The Redlands East Valley High girls flag football team is cruising. The Wildcats are 8-0, including a 6-0 victory against defending Citrus Belt league champion Beaumont.
“It was an extremely long day,” REV coach Andrew Saibene said of the Beaumont Tournament. “It was a tournament where we played six games in 11 hours.”
The Wildcats, led by sophomore Charlotte Cox, have outscored foes by a combined 260 to 10. That’s scorched Earth stuff. Their closest game besides Beaumont was a 12-2 victory against Centennial of Corona.
“Their quarterback (Cox) is really good,” Beaumont coach Frank Kingsley said. “We’re getting better. I like how we’ve bounced back.
Beaumont, the Citrus Belt League defending champ, is 9-1.
Against Beaumont, REV’s Cox threw for 95 yards and rushed for 44. Milee Najera chipped in with 42 yards rushing and one TD. Defensively, Alyssa Summerfield made 10 tackles and Ella Saverino had four.
“Our summer was long, but things are starting to come together, with still room to grow," Saibene said.
REV STADIUM SET TO OPEN
Redlands East Valley High has its stadium grand opening tonight. The Wildcats host California Military Institute at 7 p.m.
REV had a soft opening of the venue last season – the difference being REV did not have visitors' bleachers and other amenities at the time.
The event includes recognition of alumni and comments from school officials.
The school was without a home stadium for most of its existence. The Wildcats often played home games at the University of Redlands, Redlands High, and Citrus Valley.
REV was the only large comprehensive public high school in the city
without its own on-campus stadium, until now.
Work on the project began in 2022 and was partially funded by Measure
D bond money.
Kristian King, a REV graduate, is the new Wildcat coach, King replaced Gavin Pachot.
Pachot led the Wildcats to a stunning Smudge Pot victory last season against rival Redlands High but finished 1-9 overall. His outgoing comments were typically classy. King will follow suit, no doubt.
The gates open at 5 p.m. today, with the pre-game ceremony starting at 6:40 p.m.
DIGS TOWN
New Redlands East Valley girls' volleyball coach Shelby Dawson loves her adopted new city. Dawson hails from Fontana (went to Summit High, helping lead the SkyHawks to two Sunkist titles in four years). She then played at the University of Redlands.
“I fell in love with the Redlands community and wanted to stay here after graduating,” Dawson said.
Dawson was coaching club volleyball and officiating when hired for the REV volleyball job. She is a multi-tasking MVP.
BLACKHAWKS PREPARE FOR ETIWANDA
Inland Sports ranks coach Jeff Steinberg’s Beaumont High football team No. 3 in the area, with Centennial No. 1 and Chaparral second. Cajon is eighth, Aquinas No. 10, Summit No. 13, Yucaipa 16th, and Citrus Valley is 19th.
Citrus Valley hopes to rebound from its losing 2024 season, beginning with a game on Friday, August 29, against Etiwanda.
A recent school theme at CV is "Welcome to the Jungle," a nod to hard rocker Guns and Roses.
So get that Axel Rose snake dance primed for the Etiwanda game.
HOT START FOR EAGLES
The Arrowhead Christian girls volleyball team is soaring. The Eagles went unbeaten in pool play at the Blackhawk Classic at Citrus Valley, defeating King of Riverside, Serrano of Phelan and Cajon. Arrowhead lost in the Gold Bracket tournament semifinal to eventual tourney champion Xavier Prep.
The Eagles haven't lost since, improving to 9-1.
Arrowhead Christian plays at 5 p.m. on Aug. 26 at Hesperia Christian– better known as the alma mater of 1990s superstar Sarah Gustin (Michigan State.. Gustin is now the athletic director at Messiah University in Pennsylvania.
EARLY GAMES
The Redlands High and Arrowhead Christian football teams opened their seasons Thursday night with ACA losing 48-7 to host Yucca Valley and Redlands falling short at home to Citrus Hill 35-27.
Not pandering here but knowing ACA coach Rod Robison and Redlands coach Bob Stangel Jr., the teams kept their heads up after and will see better days ahead.
BULLDOG OPENER
The University of Redlands opens its football season at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6 against visiting George Fox University of Oregon. The team has been working out diligently for weeks, with the Ted Runner Stadium lights burning in the night.
SWARM
The Colton Swarm cross-country meet is Saturday, Sept. 30. It is one of first big meets of the season.
Other key meets include:
- Dana Hills Invitational on Sept. 6.
- Rosemead Invitational on September 13.
- Woodbridge Invitational on Sept. 20.
- Citrus Belt No. 1 center meet on Sept. 27 at Cajon.
- CBL No. 2 on Oct. 18 at Beaumont.
- CBL No. 3 on Nov. 1 at Yucaipa.
- CIF-SS preliminaries on Nov. 15 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.
- The CIF-SS --finals on Nov. 22 at Mt. SAC.
- The CIF-State meet is on Saturday, Nov. 29 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
