CHS’s Gutierrez, Cowee rack up all-state honors

Andrew Gutierrez and Aaron Cowee capped their high school football careers by being named to the Las Vegas Review-Journal all-state team.

Gutierrez, a first-team all-league selection, was a first-team selection at defensive back after racking up 64 tackles and four interceptions in helping the Senators reach the regional finals this season. Gutierrez has been Carson’s best cover cornerback over the last two seasons.

“Andrew is very deserving of the honor,” Carson coach Blair Roman said. “He’s been one of the top defensive backs in the north the last two years. It’s nice to see him get this award. He’s one of the most athletic cornerbacks. He’s been a solid two-year player for us. It’s a great honor for him.”

Cowee, who suffered a high ankle sprain early in the season, was a second-team selection on the offensive line. He had a nice three-game playoff run, as the Carson offense easily moved the ball on Reed, Damonte Ranch and Spanish Springs.

“The honor is a great one for Aaron and much deserved,” Roman said. “It’s a great way to recognize his three-year varsity career. It helped that we went deep into the post-season, and Aaron played very well in the playoffs.”

Had it not been for the injury, Cowee no doubt would have been a first-team all-Sierra selection and first-team regional selection.

•••

I was in a state of shock when I recently read that Notre Dame had re-admitted quarterback Everett Golson, who served a semester-long suspension for academic impropriety. He was suspended from the school in May and re-admitted in mid-December.

Are you kidding me Notre Dame?

I lost a lot of respect for the Irish when this decision was announced. The kid, according to reports, cheated on a test. The expulsion should have upheld forever. In my mind, if he wanted to play sports bad enough it should have been at a non-Division I school.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly believes that a lot of people hope Golson fails this next season. I won’t hope that, but I do hope that Notre Dame fails. Kelly said that Golson is set up to be the leader of the team. Come on coach, are you kidding me? Leaders have to be guys that aren’t going to embarrass themselves and the university; guys that you can trust to do the right thing always.

•••

One of the things that I notice over the years is that high school basketball players need more coaching. Many are not students of the game, and most don’t understand some of the finer aspects of the game or sportsmanship that goes along with it.

Case in point. On Friday, the Carson girls are absolutely destroying Galena. With 3 seconds left and a 26-point deficit, the Grizzlies are still pressing, which is pointless.

And, to make matters worse, Carson breaks the press and one of the girls drove to the basket and scored at the buzzer. Why? Pull the ball out and hold it until the final buzzer. That’s the sporting thing to do.

For years, De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur took flack for piling up points against the opposition. It was undeserved because he didn’t throw the ball with a big lead, he kept it on the ground. Was it his fault that opposing teams couldn’t tackle well?

In one of the biggest games in school history, Ladouceur, with approximately two minutes to go and a three-touchdown lead against powerful Long Beach Poly, had his quarterback take a knee four times rather than try to punch in one more score.

It was a class move by a very classy coach.