Family is the most important thing

Arturo Ojeda Jr. (also known as AJ) is a student athlete at San Jacinto High School. Arturo is mostly known for protecting superstar quarterback Kajiya Hollawayne’s blind side as the left tackle on the offensive line, He is also a great High School wrestler (Heavyweight). However there is so much more to Arturo Ojeda then just the bodyguard he plays on the field and the beast he is on the mat. Arturo Comes from a large family and considers himself the protector of all of them! He prides himself on being the best big brother. You can always find AJ playing sports with his younger brothers, he wants to teach his little brothers to work hard and earn everything they can. He doesn’t let them get away with excuses or laziness. 

Arturo Ojeda really enjoys the time he gets to spend with his little brothers, he never sees them as a nuisance or a bother. He takes every opportunity he can to spend time with them since he knows he is going away for college at the end of the school year and he is going to really miss his little brothers. 

Besides being the best big brother he can be and teaching his little brothers how to be a good man he tries to spend time every week with his little sisters and niece and take them on special dates, “so that they grow up knowing how a man should treat them when they get older,” they get dressed up nice and he takes them out for pizza. Arturo makes sure that he opens the door for them and speaks to them with kind words. Its moments like that Arturo said he will miss when he leaves for school. Those weekly dates with his younger sisters and niece are the highlights of his week and he looks forward to spending that special time with them.

Arturo Ojeda also loves to sign Corridos (a mexican folk genre of music that focuses on telling a story) music, which is a specific type of mexican music, “ I walk around the house singing Chalino songs all the time,” Arturo said. Arturo plans on attending Cal Baptist University next fall hopes to wrestle there. He wants to study History and become a history teacher so that he can help guide the next generation and help them make good choices in life. Ojeda also wants to return to San Jacinto High School as a wrestling coach and be a difference maker in those young men’s life.

Arturo Ojeda Jr is a great example of a young man who has his head on straight and has plans for his future. He knows that he has a lot of people looking up to him and he tries his best to be the best possible example for them on a daily basis. Artuto is going to be a difference maker in this community and has a bright future ahead of him.

Know someone who is More Than An Athlete? Email Kheadlee@hsjchronicle.com and tell me about them.

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A Slow Start By The Tigers, But A Hot Finish

The long-awaited return of the San Jacinto Tigers football team has finally come. The last time they played in front of their home crowd was last year’s CIF championship game, where hundreds of fans traveled to watch them play, but this is a new season and a new team. San Jacinto needed to come out and make a statement that night after a tough loss the week before to Woodrow High School (Long Beach, CA) and that’s exactly what they did. Murrieta Mesa came into San Jacinto with a 0-2 record to start the season, they felt the pressure to get a win and came out playing like it. 

The first quarter was slow for both teams, with very little first downs or yards gained. Coach Galliano of the San Jacinto Tigers had this to say about the slow start: “They did some things defensively that we haven’t seen yet, so we needed to make adjustments heading into the half.” The Tigers were able to get into the endzone three times in the first half, including an amazing last-second touchdown throw from Kajiya Hollawayne to Kameron Rocha. The score going into the half was 19-14 in favor of the home team.

After halftime, the San Jacinto Tigers offense started to work the way they were designed too. Rushing to the line and catching the defense off their toes. Junior Quarterback Kajiya Hollawayne and Senior Runningback Juan Denny Jr. took turns punishing Murrieta Mesa on the ground. When they weren’t running down their throats, Kajiya was executing beautiful passes and hitting his guys in stride. They repaid him by getting tons of yards after the catch and fighting to get in the endzone. Our player of the week goes to Kajiya Hollawayne who ran for two touchdowns, and 214 yards. He also got it done through the air, throwing three touchdown passes to three different players and 234 yards. The Tigers would win the game with a final score of 39-27. Now the score could be misleading. San Jacinto’s defense did an excellent job shutting down Murrieta Mesa multiple times. However, the officiating of this game was very questionable. The refs ejected a San Jacinto player after he was on the receiving end of a push that happened after the whistle. There were a lot of unnecessary roughness/pass interference calls that shouldn’t have been called. Offsides called on the sidelines when no warnings were given. At one point penalties caused the San Jacinto Tigers offense to turn the ball over on downs after getting in the endzone two times on the same drive. Murrieta Mesa would then march down the field with the help of the referees (Half of the yards gained on the drive were from penalties) and score. 

