By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor The premiere area game for ‘Week 7′ is without question the last Angelus League contest between St. Francis and La Salle. Next season, they will no longer be league foes, but both schools are looking to sign a four-year contract where the schools would meet in nonleague games. But for […]
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
The premiere area game for ‘Week 7′ is without question the last Angelus League contest between St. Francis and La Salle.
Next season, they will no longer be league foes, but both schools are looking to sign a four-year contract where the schools would meet in nonleague games.
But for Friday, nobody on either side is deflecting the reality that St. Francis will enter the Lancers’ (Kohorst) stadium as significant favorites.
La Salle (3-3, 1-0) has had a remarkable season already, especially considering they had to replace 22 seniors, all of which had a large impact on the Lancers’ success.
In fact, no La Salle player this season scored a TD last season.
Freshman quarterback CJ Montes is coming into his own, and might even be ahead of schedule in his progression with 10 TD’s and another score via the ground.
Montes has thrown for almost 1,000 yards and is incredibly composed for a kid that just turned 15.
Montes took over the full-time QB duties a couple weeks back after beginning the year with Chris Wilson and himself sharing the responsibilities in running the La Salle offense.
Damian Curl (4 rushing TD’s) and Kole Hamane will need to do their part in not only establishing a run game for the Lancers, but to extend drives and keep a prolific St. Francis offense on the sidelines as much as possible.
Justin Lockhart is the Lancers’ big-game receiver with blazing speed and 4 TD’s thus far.
Joey Rivera will anchor the Lancers’ defense at linebacker, and there will be heavy burdens on defensive backs R’Mon Huff, Dante Coxsom and Treynell Stewart for keeping the prolific Golden Knights’ receiving core.
Greg Dulcich (372 yards, 3 TD), Blake Howard (231 yards, 4 TD), Andrew Monarrez (199 yards, 2 TD), Isaac Cordova (221 yards, 2 TD) make up as formiddable a receiving unit as anyone.
La Salle is coming off a 51-7 Angelus League beatdown of Salesian, and St. Francis dispatched of another Angelus League rival, with last Friday’s 24-7 victory over St. Paul.
Darius Perrantes had a week to shake the rust off and he hopes to lead the St. Francis offense from behind center with the hopes of putting up big numbers against a defense that averages giving up 27 points per game.
Perrantes began the season with 6 TD passes against Mira Costa, but since then, the junior has 4 TD’s and he’s been picked 3 times so far.
Just as the La Salle running backs will need to help control the time of possession battle, Friday’s ‘X-Factor’ might be how much yardage and time St. Francis running backs Elijah Washington and Kevin Armstead are able to eat up on the road.
Washington leads the area with 9 rushing TD’s and Armstead has 5 scores on the ground.
The Golden Knights rushing duo have combined for nearly 650 yards on the ground, but keep in mind, in the first five games, neither played more than two quarters in St. Francis’ blowout wins.
Hopefully both schools can reach an agreement on a nonleague contract so area fans can enjoy a solid rivalry for years to come.
Both schools have solid leading men in coaches Russell Gordon and Jim Bonds, both have outstanding running backs and receivers, so the potential is there for an exciting and competitive game.
Things To Look For:
** Can the La Salle offensive line keep defensive ends Matt Barriga and Gabriel Grbavac off of quarterback CJ Montes?
** Will Damian Curl and Kole Hamane produce enough in the rushing game to deny the Golden Knights a chance to stack the box?
** Will Darius Perrantes produce like everyone knows he’s capable of doing through the air?
** Can the La Salle defense make it difficult for Kevin Armstead and Elijah Washington to stretch drives and keep CJ Montes on the La Salle sideline?
** Will either special teams’ give up a game-changing big play or score?
Records:
La Salle (3-3, 1-0)
St. Francis (6-0, 1-0)
Points Scored:
La Salle: 162
St. Francis: 251
Points Against:
La Salle: 169
St. Francis: 82
St. Francis and La Salle Week by Week Results:
August 25: Arcadia 20, La Salle 10
August 31: St. Francis 48, Mira Costa 21
September 1: La Salle 42, Monrovia 40
September 8: St. Francis 42, Pasadena 0
September 8: Birmingham 34, La Salle 21
September 15: St. Francis 49, La Serna 20
September 15: La Salle 21, Muir 20
September 22: St. Francis 49, Saugus 20
September 22: Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale, Az) 48, La Salle 17
September 29: St. Francis 39, Buena Park 14
October 6: St. Francis 24, St. Paul 7
October 6: La Salle 51, Salesian 7
St. Francis & La Salle Remaining Schedule
October 13: St. Francis at La Salle at 7
October 20: St. Francis at Salesian at 7
October 20: La Salle at Cathedral at 7
October 26: Harvard-Westlake at St. Francis at 7
October 27: La Salle at St. Paul at 7
November 3: Cathedral at St. Francis at 7
November 3: La Salle at Harvard-Westlake at 7
Angelus League Standings:
St. Francis (6-0 overall, 1-0 in league)
Cathedral (5-1, 1-0)
La Salle (3-3, 1-0)
Harvard-Westlake (5-1, 0-1)
St. Paul (2-4, 0-1)
Salesian (1-5, 0-1)
