Bell’s Ochoa, Cervantes Heading to Big Ten

Ramon Ochoa and Edgar Cervantes of Bell made history Wednesday when the two seniors signed letters of intent to play football at Iowa, becoming the first Eagle players to sign with a Big Ten Conference school.

Ochoa, 5 feet 10, 180 pounds, was an All-City receiver as a junior. He was named All-City as a defensive back last season after playing quarterback, running back, defensive back, punter and return specialist. Cervantes, 6-3, 210, is a linebacker.

“Most of our players don’t go to big schools, so it makes me feel good that I’ll be playing in the Big Ten,” said Ochoa, who chose Iowa over Oklahoma. “A lot of people in the community have made me feel real good about the decision. I feel like a role model.”

Cervantes committed to the Hawkeyes in December, Ochoa after a trip to Iowa City late last month.

“At the beginning, I thought I was going to be there by myself--I never thought we would be at the same school together,” Cervantes said. “Now, it’s even better. We can be roommates and we have someone to talk to.”

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John Aguirre, former head football coach at Garfield, has been hired as coach at Carson.

Aguirre, 45, coached at Garfield from 1992-96 and led the Bulldogs to the 4-A semifinals in 1993 and 1996. He has worked as defensive coordinator at La Puente Bishop Amat the last two seasons.

Aguirre takes over a Carson program that has won nine City titles but finished 5-6 last season under Mike Sakurai.

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The boys’ and girls’ City Championship basketball finals are tentatively scheduled for March 5 at Pauley Pavilion with the division finals March 6 at Loyola Marymount.

The tentative schedule for the semifinals Feb. 27 includes four games at Los Angeles Southwest College and four at Loyola Marymount, said Jeff Halpern, assistant commissioner of the section.