Football:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

Considering how poorly the 2022 football season began, the fact that Covina is currently riding a four-game win streak into the CIF-SS Division 10 quarterfinals was anything but a lock.

The Colts were under new management and started the year with consecutive losses to South Hills, Diamond Bar and Northview.

But first-year coach Aaron Berry and his staff earned the trust of their athletes.

And once the Colts players bought in and accepted their individual roles, Covina has won seven of their last eight games, including a 35-23 victory at Cantwell Sacred Heart last week in the first round of the D-10 playoffs.

CHS has gotten massive contributions throughout its lineup, but Coach Berry said they needed a leader that the younger players could look to.

Berry would challenge senior Jason Nwaka to step out of his comfort zone and be that guy.

Nwaka had all the potential in the world, and he certainly looked the part at 6-feet tall and 225 pounds of muscle.

But Jason kind of did things on his own and was pretty comfortable doing his part quietly.

Nwaka, however, has gone from being a defensive back and contributing on special teams to starring roles as Covina’s defensive end, fullback and captain.

He’s accepted the challenge and has become the guy that younger players look to.

And the Colts are all the better for it.

“Jason has come a long way since I’ve met him,” Coach Berry said. “When I first met him, I was surprised to see the strength and size he has as a football player. He definitely looked apart and acted like it also. Coming off a good junior season, he knew that he was one of the top players on this team, but he lacked the leadership as a senior. It took some time and a lot of coaching to make Jason a leader. He went from lifting by himself to challenging players to give their all. He went from taking reps off in practice to showing players what hard work looks like. He has not only become a better football player, but also a better person. Sometimes you have to become selfless as a player to better the team, and Jason has done it on and off the field, and that’s something special

On defense, he is one of our starting defensive ends. He causes so much trouble that we put him at nose guard also at times. On offense, he plays tight end and fullback. He has made many key blocks in games and is the king of pancakes. Jason leads by example. In the school, Jason is a leader in ASB promoting school excellence and showing good school culture. In the weightroom, Jason pushes the weight. He challenges others to get stronger and lifts with different groups to show what it takes to be great in football. On the team, Jason, as I said, leads by example in drills and practice. He has that dominant mentality that is contagious to the whole team. When younger players watch him play it inspires them to work hard and lead by example. He represents the team motto: respect all, fear none, and after games, many kids go talk to him because he impacts them by the way he plays.”

Nwaka feels like he makes more of an impact at defensive end than at fullback, and stats would bear that out.

On the defensive side of the ball, Nwaka is second to Joaquin Barragan with 62 tackles, including 10 for loss.

Barragan has a team-high 77 tackles and five for loss.

But Nwaka’s contributions go so far beyond mere statistics, including helping Covina get through a brutal 0-3 start.

“The first three games took us a while to adjust to having new coaches and new players on our team,” Nwaka said. “The chemistry wasn’t there the first three games, but we didn’t let being 0-3 stop us from being the great team that we could be. We all stayed together no matter what the outcome was. Our building trust in each other and just trusting the process Coach Berry set us for. We all have to go through a storm to see sunshine.”

As odd as it might sound, the Colts program owes their quarterback and his father a lot of credit for Nwaka’s contributions.

“I would like to thank my QB Jacob Duronslet and Mr. Duronslet for introducing me to football,” Jason said. “I remember when I played on their travel ball team for basketball in 8th Grade, Mr. Duronslet recommended playing football. I was like why not give it a shot and look at me now, I have so much love for the game of football.”

Coach Berry has no doubt that Nwaka can not only compete, but thrive at the next level.

He’s fast, strong, intelligent, selfless, always willing to learn and has an incredible work ethic.

And his drive and moral foundation comes from his parents, Angela and Kalu Nwaka.

Nwaka said he’s planning on competing in track and field next year, and that APU, Cal Poly Humboldt and San Jose State are on his radar.

Dear potential college coaches and scouts, did you hear that?

This diamond in the rough is available to make your program better.

Nwaka is also popular and he was a member of the homecoming court during the halftime ceremony of the Pomona game.

And while his GPA is north of the 3.0 mark, Nwaka wants to up his game in the classroom as well.

Jason’s focus, and that of his coaches and teammates, is squarely locked in on Baldwin Park.

The Colts (7-4) face the Braves (9-2) at Covina District Field with a spot in the D-10 semifinals at stake.

At the bottom of this story are stat leaders for both programs and how CHS and BP match up statistically.

As much as Jason has done on this magical Covina ride, Nwaka and his staff would be the first to say they wouldn’t be in this position without every player on their roster.

Quotable:

Covina coach, Aaron Berry: “As a football player, you don’t get to coach someone like Jason that often. He is very dominant on the field. There are times that he is put in bad positions and still finds a way to get the job done. There isn’t a time where you don’t see Jason near the football as his speed and strength causes trouble to every o-line group he faces. I see him making a huge impact on the next level. It will be very hard to replace him as he is a key part of the d- line this year. As a young man, really his growth he has made this year is what I appreciate most.

I was really hard on him in the spring because he didn’t have the confidence to be a leader. He has grown so much as a person, and it makes me proud to see him represent the program. He knows what to say to the team in tough times and he is always uplifting when we are struggling as a program. When we started 0-3, he gave a speech that really set the tone to where we are at today. I appreciate the sacrifice of pride that he gave up because he became more. than I even expected.”

