Garfield High School football players celebrate their win over Roosevelt in the East L.A classic at East L.A. College.

By Austin Knoblauch
November 15, 2008

Quarterback Patrick Vargas completed 17 of 28 passes for 220 yards, throwing for two touchdowns, as Garfield rallied from a first-quarter deficit to defeat rival Roosevelt, 26-7, in front of more than 25,000 fans at the 74th annual East Los Angeles Classic at East Los Angeles College on Friday night.

Garfield (6-4, 5-1) took the lead for good early in the third quarter when Vargas connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass to receiver Lanny Delgado.

Source: LATimes.com

The Eastern League football title will be at stake Friday night when arch-rivals Garfield and Roosevelt high schools meet in the annual East Los Angeles Classic before another expected sellout crowd of 22,000 at East Los Angeles College. Roosevelt comes into the game with a league-leading 5-0 record and having assured itself of winning at least a share of the championship. The Rough Riders (8-1 overall) can win the title outright with a victory over 4-1 Garfield. However, a win by Garfield and a win by 4-1 Jordan against 1-8 South Gate will result in a three-way tie for the championship.

Garfield High’s Franky Diaz, left, and Roosevelt’s Jesse Diaz line up to have their picture taken with their respective teammates Wednesday at a news conference to promote the East Los Angeles Classic. (EGP Photo by Mario Villegas)

Since losing its season opener to Torrey Pines in San Diego, 41-0, Roosevelt is on an eight game winning streak and the Rough Riders would love nothing more than to cap a perfect run through league with a victory against Garfield. “I grew up watching this game and to play in it is really an honor,” Roosevelt quarterback Jesse Diaz said Wednesday at a news conference to promote the game. “I don’t want to lose.”

Diaz led the Rough Riders to a 23-15 upset victory in last year’s Classic. Two weeks later, however, Garfield got a measure of revenge by defeating Roosevelt, 31-13, in the City playoffs.

Garfield, arguably, is still smarting from last week’s wild 48-29 loss to Jordan, but the Bulldogs appeared ready for the task at Wednesday’s news conference. “Our backs are against the wall and we have everything to gain,” Garfield running back Franky Diaz said.

“The Classic brings out the best in everyone . . . I can’t explain it. It just brings out the real football player in you.”

Roosevelt’s Diaz and Garfield’s Diaz are not related, but are friends and played on the same team when they were students at Stevenson Middle School. They joked and teased each other during Wednesday’s news conference, and posed for pictures staring at each other hard at the request of a photographer, while trying to avoid laughing. Jesse Diaz, who has drawn attention from several colleges including Stanford, has thrown for 1,726 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has thrown only one interception. Roosevelt is also led by wide receivers Manny Ayon and Brandon Sifuentes, running backs Jonathan Alatriste, Jose Guillen, Isaac Huerta and Alex Ramirez, and middle linebacker Rafael Ortega.

Run-oriented Garfield is led by running backs Sergio Macedo (760 yards) and Diaz, quarterback Patrick Vargas and guard Fausto Salazar. Defensively, Garfield is led by cornerbacks Lanny Delgado and Dominic Lamb and defensive end Wences Rivas. Friday’s game will be the 74th meeting between the schools, including last season’s first-ever playoff meeting. Roosevelt leads the all-time series, 39-27-7.

Source: EGPNews.com

The longtime friends are both team captains and top students awarded $500 academic scholarships this week by State Farm. They are also both three-year varsity players who will lead their respective teams into the 74th annual East Los Angeles Classic on Friday night at East Los Angeles College.

"We would say we're brothers from other mothers jokingly, but in reality we are in a way because I consider him my brother," said Franky Diaz, who spent much of Wednesday's pregame media conference at East L.A. College hamming it up with Jesse Diaz and posing for photos together. "Sometimes I wish he would be on our team."

The Diazes played on the same flag football team at Stephenson Middle School before realizing they wouldn't play together in high school because they live on opposite sides of Indiana Street, which is the borderline for high school enrollment.

"I've always wanted to have a chance to play with Franky," Jesse Diaz said. "Playing against him is one thing but playing with him would be a whole different experience and I've always wanted that."

Both players are also bound for college, and Jesse Diaz will probably play at that level. He is being pursued by Idaho State and UC Davis. Franky Diaz said he has applied to Loyola Marymount and USC, where he hopes to major in business.

--Ben Bolch

Source: LATimes.com

By RON GUILD, Sports Editor 13.NOV.08 It isn’t enough neighborhood pride will be at stake in the 74th edition of the East L.A. Classic.

An Eastern League title and positioning for the upcoming City Section football playoffs will also be on the line when Roosevelt and Garfield high schools meet in front of crowd expected to exceed 20,000 at East L.A. College in the regular-season finale Friday. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

Roosevelt, which leads the all-time series, 39-27-7, takes records of 8-1 overall and 5-0 in league into the contest. Garfield, tied for second with Jordan, is 5-4 and 4-1.

