From Staff Reports: We are just five days into November, so it may seem early for the fall (high school) sports season to be all but over. And that’s because it is. In the past, the day after Thanksgiving usually meant a semifinal round of the CIF-SS football playoffs. But now, with the sports season […]
From Staff Reports:
We are just five days into November, so it may seem early for the fall (high school) sports season to be all but over.
And that’s because it is.
In the past, the day after Thanksgiving usually meant a semifinal round of the CIF-SS football playoffs.
But now, with the sports season moved up two weeks to mid-August, and the elimination of most area programs in the playoffs, there will be about a three week period of quiet time, where the fall season has all but ended and for the winter slate to begin for basketball and soccer of both genders, as well as girls water polo.
The area had four football teams in Friday’s playoffs, and it quickly got narrowed to one.
Poly’s girls volleyball team competed in the CIF-SS Division 4 finals at Quartz Hill this past Saturday night.
And Maranatha’s girls tennis program is representing the area with its dominance so far.
But for the rest of the area, their season’s are over and we anxiously await the season-opening basketball tournaments in late November.
Football:
It was anything but a good week for Pasadena area football programs.
After the first round of the CIF-SS playoffs on Friday night, only one of the four area programs extended their season for at least one more week.
Heading into what could be called ‘Week 11,’ St. Francis, Maranatha, Poly and Pasadena represented the area in postseason play.
The Minutemen and Panthers had designated home games and the Bulldogs and Golden Knights were on the road.
When the clock struck ten o’clock, however, it was PHS alone that stood tall.
The Bulldogs took a 70-mile bus ride to face a 9-1 program on the road and they made it look rather easy.
PHS got out early to a 20-3 lead at Santa Paula, thanks to three rushing TD’s from Malachi Langley, and they were never really challenged.
Mekhi Fox added a rushing score and for good measure, Fernando Simental booted a pair of field goals, and PHS headed home with a 33-22 victory in the CIF-SS Division 11 playoffs.
The other three playoff entrants, however, not only lost, they fell decisively.
The Golden Knights (49-7), Minutemen (55-15) and Panthers (35-7) lost by a combined margin of 139-29.
What many consider the area’s most polished quarterback, St. Francis’ Darius Perrantes, had a prep finale that he’d like to soon forget.
The Calabasas defense kept Perrantes out of the end zone and picked him off three times on Friday.
The Golden Knights, one year after a title-game appearance, scored its lone TD with 20 seconds remaining in the game on a short Bradley Pierce run.
Poly was without its leading rusher, Jackson Treister, who left its ‘Week 10’ game with a substantial knee injury in a win over rival Rio Hondo Prep.
The Panthers got off first, and took a 7-0 lead, but visiting Knight went on to score the game’s next and last 35 points at South Pasadena High School.
One of the area’s great athletes, Franco Alonso, caught a 10-yard TD pass from quarterback Robbie Wilson, but that was all the offense Poly could muster.
Alonso will now get ready for baseball and the senior hopes to lead the Poly baseball program to consecutive CIF titles.
Maranatha got a pair of TD’s from Isaac Fields, but they were completely over-matched throughout Friday’s 55-15, season-ending defeat.
Fields scored on a long TD pass from Enrique Garza, he also brought back an interception for another score, and converted on a 2-point conversion.
PHS will have another road trip this Friday.
The Bulldogs will head to Beaumont at 7 in the second or quarterfinal round.
Girls Volleyball:
Poly had the unusual task of having to play on an opponent’s home floor for a CIF-SS title match over the weekend.
The Panthers made the drive out to Lancaster to take on top seeded Quartz Hill, while several other CIF championship matches took place at Cerritos College in a neutral environment.
Poly dropped the first set 30-28, the second 25-23 and then Quartz Hill was able to wear the Panthers down in the third and deciding set, 25-16.
Ella Mao, Kate Salembier and Alexis Pappachan combined for 25 kills in the loss.
Poly will now travel to Bakersfield on Tuesday to take on Garces Memorial (29-9) in the first round of the CIF State Division 2 playoffs.
The Prep League’s co-champions will lose just one key starter to graduation and should have a huge 2019 season.
Girls Tennis:
Maranatha (15-2) will host Northview today (Monday) in the CIF-SS Division 5 team playoffs.
The Minutemen defeated Providence, 15-3, in the first round.
And they went on to dominate Sultana, 13-5, two days later to set up Monday’s showdown with the Vikings.
In the same bracket (D5) La Salle finds itself in the quartefinals against Westminster.
The Lancers have a pair of playoff victories over La Puente and Patriot.