Murrieta did a great job getting into the endzone on their own; they didn’t need the extra help. In other Mountain Pass League News, West Valley lost to Temecula Valley 0-44, everyone else in the Mountain Pass League would go home as victors. Hemet beat Banning 26-0; Tahquitz beat Indio 14-13; Beaumont beat Perris 59-0, and Citrus Hill beat Pacific 48-7. A great week for the league who are all building momentum before league play begins. 

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A Tough Match For Our Hometown Heavyweight Champ

Jared Vanderaa took on Renan Ferreria at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium last Friday night. Legacy Fighting Alliance put on the fight; it was a heavyweight bout that was important to both men. Jared Vanderaa is currently the Heavyweight Champion in South Africa for EFC, Renan Ferreria is a fighter from Brazil training underneath legendary Brazilian fighters “Big Nog” & “Little Nog” it was heavily suggested before this fight that the winner would get an opportunity to challenge for the LFA Heavyweight Belt or might even get that call that most MMA fighters dream of from Dana White at the UFC.

In the first round, both fighters looked excited and ready to fight; they met in the center of the cage and started trading hard punches and leg kicks. There were a few scrambles and grappling exchanges, but the majority of the first round consisted of great striking exchanges. Jared Vanderaa weighed in at 264 and is listed as 6’5″ he is certainly a huge man, but his opponent Renan is listed as 6’10” and weighed in at 248 pounds. Renan definitely looked like the bigger man, but that doesn’t always mean better, Jared looked great in the grappling transitions and to me appeared to be stronger and got the better of those exchanges. 

In the second round, Renan landed a great right straight that came right down the pipe. Renan’s arms are so long that it looked like Jared miscalculated the distance and let the punch clip him. Vanderaa is usually great at slipping shots like that. The punch put Jared on the mat, but didn’t really hurt him. He appeared to be composed and defended Renan’s barrage of punches from the top. Renan landed a couple of huge elbows that split Jared’s forehead and opened him up, Vanderaa fought his way up to a standing position. The fighters were now both on their feet. Vanderaa executed a beautiful trip and took Renan to the ground. Vanderaa was controlling this position until it looked like he took a deep breath in and threw a punch straight down, at that moment Renan started to position himself to finish the fight, seconds later Jared Vanderaa was caught in a deep triangle choke and tapped out.

Renan Ferreria will have his eyes set on the LFA Heavyweight Championship since currently, the title is vacant. His next bout will probably be in early 2020 and for the belt or in the UFC as a rookie with that organization.

Jared Vanderaa will have to wait for the California Commission to make a decision about a medical suspension since Vanderaa took some huge shots. Vanderaa will be looking at Dana White’s Contender Series for his next fight in order to regain traction on the road to the UFC. Maybe there is a title defense in his future. Either way, we expect Jared Vanderaa to bounce back stronger than ever and keep representing Hemet & San Jacinto in the cage. 

The Hemet & San Jacinto would like to congratulate Jared Vanderaa on an amazing fight and can’t wait for his next match! We wish you a speedy recovery Champ!

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Student Body Section Was “Lit” As The Mustangs Dominated The Rams

It was a long night for Desert Mirage’s defense trying to keep up with West Valley’s skill players. Most of West Valley’s starters didn’t even see the field in the second half and were cheering on their teammates from the sidelines. West Valley scored two touchdowns in the very beginning of the game, one after receiving the ball at kick-off and the other after forcing a turnover (via fumble) and making Desert Mirage pay for the mistake by turning Tyrone Jackson Jr. (#3) loose for a 60 yard run, the game was quickly getting out of hand for the Rams and the Mustangs rushing game looked dominate.

Tyrone Jackson Jr wasn’t the only player who got to see the end zone last Friday night. Alfred Jones scored two times, once through the air and once on the ground. Tyrone Jackson Jr banked in two rushing touchdowns total and over 100 yards. Their performances made it hard to choose one of them for player of the week, so The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle decided that they both would share player of the week honors for this game. However, the Mustangs offense was feeling generous and four other players were able to get into the end zone. 

The student body section was screaming, dancing, and cheering their team on all game long. Many of the students came down and congratulated the team on their blowout victory, many of them looked like they were on the field with the team for the last two hours. That’s how hard they were cheering on their fellow Mustangs. The final score of the game was 55-0. The Mustangs put on a dominant showing in all phases of the game and looked like they might be ready to move up to a more competitive division like they were in the past. 