Covina athletic director, Kevin Glasby: “Jason was one of those raw athletes you get as a freshman and you see so much potential. Sometimes in the freshman football games, he would make a play like Lawrence Taylor and the next play be as lost as Forest Gump. But his growth as a player and leader has been incredible. He’s one of the strongest players we’ve ever had as well. He power cleans 315 and squats nearly 500 pounds. He’s special for sure,”

Covina quarterback, Jacob Duronslet: “Jason is a great teammate that always comes to work every day. He has great energy and is always uplifting and positive. He is a great part of this team, and we wouldn’t be where we are without him”

Stat leaders:

QB:
Drew Knight, BP: 167-of-260, 2,425, 21 TD’s 8 INT
Jacob Duronslet, Covina: 96-of-173, 1,403, 20 TD’s, 8 INT

RB:
Joseph Rangel, Covina: 132-876 & 8 TD’s
Jacob Duronslet, Covina: 95-577 & 11 TD’s
Josh Gonzalez, BP: 94-519 & 3 TD’s
Drew Knight, BP: 66-414 & 7 TD’s
Joaquin Barragan, Covina: 47-326 & 2 TD’s
Ridge Lalau, BP: 35-283 & no TD’s

Receivers:
Teo Nunez, BP: 39-896 & 10 TD’s
Caleb Calvin, BP: 46-639 & 8 TD’s
Ronnie Ropke, Covina: 26-492 & 7 TD’s
Isaiah Ariza, BP: 30-360 & 3 TD’s
Abraham Perez, Covina: 17-223 & 2 TD’s
Dylan Maestas, Covina: 12-140 & 2 TD’s
Da-mion Yeargin, Covina: 9-117 & 3 TD’s
Adrian Rachal, Covina: 9-107 & 3 TD’s

Defense: (Tackles AND yard-for-loss):
Joaquin Barragan, Covina: 77 tackles, 5 for loss
Jason Nwaka, Covina: 62 tackles, 10 for loss
Corey Lacy, BP: 56 tackles, 4.5 for loss
Diego Manriquez, Covina: 55 tackles, 1 for loss
Nicolas Hernandez, Covina: 53 tackles, 10 for loss
Jose Nunez, Covina: 52 tackles, 1 for loss
Longino Cornejo, BP: 41 tackles, 4.5 for loss
Adrian Rachal, Covina: 38 tackles, 2 for loss
Noah Cuellar, Covina: 37 tackles, 1 for loss
Bryan Estrada, BP: 37 tackles, 5 for loss
Vegas Bautista, BP: 32 tackles
Isaiah Lucero, BP: 30 tackles, 1 for loss
Jayson Porter, Covina: 26 tackles
Eric Fimbres, Covina: 25 tackles
Ronnie Ropke, Covina: 24 tackles, 4 for loss
Da-mion Yeargin, Covina: 22 tackles, 1 for loss
Gregory Segala, Covina: 20 tackles, 1 for loss

Sacks:
Ridge Lalau, BP: 5
Nicolas Hernandez, Covina: 3
Jason Nwaka, Covina: 2
Joaquin Barragan, Covina: 1
Adrian Rachal, Covina: 1
Kamran Davis, Covina: 1

Interceptions:
Vegas Bautista, BP: 4
Isaiah Lucero, BP: 3
Isaiah Ariza, BP: 3
Ronnie Ropke, Covina: 2
Adrian Rachal, Covina: 1
Da-mion Yeargin, Covina: 1
Gregory Segala, Covina: 1
Diego Manriquez, Covina: 1

By the Numbers:
Records: C (7-4); BP (9-2)
Points Scored: C (349); BP (376)
Points Allowed: C (231); BP (204)
Most Points Scored in a Game: C (49 vs Chino); BP (55 vs South El Monte)
Most Points Allowed in a Game: C (43 vs Claremont); BP (45 vs Schurr)
Total Yards Per Game: C (308); BP (388)
Passing Yards Per Game: C (129); BP (231)
Rushing Yards Per Game: C (179); BP (157)
League Finish: C (Sierra champs); BP (Mt. Baldy champs)
Baldwin Park Road Record: (4-1)
Covina Home Record: (5-1)
MaxPreps State Ranking: C (350); BP (337)
CalPreps Prediction: Covina 28, Baldwin Park 26

Friday’s CIF-SS Division 10 Quarterfinal Schedule:
Santa Ana at Palmdale
Salesian at Sunny Hills
Muir at Norwalk
Covina vs Baldwin Park at Covina District Field

2022 Covina Schedule-Results:
8/26: South Hills 16, Covina 14
9/2: Diamond Bar 23, Covina 14
9/9: Northview 42, Covina 12
9/16: Covina 41, Bell Gardens 0
9/22: Covina 31, Sierra Vista 12
10/1: Covina 42, Montclair 24
10/7: Claremont 43, Covina 23
10/14: Covina 41, Pomona 21
10/20: Covina 47, Rowland 0
10/28: Covina 49, Chino 27
11/4: Covina 35, Cantwell Sacred Heart 23
11/11: Covina vs Baldwin Park at Covina District Field

Sierra League Standings:
Covina (7-4 overall, 3-0 in league)
Chino (6-5, 2-1)
Rowland (5-5, 1-2)
Pomona (4-6, 0-3)