High School Sports » Jake Cimolino

Montgomery’s Luchetti, Fort Bragg’s Cimolino to sign

PrepSports — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:01:44 +0000

Posted by Staff Writer Eric Branch:
Montgomery offensive lineman Jay Luchetti will be the Empire’s only football player to receive a full athletic scholarship when he signs with Division I-AA UC Davis on Wednesday, college football’s National Signing Day. Luchetti, a 6-foot-4, 295-pounder who was named the North Bay League’s co-Lineman of the Year, verbally committed to Davis during the season. Luchetti has a 3.44 GPA and had a 4.0 his last semester.
Here’s a look at the other Empire players who have announced their college intentions:
* Fort Bragg running back Jake Cimolino will sign a partial athletic scholarship to attend Mesa State, a Division II college in Grand Junction, Colo. Cimolino is the only running back in Empire history to have two 2,000-yard seasons. Cimolino rushed for 2,206 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior to help lead the Timberwolves to the North Coast Section Division IV title. Cimolino rushed for 2,091 yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior.
* Cardinal Newman offensive lineman Tucker Maggio-Hucek has received a partial academic scholarship to Cornell, an Ivy League school in Ithaca, N.Y. The 6-4, 250-pound Maggio-Huckek, who has a 3.8 GPA, missed two games as a senior due to injury and was an honorable-mention all-NBL selection.
* Sonoma offensive lineman Braden Lyons will sign a conference letter of intent to attend Humboldt State. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Lyons, a second-team all-SCL selection as a senior, will not receive scholarship money as a freshman.

Two All-Madden nominees from the Empire

PrepSports — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:27:36 +0000

Posted By Staff Writer Eric Branch:
I’m guessing even our youngest readers recall the All-Madden team — the annual NFL team selected by John Madden conisiting of players that best exemplified qualities such as toughness, grit and the willingness to play with a femur bone protuding from the skin.
Bill Bates. Gary Fencik. Mark Bavaro. These guys were All-Madden regulars.
In the spirit of the All-Madden team, I nominate two Empire players Madden would admire:

Casa Grande WR/DB Makana Garrigan: Garrigan hurt his right hand in the first quarter of Casa Grande’s 14-7 loss to Montgomery in the NCS Division II semifinals and kept playing. Big deal? As it turns out, Garrigan had a broken hand and dislocated thumb — an injury that required two-and-a-half hours of surgery Monday, complete with pins and screws.
“When we took the tape off after the game, his hand looked like four hands,” Casa Grande coach Trent Herzog said. “It was nasty. It looked like you could pop it.”
For obvious reasons, Garrigan couldn’t play wide receiver after the injury, but he insisted on playing safety and Herzog said he snuck on the field once to continue his punt-returning duties. He returned the punt about 20 yards.
“I don’t know how he caught the ball,” Herzog said.
The trainers initially thought Garrigan had suffered nothing more severe than a hairline fracture when he came off the field in pain in the first quarter. His hand will require six to eight weeks of rest followed by two to three months of rehabilitation.
Small consolation, but he can look at his imaginary all-Madden trophy while he recuperates.

Fort Bragg RB Jake Cimolino: Cimolino’s left shoulder might pop out again while you’re reading this sentence.
Cimolino, who has rushed for 4,182 yards the past two seasons, had undergone two surgeries on his problematic shoulder prior to this season and has had the shoulder pop out of place countless times during his senior year.
After he dislocated the shoulder against Middletown, Timberwolves coach Jack Moyer said it would be a “miracle” if Cimolino played again this season. A week later, Cimolino, wearing a shoulder harness he still uses, was playing against Cloverdale.
Moyer, in his 34th season at Fort Bragg, calls Cimolino the toughest player he’s ever coached. So it’s no surprise that Cimolino rushed for 224 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 41-28 win over Salesian while battling the flu.
Cimolino vomited during the third quarter. Of course he did.

Not so fast: Fort Bragg’s Cimolino could play

PrepSports — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:01:25 +0000

Posted by Staff Writer Eric Branch:
Fort Bragg running back Jake Cimolino, initially expected to miss the season after dislocating his shoulder in the Timberwolves’ 49-41 loss to Middletown last week, might play in Friday’s game against Cloverdale.
Fort Bragg coach Jack Moyer said Cimolino has received medical clearance to play. He expects his star running back to be a game-time decision.
Moyer said a doctor told Cimolino he couldn’t do further damage to the shoulder, which popped out of its socket twice last week against Middletown. After the season, Cimolino will decide whether to have surgery on the shoulder.
If he does play, Cimolino will wear a shoulder harness. The senior, considered one of the Empire’s top running backs, has 1,102 yards and 22 total touchdowns this season.