the West Coast over the next two years.

Aram's take: I think some of you would rather sit around and bitch about a local school getting transfers than actually try to compete with The OC. Anyway, where would you have to move to transfer to Mater Dei? Santa Ana? If you want to see how the transfer game is played, just sit back and watch Orange County this summer. Puts us to shame. Would even make Elijah Asante blush. Yeah, I know, it's OK for Mater Dei to get rich, but heaven forbid one of our locals does the same ... well, that's just unscrupulous. Happy Monday, all!

St. Paul RB Kurt Scoby got his second offer this week, this time from Miami (Fla.), according to new Swordsmen head coach Elijah Asante.

Scoby now has offers from Oregon St. and the 'Canes and hasn't even played a down of his junior season yet.

Scoby transferred to St. Paul recently after a briefs stint at Duarte earlier this spring and two full seasons at Charter Oak, where he rushed for 1,572 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Aram's take: Wow.

Some of you may already know this, but St. Paul also recently got an impact transfer in Cedric Franklin, a all-CIF defensive back from La Habra.

Franklin will play corner for the Swordsmen.

Aram's take: I'm told there are other transfers who nobody wants to tell me about quite yet. Fair enough. St. Paul's schedule is pure hell, but uh, this might be your No. 1 team in the area when the next set of rankings come out after spring/summer passing.