Coach Perez had this to say to the team after the game, “You guys enjoy this win, it was a big win and this is the first time West Valley has been 2-0 since 2014, however, get it all out of your system tonight because we are back here at 9:00 in the morning for film and Temecula Valley isn’t going to let us run all around the field on them like we did tonight, so we have to start preparing immediately. You understand? Celebrate until 9:00 tomorrow morning, and I want you guys in the film room ready to start preparing for next week.”

Coach Perez want them to enjoy their victory, but wanted them to understand that they need to start looking at next week’s matchup, Temecula Valley has an excellent program and is coming off a victory against Elsinore High. A matchup against them will help West Valley see what they need to tighten up before league games against Beaumont, Hemet, San Jacinto, and Citrus Hills. As of right now, the league play looks like it’s going to be tight. 

In other Mountain Pass League Games; Tahquitz edged out Indo 14-13, Hemet recorded their first win of the year against Vista Del Lago 35-21, San Jacinto fell to Woodrow High School 27-13, Beaumont was impressive in their week two victory over pacific 56-14, and Citrus Hill won their first game of the season 27-19 against Palm Springs. Pictures of the game will be available on my personal Facebook page @AuthorKyleRaeHeadlee

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San Jacinto Needs To Make A Statement Coming Off A Loss

The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle is taking you to San Jacinto High School this week for the Game of the Week. This week San Jacinto High is welcoming Murrieta Mesa into “The Jungle” as the two teams look to show the rest of Southern California that they are serious contenders. San Jacinto started the season off with a huge win against Great Oaks showing dominance in every phase of the game, but their winning streak was quickly brought to an end when they traveled to Long Beach last week to play Woodrow High School. San Jacinto lost this matchup, causing them to drop from the 94th ranked school in California to the 144th ranked school. 

The team (lead by Junior Quarterback Kajiya Hollawayne) will be looking to come out hot and put a lot of points on the board tonight in order to make a statement to the rest of the division, “Just because we took one L doesn’t mean we are out of it.” Ryan Cogdil (Defensive Coordinator of the Tigers) isn’t happy that the team lost, but believes it could be good for them; now they can come together as a team and show everyone that they are a serious threat this year. 

Murrieta Mesa is ranked 302 in California. They are starting non-league play 0-2; their first game was a blowout loss to La Serna and last week they were involved in an offensive dog fight losing to Etiwanda High School in overtime 42-35. On paper San Jacinto should be able to control this game; they have the talent to do so. It all comes down to the players trusting their coaches play calls and sticking to their assignments. Football is as much of a chess match as it is a physical contest and it takes both Players and Coaches to trust each other and be in sync in order for the team to find success. 

San Jacinto needs to use this week to find their identity again and remember that they only went as far as they did last year by play as one team that fired on all cylinders. Coach Galliano and Kajiya Hollawayne will do everything in their power to get that high pace offense working as it should be, this week. Ryan Cogdill needs one of his defensive playmakers to step up and be a leader on the field after losing one of his captains to injury last week. Who on the defensive side of the ball is going to step up and become the leader in his absence?

Other Mountain Pass League Matchups tonight include: Beaumont vs. Perris, Hemet vs. Banning, Tahquitz vs. Lakeside, West Valley vs. Temecula Valley, and Citrus Hill vs. Pacific. You can see the winners and losers of this game in next week’s paper, but why wait? Subscribe to The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle Facebook/Youtube for faster updates on local sports news. Pictures of the game will be available on my personal Facebook page @AuthorKyleRaeHeadlee.

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The Hemet High Bulldogs (finished last season 8-5) will take on the Chaparral (finished last season 7-4) Pumas on Friday, Aug. 23rd at Hemet High School. This is a non-league game, but will still be very competitive as these teams do know each other well enough and have a history of playing each other. Last season Chaparral beat the Bulldogs 24-7 at their house, this will be the first chance for the new regime in Hemet to show that they aren’t the same team that got beat last year. This will be our first look at the Hemet Bulldogs since longtime coach Jason Thornburg retired. The new Head Coach is Dennis Gregovich. Coach Gregovich isn’t new to coaching; he had a brief stint at Tahquitz High School in the past. 

Dennis Gregovich is an offensive coach and will look to light up the scoreboard this year. His system will be new to the league, which might give him an advantage. Chaparral returns their head coach Andrew Ramer who will look to start the season out strong. Chaparral dresses over 70 players at home games (not all will travel with the team) it is expected that Eli Bertran will be the man under center, as he leads the team in 7on7 tournaments during the offseason. Since Orlando Ornelas graduated in June. Chaparrals top four leading rushers all graduated and seven out of the eight receivers who banked in catches last year also graduated. 

