By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Like any football program, it’s a wait-and-see scenario when you have new players at key positions. And while Darius Perrantes will be taking his first varsity snaps as a starter Thursday night when the Golden Knights host Mira Costa at 7, confidence and trust in his abilities are very high. […]
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
Like any football program, it’s a wait-and-see scenario when you have new players at key positions.
And while Darius Perrantes will be taking his first varsity snaps as a starter Thursday night when the Golden Knights host Mira Costa at 7, confidence and trust in his abilities are very high.
Add to that, the return of several key players on both sides of the ball, and St. Francis looks like they’ll be a title contender as they always seem to be under 18th-year head coach Jim Bonds.
Perrantes is a 6-foot, 200-pound junior who, according to teammates and coaches, can beat you with his arm and legs.
The Crespi transfer is taking over the duties from last year’s Pasadena Sports Now Offensive Player of the Year Michael Bonds.
Bonds threw for over 2,000 yards and 25 TD’s and has moved on to Glendale Community College, so Perrantes knows he’s filling big shoes.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but that kind of comes with the job,” Perrantes said. “I need to be calm and collected. “Coach Bonds has a great knowledge of the game and he changed me into being a leader. They’ve (teammates and classmates) all taken me in like brothers.”
Bonds not only lost his quarterback from last season, it was also his nephew. But Perrantes has earned his coach’s respect as a player as well as a person.
“Darius came to us last semester and we’ve gotten a chance to get to know him,” Bonds said. “He had a great summer and is coming along with his reads. He will be able to do some damage with his legs too.”
Arguably the area’s best running back, Elijah Washington returns and he’ll not only get more carries, the senior two-way starter was honored by his teammates and coaches by being elected one of the three ‘Golden Knights,’ (captains), along with Matt Barriga and Greg Dulcich.
Washington shared the ball last season with Jace Harrick, and finished with over 600 yards on 100 carries and six rushing TD’s. He also caught 18 passes for 188 yards and another score.
As much as he’s looking forward to getting more carries after Harrick graduated, Washington is such a solid and selfless kid that he said he actually will miss Jace and the dual threat they provided St. Francis.
Washington will also spend time at linebacker on defense.
“I worked on my footwork a lot in the off-season. I feel like I can get those hard yards too. My dad always taught me to run down hill, so that was something I was taught to do,” Washington said.
His coach loves everything Washington brings to the table.
“Elijah is going to be our featured running back going into the season and had a great junior year,” Bonds said. “He’s gotten bigger and stronger and is a vocal leader. He was voted a Golden Knight by his teammates and we’re also going to need him at linebacker.”
Greg Dulcich originally wanted the quarterbacking job, but the senior captain swallowed his pride for his teammates and coaches and will be a key leader at both wide receiver and in the defensive backfield.
Dulcich had 18 catches for 406 yards, including four TD’s.
“Greg has had an outstanding off-season, and we’re going to move him around like we did Daniel (Scott), and he’s a guy to really look out for this year,” Bonds said.
Dulcich acknowledged he wanted a different role a few months ago, but he’s a quality kid and a leader, and his coaches and teammates know Dulcich will do whatever is needed of him to win games.
“I need to make plays at receiver and on defense,” Dulcich said. “I bring size and speed and create mismatches. Every year, some guys have had to step up and I think it was time for me to step up.”
Matt Barriga is the third of three captains and will anchor the offensive and defensive lines.
“It means a lot to be a captain,” Barriga said. “My job is to teach the younger guys how we play. I am looking forward to the players we have. We have a lot of guys who can make big plays.”
Blake Howard is going to be a “Mr. Everything” for the Golden Knights.
Howard will play receiver, linebacker, as well as punting and some kicking.
“We’re a little bit younger at the quarterback position, we got a couple transfers and we’re not as big as last year’s team,” Howard said. “We’ve got some challenges, but they’re nothing we can’t overcome.”
Bonds said that Howard’s speed is also deceiving and that he’s capable of big plays offensively.
Bobby Gazmarian isn’t a big guy, but the senior plays huge.
Last year, he ran a kickoff back for a TD against La Salle and on the defensive side, he had 55 tackles and picked off three passes.
“I am pretty excited with (newcomer quarterback Darius Parrentes and running back Kevin Armstead) and we have some sophomores that have moved up that will be good,” Gazmarian said. “We’re mentally and physically prepared for Thursday.”
