The MSJC women’s basketball team saw their 26 game winning streak and 2019-20 season come to an end on Saturday, March 7th, 2020, night as they lost in the CCCAA Southern California Regional Finals at Mt. San Antonio 48-40.

The Eagles struggled all night offensively and fell behind 16-6 after the first quarter. Despite playing some great defense of their own the rest of the way, and controlling the glass in the evening, MSJC just made too many mistakes down the stretch to overtake the Mounties. Midway through the fourth period, it looked like the Eagles were poised to catch the Mounties when Mariah Sanchez hit a three-point shot to cut the lead to 38-35 off of a nice assist from Deja Blue. Haylei Janssens would again get the Eagles within 3 with 3:46 to play in the game when she made a jump shot to make the score 40-37 in favor of Mt. SAC. MSJC then committed a flurry of turnovers and missed a couple key shots down the stretch that could have tightened the game even more. Late free throws by the Mounties put the game out of reach.

Blue led the struggling Eagle offense with 15 points; she was the only MSJC player to reach double figures in scoring. She also had 9 rebounds and 3 assists in the loss. De’Adra Ross played her final game in an Eagle uniform and dominated the backboard as she pulled in a game-high 24 rebounds to go along with 7 points as MSJC outrebounded the Mounties 55-36. Janya Smith came off the bench to add 7 for the Eagles. In the end, both teams shot the ball poorly with MSJC finishing the night 14 of 58 from the field while the Mounties were just 13 of 56. The difference turned out to be turnovers as the Eagles committed 28 of them in the game, including 17 in the second half, while the Mounties ended the night with just 15.

The loss ended a school-record 26 game win streak for MSJC; they had not lost a game since November 8th. The Eagles finish the season with an overall mark of 27-3, they went unbeaten in the Inland Empire Athletic Conference and claimed their third straight conference championship. MSJC was making their 14th consecutive appearance in the postseason and have reached at least the State’s Sweet 16 in five straight seasons. The Eagles only three losses of the season were all to teams that reached the State Final Eight.

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Hemet High’s Girl’s Wrestling Team Looks Impressive At the Start of The Season

Years ago it was considered “taboo” to have a girl on your wrestling team. They had a hard time finding people to wrestle and most schools would just forfeit those matches. However, more and more girls these days have taken an interest in wrestling and have made it a point to dominate their opponents no matter their gender. Schools have started creating programs and building girls-only teams so that the female wrestlers get just as much of a chance to wrestle as the boys do. Locally there is none better then Hemet High’s girl’s wrestling program. Right now they have ten girls on their roster and just recently beat Beaumont in a duel meet 27-9. 

The girls on the Wrestling team roster is; Courtney Quintana, Mya Lozoya, Violet Cayton, Brooklyn Cohen, Samantha Barragan, Monique Moreno, Reyna Montenegro, Erika Tista, and Yasmin Far. These girls are out to make a statement: they don’t care what you think about girls wrestling. They are here to lay bodies on the mat and dominate every gym they walk into.

Currently, Samantha Barragan is ranked 3rd in the state in the 121lb division. She is making her case as a top wrestler in the state and is hoping to bring a CIF championship back to Hemet. She is the highest-ranked member of the girl’s team at Hemet according to Calgrappler.com and she is bringing major attention to the school’s wrestling program.

According to the National Wrestlers Coaching Association, the tide is beginning to turn for women’s wrestling. In 1994 there were only 804 female wrestlers across the country. At the end of last season (2018-2019) there were over 16,500 female wrestlers in America. At the beginning of 2019, the NWCA started a bid to allow women’s wrestling into the NCAA. The NAIA has had women’s wrestling since 2018 and now there are now 63 colleges with varsity wrestling programs.  In 2004 the Olympics Committee began to recognize it as an Olympic sport: this gives these girls something they can aim for. 

