Redlands East Valley, Santiago settling in for Inland semifinal

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Just completed my final Friday night crawl to the Inland Empire this fall. Made it here to Yucaipa in a little more than two hours. Redlands East Valley just performed its pregame Haka ritual, one that has created a bit of a stir among some opponents, who probably think they’re being subjected to an evil spell. Mother Nature must have thought it was nothing more than a rain dance, however, because it just started to pour.

The Sharks retreated to the opposite end zone during the Haka, probably so REV’s evil spell didn’t reach them. The only part of the Haka that seems a little extreme is when the players pretend like their going for the kill while swordfighting. Other than that, it’s G-rated, all the way.

As I wrote earlier this week, Santiago doesn’t stand a chance against the third-seeded Wildcats. The best aspect of this matchup is there’ll be another USC vs. UCLA subplot the night before the Big Game. REV running back Chris Polk has committed to USC, Santiago defensive back Anthony Dye has committed to UCLA. Last week it was USC-bound offensive tackle Tyron Smith of Rancho Verde vs. UCLA-bound defensive end Damien Holmes of Colton. Smith won that head-to-head matchup, but Colton won the game.

It’s still raining pretty good here at Yucaipa, where it’s about 45 minutes before kickoff. The school has artificial turf, so it should hold up pretty well. Maybe the Wildcats should try another Haka and get this rain stopped. Otherwise, my blogberry will be nothing more than a soggyberry.

--Dan Arritt

-- Image from encarta.msn.com