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Press Row: A year after his wife’s passing, Dick Bruich is back on the sidelines to assist his son, Kurt, at Citrus Valley
Notebook
Spotted in the corner of the Citrus Valley High football stadium last Friday was former Mayfair High of Lakewood football coach Mike Fitch.
Fitch’s Monsoon teams won two section titles and 10 league titles. His teams went 230-118-1 overall. The Monsoons (love that mascot) won eight consecutive Suburban League titles under Fitch and reeled off 54 consecutive league wins from 2001-08.
“Between me and Dick and Kurt Bruich, there are a lot of section titles in this stadium,” mused Mike, referring to his two crowns, and the Bruichs’ big sack of titles.
Fitch’s son, Grant, is an assistant for Kurt at Citrus Valley.
When Kurt Bruich began his coaching career at Cerritos High, Mike Fitch “took me under his wing,” Kurt said. “He was nice to me and made sure I knew the protocol for all-league and things like that. So Grant was at Upland and then Riverside Poly and I kept my eye on him. Then we were able to get him over here as a coach and teacher.”
Seated on the Etiwanda football bench at Citrus Valley enjoying the game was former Colony High of Ontario coach Steve Randall, a Fontana resident.
Randall was there to watch his grandson Desmond Randall-Shorts of Etiwanda play. Randall-Shorts is No. 73 and he stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 320 pounds.
“Last year was my final year of coaching and now I’m watching my grandson play, and he’s a dude,” Randall said. “He has the body of a 30-year-old and the face of an 8-year-old.”
Taking the reader all the way around the stadium, meet Maisie McCue, the Citrus Valley High principal. Friday night she occupied one of the folding chairs near the south end zone designated for school officials.
“Would you like a water?” McCue said, holding a dripping-wet plastic bottle retrieved from a cooler.
McCue opined on how football sets the tone for the school year and is one of her favorite sport/spectacles to watch. Yes, and yes.
At A.B. Miller High, assistant Tom Cody hung out in the press box on Thursday night when the Rebels played Citrus Hill.
Like many assistants, Cody is retired.
“You must really like football, huh?” we said.
“What else am I going to do besides go to LA Fitness three times a week,” Cody quipped.
At that same Miller game, we saw Kristen Braun, the Fontana Unified district athletic director. Kristen played multi-sports at Fontana High in the 1980s and has won awards for her administrative work.
Braun’s son is former Redlands East Valley High football star Blake Braun, After starring at REV, he played at Montana State University.
Blake is good buds with former NFL player Kylie Fitts – another REV grad – and Kristen said the two recently attended the Oregon vs. Montana State football game.
Kylie stopped playing pro football due to concussion issues. There’s more. Blake’s wife Lindsay is the daughter of former NBA superstar John Stockton. The pair have two boys, Bryant (4) and Luke (2), and I’m guessing those kids will have decent athletic genes.
Citrus Valley grad Lindsey Chau scored the University of San Francisco’s only goal last week in a 2-1 loss to Boston University. It was Chau’s second goal of the season.
In other area prep football action besides Citrus Valley last week, REV defeated Perris 32-25, Arrowhead Christian fell to Grace 40-14, Beaumont bopped Cathedral of Los Angeles 52-31, Silverado defeated Yucaipa 37-14, and Redlands downed Banning 28-20.
Slimmed-down Banning coach Jake Knesel fell short, yes, but he still looks mahv-elous on the sideline. We await his dieting tips.
REV continues to dominate flag football, improving to 10-0. The Wildcats defeated Serrano 33-0 and Ontario Christian 48-0 recently.
Beaumont is nearly as impressive at 11-1. The Cougars are at REV on Sept. 30. REV topped Beaumont 6-0 on Aug. 9.
Cajon checks in at 7-1, Redlands is 5-2 and Yucaipa 5-3.
I need a master CBL flag football schedule. Have one? Please send to berdooman@gmail.com. Thank you.
Redlands High (6-3), Beaumont (5-1), Cajon (5-4), REV (4-5) and Yucaipa (3-4) are all above .500 or close to it in girls nonleague volleyball.
The Terriers host Hillcrest on Thursday, while REV hosts Silverado the same day. Citrus Valley (2-5) hosts Palm Desert on Wednesday.
The Citrus Valley High boys finished first overall in the composite standings at the 56th Colton SWARM Invitational cross-country meet on Saturday.
The Blackhawks were led by Jonah Duffy, who placed fifth overall in 16 minutes, 32.2 seconds. Teammate Evan Rout was seventh in 16:38.
Other top-30 finishes for CV included Ryan Schaffer (17th, 17:30.1), Jaden Jacob (22nd, 17:17.5), and Jesus Saldana (32nd, 17:52.8).
On the girls’ side, Citrus Valley took second behind Oak Hills. The Blackhawks placed four among the top 15: freshman Alyssa Castaneda (second, 19:43.3), freshman Abigail Lopez (seventh, 20:47.4), sophomore Abrielle Ontiveros (13th, 21:22.1), and freshman Kirsten Speaks (14th, 21:36.3).
The University of Redlands football team kicks off its 2025 season Saturday against George Fox University of Newberg, Oregon. A season preview of the Bulldogs is coming soon.
Reach John Murphy at berdooman@gmail.com and follow him at @PrepDawg2.
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