Hemet’s girls wrestling program seems to be heading in the right direction. Especially since their main lady Samantha Barragan is only a junior and has already built herself quite the resume. She is the number one 121lb wrestler in the Southern Section and still has another full season ahead of her. Now, more than ever, girls are proving that they can do whatever they put their mind to and fight past the stigma society wants to place on them. If you have a daughter who dreams of becoming a wrestler, get them started early. There are plenty of MMA/Jiu Jitsu gyms in the area that will help give them a head start amongst the competition when it comes to wrestling. For a more traditional approach to wrestling, there is always the Hemet Youth Wrestling Program.

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Bulldog’s superstar safety ejected from game due to questionable call from ref 

The first quarter seemed to foretell the story of this game: it was going to be a defensive battle, with both teams fighting for every inch of advantage they could get. 

Hemet and Marina took turns punting the ball back and forth with neither team giving the other a chance to score. Marina was first to strike, scoring a touchdown.  Hemet responded by putting together an impressive drive, but quickly ended up with a fourth-and-long due to questionable penalty calls.

Marina took advantage of the fact they got the ball back: they marched down the field. Marina was slinging the ball through the air last Friday, which is very out of character for them. They’ve been known as a team who ran the ball all season long, but they knew that they needed more than a ground game to come away with a victory against a very strong Hemet secondary.

In the beginning of the second quarter Marina had Hemet’s defense on their toes when they threw the ball straight down middle of the field on the goal line.  Hemet captain and defensive playmaker Bradley Fye was waiting, ready to strike. Fye burst through to the Marina receiver with speed and tenacity causing him to drop the ball. The play was whistled dead and Marina medical staff came out to evaluate their player.  While Fye was laying there, the refs had a conversation and decided to throw him out of the game. No warning was issued, nor did they explain what he did in order to get thrown out. Fye didn’t lead with his helmet, leave the air, attempt to spear, hit a defensive receiver, or do something that warranted an “unnecessary roughness” call. In all of my years watching, playing, coaching, and reporting on football, it was one of the cleanest hits I have ever witnessed and Fye deserved to be praised for the hit, not ejected. 

Hemet’s “no fly zone” was in serious jeopardy. All season long Fye and Castillo have dominated offenses, laying down big hits and making big plays against the pass, but now, half of that two-headed monster was out of the game. Marina took advantage and scored again going into the half. The score was 0-14 and things didn’t look very good for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs defense had a huge stop just after the half and got the ball back for their offense. Jeremiah Graves and Ethan Leonard decided to take things into their own hands and marched right down the field together. The drive ended when they gave the ball to Max Moore who is very deceptive: he runs like a kid who is twice his size. Max Moore pushed the ball through the end-zone: the score was now 14-7.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that would be the last time they got into the end-zone this season. Marina went on to win the game 27-7 and they move on to the championship.

Like a true captain, Brad Fye was on the sidelines when the game was over in order to embrace and comfort his teammates. “This is a completely different game if I’m playing and they know it,” Fye said. One particular Bulldog shined throughout this game and that was Ethan Leonard. Ethan never gave up: he made tough catches, fought for extra yards, and even tried his best to fill the huge hole in the defense, left by Fye’s wrongful ejection. Leonard had an exceptional year.  No one knew what to expect from him or the Bulldogs this year. It was Coach Gregovich’s first season as the head coach.  Jeremiah Graves transitioned to QB even though he was the team’s leading receiver the year before and no one knew who Ethan Leonard was before the season started. All in all, you have to consider this a successful season for Coach Gregovich and his Bulldogs. With two key players returning next season; Jeremiah Graves & Frankie Castillo, a young offensive line core, and a lot of room to grow, this team will be one to watch.

Despite the horrible calls from the refs against both sides, Marina was able to get more things going and they were also able to stay composed through adversity. Their defense applied pressure to Graves all night long and even caught two interceptions.  They also had a number of pass deflections. Marina’s Pharoah Rush had an incredible night and ran the ball extremely well. He ran for over 90 yards, had one touchdown, and performed in key moments. For that, he earns the Inland Empire Sports Connection, “Player of the Game” honors. We look forward to seeing Pharoah in action next week as Marina takes on Muir in the finals.

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