October 18, 2007

Barden a catch for Cal Poly SLO

Former Flintridge Prep receiver is putting up big numbers for the Mustangs and the junior is on the watch list for the Walter Payton Award.
By Jim Barrero, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Ramses Barden has played at small schools throughout his football career, but there are many who believe he will play on Sundays -- code for the NFL.

Barden (La Cañada Flintridge Prep HS), a junior wide receiver at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, was added this week to the watch list for the Walter Payton Award.

There are 16 players on the list for the award, which honors the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision (former Division I-AA). The winner will be announced Dec. 13 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Barden, a 6-foot-6, 228-pounder, leads the nation in receiving yards a game (154.0) and yards a catch (27.2). In six games, Barden has 34 receptions for 924 yards and 11 touchdowns. His best game this season came in a 47-19 victory over Weber State in which he caught nine passes for 219 yards and four touchdowns. Barden also had a 207-yard receiving effort in a season-opening loss at Texas State.

Last month, Western Oregon Coach Arne Ferguson was the one quoted as saying Barden "will be playing on Sundays in a few years."

Barden embraces the talk.

"I want to be good enough to get [to the NFL], whether it's likely or not," Barden told the San Luis Obispo Tribune. "I don't want to be somebody who's projected as a free agent or something like that. I'm the kind of person that if I set a goal somewhere and achieve that goal, I want to take it [further]."

As a freshman, Barden caught a team-leading 40 passes for 655 yards and nine touchdowns. He followed that with 42 receptions for 824 yards and four touchdowns the next season.

"He's just matured physically," Cal Poly Coach Rich Ellerson told the Tribune. "Last year, he played through some nagging injuries, and I think that was a real tough year for the guy. Every week he was playing with pain and playing hurt, but he was productive at the same time. That's where his physical toughness comes from."

Although he is confident in his abilities, Barden also remains humble and focused on the team's success.

"I just want to make sure I do my part," said Barden, who helped lead Flintridge Prep to the 2003 Southern Section Division XIII championship. "I want to play with the intensity my team needs me to play with. If I do that, whatever goals I have for [college] and beyond college football will fall into place."

Player of the week roundup. . .

* Tennessee Chattanooga senior safety Chris Camacho (Riverside Ramona HS/Citrus College) earned honors as defensive player of the week in the Southern Conference. Camacho is leading the Mocs and the Southern Conference in tackles with 71 and has recorded double-digits in four consecutive games. Last week, he had 11 tackles in a 39-21 victory over Western Carolina and was also credited with a safety. It was the third game in a row that the Mocs had a safety.

* USC sophomore two-meter man Shea Buckner (Villa Park HS) earned honors in men's water polo in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation after scoring eight goals to help the Trojans win their fifth straight So Cal tournament title. Buckner, who sat out last season after transferring from California, had two goals and four assists in a semifinal victory over UCLA and four goals in an 11-6 win over Stanford in the title game. Top-ranked USC is 12-0 and Buckner leads the team with 17 goals.

* In Big West Conference women's soccer, UC Riverside junior forward Tessa Lennala (Temecula Chaparral HS) shared honors with UC Irvine freshman forward Tanya Taylor (Fullerton Sunny Hills HS). Lennala scored the only goal in Riverside's 1-1 tie with Pacific and then scored the winner in overtime in a 2-1 victory over UC Davis. Lennala, who transferred from Miami, leads the team with eight goals. Taylor, who is tied for the team lead with 11 points, scored both goals in a 2-1 victory over UC Santa Barbara, the Anteaters' first win over the Gauchos since 1998.

* USC sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Olsen (Villa Park HS) earned honors in Pacific 10 Conference women's soccer after recording consecutive shutouts against Oregon and Oregon State. Olsen is the first Trojan to earn player-of-the-week honors since 2005. Olsen has given up only one goal in USC's current eight-game unbeaten streak. The Trojans are 10-1-1 this season.

* Cal State Fullerton junior right side hitter/middle blocker Brittany Moore (Orange El Modena HS) had 46 kills in victories over UC Riverside and UC Irvine last week for the Titans' women's volleyball team to share co-honors in the Big West. Moore had 30 kills against Riverside, becoming the first player in the Big West to reach the mark this season and the first Titan to have that many in eight years.

* Maribel Cespedes (L.A. Roosevelt HS/Glendale College) of Cal State Los Angeles won honors in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. for women's cross-country. Cespedes, a senior, had a time of 17 minutes 44 seconds to finish 11th out of 140 runners at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational. Cespedes had the same time as teammate Karla Alburez (L.A. Marshall HS/L.A. City College). The duo helped Cal State L.A. finish fifth in the 16-team event.

"From Here To There" is a weekly web-exclusive column that appears Thursdays online during the academic year. If there's someone you'd like to see highlighted, please let us know. Send any leads, tips or ideas to: jim.barrero@latimes.com.