These OCVarsity Pickapalooza Deathmatches are turning into my personal Vietnam. I’ve taken  three consecutive brutal beatdowns in a row, but last week’s was the worse because it came against my arch nemesis Damian Calhoun of OCVarsity’s Calhoun Countdown.

The defeat cost me my Diego “The Nightmare”Sanchez UFC action figure. It was a terrible loss to The Los Art and Memorabilia Collection. The defeat sent me to a dark place. Beaten and battered, I was on the verge of retiring from OCVarsity Pickapalooza Deathmatches.

But then I got a call from Apollo Creed, an old OCVarsity Pickapalooza Deathmatch opponent from my past. We had battled to a draw and then I beat him in the rematch. It was an epic OCVarsity Pickapalooza Deathmatch series.

Apollo Creed: “Now, when we fought, you had that eye of the tiger, man; the edge! And now you gotta get it back, and the way to get it back is to go back to the beginning. You know what I mean”

Yeah, we had to take it back to the beginning, but I still wasn’t completely on board and it showed during one of our early OCVarsity Pickapalooza Deathmatch sparring sessions.

Apollo Creed: “He’s hooking. He’s hooking. He’s hooking! Damn, Los, Come on! What’s the matter with you?”

Me: “Tomorrow. Let’s do it tomorrow.”

Apollo Creed: “(Screaming) There is no tomorrow! THERE IS NO TOMORROW! THERE IS NO TOMORROW!”

Apollo Creed was right. “THERE IS NO TOMORROW!!!” Flash to my OCVarsity Pickapalloza Deathmatch training montage.

Apollo Creed: “See that look in your eyes, Los? You got that look back, Los. Eye of the tiger, man.”

Yo, I’m back. I’m ready to GO FOR IT!!!!

This week’s OCVarsity Pickapalooza Deathmatch game is Trabuco Hills vs. JSerra on Friday at 7 p.m. at Saddleback College. This is a great matchup between Trabuco Hills of the South Coast League and JSerra of the Trinity League. The South Coast and Trinity Leagues are easily the two toughest leagues in the county. Trabuco Hills and JSerra aren’t being picked to make it into the Pac-5 Division playoffs out of their respective league, but they will both be live underdogs every time they step on the gridiron.

Trabuco Hills is 4-1 and ranked No. 13 in the county Mr. FryDay Night’s top-25 rankings. The Mustangs lone loss came against top-ranked Santa Margarita and it was a blowout. But they also have quality wins over three Sunset League teams, Newport Harbor, 27-21, Huntington Beach, 35-14, and Fountain Valley, 21-14. The Mustangs have a big, physical offensive line and a balanced attack. Linebacker/running back J.T. Land is a player to watch on the Trabuco Hills side.

JSerra is 4-0 and ranked No. 18 in the county. The Lions haven’t played as strong of a schedule as the Mustangs, but they also own a quality win over Huntington Beach, 20-13. Running back Casey Eugenio is having a fine season for the Lions. He has rushed for 426 yards and five TDs on 81 carries.

The OCVarsity Crew is split on this one. I’m taking Trabuco Hills and I’m putting my The Incredible Hulk bobblehead on the line.

JSerra girls basketball coach Mary Rossignol will represent the Lions. She has accepted the terms of the OCVarsity Pickapalooza Deathmatch and has signed a blood oath to be this week’s challenger.

Rossignol has coached boys and girls at all levels in high school and AAU travel teams in her 24 years of coaching experience. She has been JSerra’s girls basketball coach since 2007 and has guided the Lions to 90 victories and the school’s first appearance in the state tournament in 2010. Look for big things from the Lions this winter. They have  point guard Coco Miller and shooting guard August Touchard returning along with Yorba Linda-transfer Courtney Vaccher.

Rossignol is putting her stuffed JSerra Lion, Scar, on the line against The Incredible Hulk. Hulk might ragdoll Scar.

Yo, LET’S GET IT ON!!!

Follow me on Twitter @LosOCVarsity and follow Rossignol @JSerraGBB.

Here is this week’s OCVarsity Pickapalooza Deathmatch theme song:

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