Chaparral is putting in a very young team that hasn’t completely gelled together as a unit yet, brand new quarterback under center, brand new running backs, and brand new receivers. It’s going to be very interesting to see how this game plays out. As for Hemet they too have a brand new quarterback under center Jeremiah Graves who got some reps last year as a sophomore under Nicholas Thornburg. This year Jeremiah will try to earn the trust of his team and take down the sleeping giants in the division San Jacinto High School and Citrus Hill. Most of Hemet’s leading rushers graduated last year and so did their leading receivers, with Graves being a lone exception who transitioned from receiver to quarterback in the off-season.

Essentially these two teams are completely different from the last year and both will be ready to prove they have what it takes this season to compete for a playoff position. Pictures and video of the game will be on Facebook at Author Kyle Rae Headlee, if you see any pictures of your child you like feel free to grab them, all I ask is if you like the page. 

In other Mountain Pass News; San Jacinto will be taking on Great Oaks in Temecula, Tahquitz will play Vista Del Lago at Tahquitz, Beaumont vs. Palm Desert in Beaumont, Citrus Hill is playing a home game against Palm Springs, and West Valley will be facing off against Shadow Hills in Indio.

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(Ethan Saenz)

Ethan Saenz, a local middle schooler (just started sixth grade at Dartmouth) was named to the Junior Drew League All-Star team and competed this past weekend against the best basketball players in California (in his age bracket.) What is the Drew League? The Drew League is a summer invitational basketball tournament sponsored by Nike. The competition is intense there, NBA players play in the league occasionally with former Division One basketball players, Streetball Legends, and amateurs hoping to make a name for themselves. It isn’t just your random league. This year included players like Lamelo Ball and Nick Young. In the past, Kobe Bryant, James Harden, and Kevin Durant used the Drew League to help train in the offseason. 

To go along with the Drew League, Nike hosts a four-week basketball skills camp called the Junior Drew League. Here players are taught shooting, passing, and dribbling techniques as well as how to play as a team, but they are also evaluated during the camp and at the end, the best players are selected to be a part of the All-Star team that plays before the Championship game of the adult league. 

Ethan Saenz put Hemet on his back, and proved that there is just as much talent out here as there is in Los Angeles, turning ankles with his impressive ball-handling and breaking necks with his fancy passes. Throughout the camp, he impressed coaches and became a sure-fire pick to the All-Star team. The All-Star game is tricky because the chemistry isn’t there, so teams don’t play to their full potential, but just days before the All-Star game Ethan Saenz banked in 40 points in a Travel ball tournament. 

Ethan plays basketball for Obsessed Basketball out of Moreno Valley. He is the point guard on the 11u (eleven and under) team. His coach is Ulande Washington out of Moreno Valley and has been coaching basketball for eight years. Ulande’s main goal is to help kids get through high school and into college by teaching them hard work, dedication, and commitment. He preaches to his athletes that education is just as important as sports and helps them be the best they can in both. He coaches kids from six years old all the way up to high school athletes and can be reached on Instagram at ObsessedHoops. Ethan has been with Obsessed basketball for two years but has been hooping since he was four years old. He comes from a big family but is being raised by a single mother who is his biggest fan and supporter. His best friend is his teammate/little brother Cameron Saenz, the two are constantly together, and you can always see them playing one on one at the courts. 

Ethan spends his free time playing Fortnite, but basketball is where his true passion is at. He hopes to impress scouts enough to earn himself a Full-Ride Scholarship and will continue to play basketball until he physically can’t anymore. Follow Ethan on Instagram at Emoney07_ to watch his journey to the NBA as its happening. Be one of the first to jump on his hype train and show some support for one of our community youths who is making waves amongst the competition.

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(Former San Jacinto Football Star)

In middle school, you could find Kishawn Holmes participating in dance battles behind San Jacinto High School’s football bleachers while the team was playing. When he came into the system as a freshman, Kishawn made varsity, and his presence was felt immediately. After Kishawns Freshman season his parents moved him into West Valleys school district where he became a Mustang for a season and made the varsity squad there too. Kishawn Holmes then moved to Murrietta and ended up going to Vista Murrieta High School. His junior year of High School was big for Kishawn. He racked up over 1,100 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. He was ranked the 26th running back in the nation and 7th in California. He received plenty of college attention from his play and showed outstanding skills at invitation-only camps around Southern California. 