“Bobby is one of our key players,” Bonds said. “We’re going to get him the ball on offense. He’s a dynamic player for us.”
No defensive player in the Pasadena-La Canada area will cause more havoc for offensive lineman, running backs and quarterbacks than Gabriel Grbavac.
Grbavac had 44 tackles and was second in the area with 10 sacks.
If you hadn’t seen Grbavac since last football season (like this reporter), you likely would not recognize him.
The senior defensive end has leaned up doing MMA training and eating healthy and has gone for 235 pounds down to about 205.
“I expect more of the same out of Gabriel,” Bonds said. “He is even quicker at the line of scrimmage. He’s not carrying as much weight and is going to run around some tackles and put the hurt on some quarterbacks. Matt Barriga will be on the other end and he’s in great shape and a big body, so it’s good to have both of those guys back on defense.”
Grbavac looks forward to the kickoff in less than 24 hours.
“I think (my weight loss) it’s going to have a huge impact this year on my speed,” Grbavac said. “I’ve also been working on my hand movements with MMA stuff. Our team works really hard and we really like each other. Blake Howard and Bobby Gazmarian (will be key) on defense.”
Andrew Monnarez is a guy who teammates and coaches expect to have a breakout year at receiver and defensive back.
Isaac Cordova is also a receiver that his teammates and coaches are expecting big things from.
Perhaps the one real unknown is how effective the Golden Knights will be after losing special teams star Dulles Hanula to graduation.
Hanula was outstanding with extra points, field goals and kickoff’s. so people should pay special attention to what St. Francis is able to do in those facets of the game.
As kickoff nears and the blistering heat has altered practice times and moods, Washington and Gazmarian both wanted to invite their classmates and fans out to see them play Thursday night and all season.
“Every Friday night, you’ll see us out there working hard and hopefully coming out with the win,” Gazmarian said.
Washington too, acknowledged how important their home-field advantage has been thanks to its raucous fans.
He wanted us to pass along this message:
“I want them to know this year will be different. I think we can go further this year. Our team is going to be stronger.”
Quotable:
SF coach Jim Bonds: “We have quite a few guys ready to step up and answer the call to replace (or try to) Daniel Scott, Michael Bonds and Maxx Jakeway. Greg Dulcich will play inside and outside at receiver and is a guy to really look out for. Another guy is Blake Howard, who is a two-way starter. He’ll be asked to do a lot of things. He can play fullback as well and do some kicking for us.”
SF captain Elijah Washington: “I’ll be playing linebacker on both sides, so I need to make tackles and get the job done. I’ve been watching the ‘Golden Knights’ (the captains) since the fifth grade, so coming here and getting that job is huge. I’ve looked up to those guys since I was young. (Offensively), I’m looking forward to more carries, but I’ll miss my duo with Jace.”
SF captain Greg Dulcich: “It’s a really big honor to be chosen as a captain because this program and this school mean so much to me. I need to do my job at receiver and help us win games. (Most looking forward to) winning games. Our main goal after winning the Angelus league is to win CIF.”
SF captain Matt Barriga: “To me, it means a lot (to be a captain). It means you’ve put in a lot of hard work and you lead by example. I have a lot of experience and want to lead the younger guys.”
2017 Regular Season Schedule:
August 31: Mira Costa at St. Francis at 7
September 8: St. Francis at Pasadena at 7
September 15: La Serna at St. Francis at 7
September 22: St. Francis vs Saugus at College of Canyons at 7:30
September 29: St. Francis at Buena Park at 7
October 6: St. Paul at St. Francis at 7 **
October 13: St. Francis at La Salle at 7 **
October 20: St. Francis at Salesian at 7 **
October 26: Harvard-Wesklake at St. Francis at 7 **
October 3: Cathedral at St. Francis at 7 **
** Denotes Angelus League Game
*** Editor’s Note: Please send any photos relevant to the story and Pasadena Sports Now will be happy to use them. Credit goes to whoever took the photos. Pasadena Sports Now will publish photos on the same night the game is played.
Follow us on Twitter @SportsPasadena and @BReedBaiotto. Email feedbacks, suggestions, or comments to Brian@PasadenaNowMagazine.com.
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