Hamlet Nalbandyan
Editor's Note: The following are odds and ends from the ninth
meeting of the year from the Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club, which
meets at noon Tuesdays at the Elk's Club.
GLENDALE -- Speaking the truth: After Friday's 42-14 loss to
Arcadia, Hoover High football Coach Rob Swartz finally said what many
around the local football scene have been thinking for years.
"People always ask me, 'What's it going to take to turn around the
Hoover football program?' " said Swartz during his speech Tuesday.
"Well, the real answer is, Hoover should not be in the Pacific
League. We should not be playing against teams like Muir and Arcadia.
"After Friday's loss, I was pretty upset, but when I went back and
looked over the film, I asked myself, 'What do I expect from these
kids?' "
"My guys gave it their all, like they always do, but we'll never
be able to compete with teams of that caliber... We're like an Idaho
State competing in the Pac-10.
"In the offseason, I'm going to do my best to address this
problem, because it's really not fair for our kids."
Things won't get any easier for the Tornadoes this week. Swartz's
squad will take on Muir, which is coming off a 32-7 victory against
Glendale.
The Nigerian Nightmare pays visit: Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro
running back Christian Okoye was the guest speaker Tuesday.
Okoye -- who played seven years in the NFL and was drafted in the
second round, despite having just three years of playing experience
at Azusa Pacific University -- told his amazing tale of how he got
into football.
"I didn't know anything about football before I started playing,"
Okoye said. "I didn't even like it. I liked playing soccer and I
threw the discus.
"But when I was omitted from my country's Olympic team [in 1984],
I decided to try a different sport, and football was it.
"I remember watching Marcus Allen in the 1984 Super Bowl, and I
said, 'I could do that.' "
Nickadda Greek pickadda games of the week: After a humiliating
week, in which most of his football prognostications went down the
toilet, Nick the Greek came to the Quarterback Club a humbled man.
But the good friend of Sam Nicholson promised to return to his old
glory, and he had some good picks this time.
Nick likes UCLA over Arizona, Oregon over Washington State and, of
course, USC over Stanford.
His reasoning for the USC pick went as follows: "The Stanford
mascot is a big redwood tree, but I'm not going to go on a limb and
pick them, even if their offense is branching out."
Nick also said that Friday's game between Crescenta Valley and
Glendale is a toss-up.