It appeared that Kishawn was primed and ready to explode his senior season. Many were talking about the possibility of him playing in UCLA blue in gold the following year. Kishawn’s senior season fell apart before it ever got started when two fellow students accused him of raping them. Kishawn was booked in September 2013, causing him to miss his senior year of high school and many colleges decided to go a different direction. 

Since the charges in that case were in Juvenile court, records were not made public. Kishawn Holmes would resurface in 2015 playing football for Cerritos Junior College where he dominated the competition He finished his career there as the number one ranked Juco running back, and it seemed like his past was left behind as scholarship offers were coming in the mail every day. In March of 2016 Kishawn was accused of rape by a fellow student at Cerritos College. This student was a Student Physical Therapist for the school and worked closely with the football team. The student accused Kishawn of inviting her into his apartment and taking her into his room to rape her.

The jury took less than a day and found Kishawn guilty of rape. Kishawn Holmes was always adamant that he didn’t do it. To many outside of the situation, it seemed that the woman who was the victim was using Kishawn’s past and celebrity to promote her own image, she later filed to sue Kishawn and Cerritos Junior College. 

Kishawn Holmes got lucky; he found the rarest public defender in the state who believed his side of the story and wanted to get the truth out there. His lawyer didn’t just move on to the next case, but took an interest in Kishawn’s case and made it a point to prove his innocence. 

Kishawn Holmes was exonerated of all charges in Aug of 2019; the District Attorney dropped the case. Kishawn Holmes walked out of the courtroom one hundred percent a free man. The “Me Too” movement is real, and they’re certainly are many women who need to come forward when they are forced into a situation that they didn’t sign up for. However, that doesn’t mean that every man is guilty until proven innocent. That’s not the way the forefathers designed our country. Hearsay trials aren’t enough for a jury to convict a young man to spend the next fifteen years of his life behind bars, for him to miss out on achieving his life dream of playing football at the highest level, for his name to be tarnished and drug on the ground, and for him to be away from his family. 

In the last couple of years, sexual harassment and misconduct claims against athletes and celebrities have become prominent across mainstream media. Are all these men innocent? Certainly not, but they aren’t all guilty ether, and we need to get back to “You Are Innocent Until Proven Guilty,” that this nation was founded on.

Kishawn Holmes is an example of someone’s life who was on the way up but was knocked down by someone else’s envious nature. Now he has to start all over, but he still has the NFL in his sights and is willing to put in all the work necessary to hear his name called on Sunday mornings.

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(Big Joe Burton)

Former West-Valley Mustang finds a new home in France, previously Burton said he was waiting for a new contract offer, and the news had been quiet. He was confident that he would continue to play basketball overseas but was patiently waiting for his next opportunity. Joseph Burton played his college basketball at Oregon State and has spent the last few years traveling across Europe and Asia playing basketball and dominating the competition. We now know where he will be playing basketball for at least the next season, and that will be in France as the center of the Chorale Roanne basketball club. Chorale Roanne is a part of the LNB Pro A division and plays at the Halle Andre Vacheresse arena which holds over 5,000 seats. The club won two championships in its history one in 1959 and the other in 2007, it’s been 13 years since they have tasted the gold and the club hopes bringing Burton on board brings them a dominant force down low to anchor their team. 

Joseph Burton joins four other Americans on the roster and six french natives. The head coach is Laurent Pluvy; not much information is known about him. It looks like Joseph Burton will be competing with Johndre Jefferson, a former University of South Carolina center. Johndre has been playing basketball overseas for about seven years after not being drafted to the NBA in 2012. Joseph and Johndre may compete for the starting job unless the coach wants to play big and let Burton play the Power-Forward and Jefferson play center. There is also Ferdinand Prenom on the roster who plays center as well. Ferdinand Prenom is a French native who has been playing professional ball since 2008. He also went undrafted in 2013. The three of them make up the three-headed monster defending the key for Chorale Roanne Basketball Club this upcoming season.

This is an excellent opportunity for Joseph, who wants to continue his playing career for as long as possible. He will be missing his wife and kids, while he is away but he is doing it for them. Usually, they will travel with him, but since this is a new place and his wife is ready to have their next baby any day it is best that they stay home while Burton goes overseas.

Burton is easily one of the most successful athletes that have come out of the valley and continues to represent the San Jacinto Valley/his Tribe as he travels the world playing basketball. Joseph spent most of the offseason working out and staying in shape, even putting in work at the local La Fitness courts. Follow Chorale Roanne on Facebook or Joseph Burton for updates on how his season is coming along.

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