In light of the recent comments made by former Pierce College running backs coach Cordell Landers, now at Valley, he has made one thing clear: Valley is going to have the same attention (be it negative or positive) given to them as is given at Pierce.
Former Brahmas wide receiver who will be headed to Illinois in the summer called Landers’ comments “childish.” True. Calling out an opponent who last year handed a 42-9 beat down is anything but wise, but all the same the comments made allow the Brahmas to at least think and maybe question them a little.
Also begging the attention is this: how much does being a former Division I player factor in as to how well you can coach and also recruit? Recruiting in this case is something that Valley has needed and a presence that hasn’t been around for a long time. Meanwhile Pierce last year alone had players from 16 states including powerhouse football states like Florida and Texas which eat and breathe football. So where does Valley stand in terms of being able to recruit? Pierce clearly has the advantage.
Pierce’s success breeds talent and is a destination where players really want to go. Pierce has had winning seasons in three of the last four years, the down being when Pierce played all of its games on the road due to the reconstruction of John Shepard Stadium. Even then Pierce was still able to get players out and yet again trounced Valley despite its lowly season in 2011. That was followed by two straight seasons of bowl wins with the Patriotic Bowl in 2012 and then winning the division title in 2013 over Chaffey.
With coach Landers now at Valley talking about having better experience and Division I pedigree it begs to differ what was his success in the past. Just so happens that his last few seasons when he was with Citrus College for four years he did not have a winning season. Just goes to show you what trash talk will do. A man talking about all the credibility in the world, yet all the same he doesn’t seem to have any. The fact is he didn’t even win a bowl game at Valley while Pierce has remained relevant and now is one of the faces of junior college football at least in Southern California.
The trash talk, although not advised, does offer a spark. It helps insinuate friction and brings attention to a rivalry that really hasn’t had much. Two teams in the San Fernando Valley, both with deep roots and a legacy that goes back over 50 years.
Landers’ comments that call out the athletic director and the offensive coordinator are giving the Brahmas only more motivation to not only maintain its possession as being a competitive football team, but to try and destroy the Monarchs the same way they have been doing the last few seasons. Only this time, three former Brahma coaches are on the other sideline. One of them opened his mouth and might have taken his comments just a bit too far.
A match has been struck and things have gotten personal. Only two things will come once the game begins on Nov. 1 at John Shepard Stadium: either the Monarchs come out as a competitive team that makes the Brahmas work or it’ll be a Brahmas team that will come out motivated not only to play, but give Landers, Navarro and the rest of Valley College a loss they will never forget.