“That the league title is on the line makes it even more special,” Roosevelt coach Javier Cid said. “I was actually rooting for Garfield to beat Jordan last week (Jordan won, 48-29), so both of us would be 5-0 going into the game.

“If we win, we win the title outright, which Roosevelt hasn’t done since 2002.”

“We really want to get a share of the title,” Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez said.

To do that, the Bulldogs will have to do a better job of pass defense than last week when Jordan amassed 441 yards and seven touchdowns (five by quarterback James Boyd) through the air.

Roosevelt, which is led by senior quarterback Jesse Diaz, runs a spread offense similar to Jordan, but Hernandez adds, “I don’t think they have quite the speed Jordan has.

“There have been times we’ve struggled against good passing teams. Hopefully, we can put some pressure on Diaz. We got to Boyd a few times, although he was pretty hard to bring down.”

Diaz, wide receiver Manny Ayon and a running back-by-committee approach that is led by Jonathan Alatriste, gets most of the attention for Roosevelt.

But Hernandez isn’t overlooking the Rough Rider defense.

“Their defense is really good, especially their middle linebacker (Rafael Ortega),” he said. “He’s really quick to the ball.”

Garfield attempts to counter Roosevelt’s quick-striking offense with a power-oriented ground attack that is built around Sergio Macedo (760 yards, 12 touchdowns) and Franky Diaz (326 yards, one TD). Fullback Omar Hernandez is a short-yardage threat.

Senior quarterback Patrick Vargas, who has thrown for 1,173 yards and 12 touchdowns, has given the Bulldogs a little more balance than it has had in the past.

Defensively, backs Dominic Lam and Lanny Delgado are among the best in the City when it comes to pass coverage.

Rising to the occasion is no concern for Hernandez when it comes to Garfield.

“Our guys always play to the level of the competition,” he said.

Source: WaveNewspapers.com

The final stop of the regular season on the 5 Days 2 Friday Nike Road Tour takes place at East Los Angeles College when Roosevelt and Garfield compete for the Eastern League title in the East LA Classic.

The rivalry between the two East Los Angeles schools is one of the better match-ups each year in the L.A. City Section. The two teams have battled for over 70 years with Roosevelt leading the all-time series 39-26-7. The game annually draws nearly 20,000 fans, many of whom have friends and family aligned with both teams on the field.

Garfield is the defending Los Angeles City Section Invitational Tournament champion, knocking off University in the finals 28-23. The Bulldogs lost to Roosevelt in the East LA Classic, 23-15, but came back to beat the Rough Riders 31-13 in the first round of the playoffs.

This year, Roosevelt is on a roll, winning its last eight games after opening the season with a 41-0 loss to Torrey Pines. Eastern League play has seen some wild games for the Rough Riders, who have played three straight high-scoring affairs against South East (36-29), Jordan (33-21) and Huntington Park (39-29).

Jesse Diaz, an All-LA City Section pick last year, leads the Rough Riders at quarterback. After throwing for 2,461 yards last year, Diaz has had a similar senior season except for one category – interceptions. While he has thrown for 1,727 yards this year along with 18 touchdowns (the same number of TDs he threw as a junior), Diaz has thrown just one interception in 2008 compared to 11 as a junior.

“He’s a much better quarterback,” Roosevelt coach Javier Cid told the Los Angeles Times.

Manny Ayon has been the main target for Diaz, catching 32 passes for 542 yards and three scores. However Diaz has spread the ball around, completing passes to 12 different receivers – 10 of whom have scored at least one touchdown.

Cid also spreads the wealth when rushing the ball. Four different Rough Riders have carried the ball at least 40 times, led by Jonathan Alatriste with 62 carries for 347 yards.

Garfield is 5-4 on the season, but the Bulldogs knocked off defending LA City Section champion Birmingham 29-28 in the season opener and they won their first four league game before falling to Jordan last week 48-29.

The Bulldogs have a more balanced offensive attack with quarterback Patrick Vargas throwing for 1,193 yards and 12 touchdowns and Sergio Macedo leading the rushing attack with 760 yards and 12 scores.

Bulldog coach Lorenzo Hernandez was the Invitational All-City Coach of the Year last season and returning players Frankie Diaz and Roy Fonseca also earned All-City first team honors. Diaz has rushed for 326 yards on 76 carries while Fonseca has 41 tackles and two interceptions at defensive back. Macedo and defensive back Lanny Delgado were both second team picks. Delgado leads the team with three interceptions this year.

Unlike seasons past, the two teams won’t have the chance to meet again in the playoffs. Garfield has chosen to move up to the Championship Division this year while Roosevelt will compete in the Invitational Division.

Source: MaxPreps.com