By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor Things didn’t look good at half time for Flintridge Prep on Saturday afternoon. The Rebels trailed by 11 points in the first round of the 8-man, CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs, and Riverside County Education Academy running back Keith Houston had 300 yards rushing and had already scored 5 touchdowns. But […]
By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor
Things didn’t look good at half time for Flintridge Prep on Saturday afternoon.
The Rebels trailed by 11 points in the first round of the 8-man, CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs, and Riverside County Education Academy running back Keith Houston had 300 yards rushing and had already scored 5 touchdowns.
But the Prep defense and Kendall Kikkawa’s stunning 8 touchdowns led the Rebels to a 63-48 victory.
The Rebels (6-3) will host Rolling Hills Prep (6-3) this coming Friday in a second round match up.
Kikkawa finished with 183 yards rushing on 33 carries.
The senior running back scored on runs of 10, 14, 1, 1, 3, 14 and 7, and he caught a 25-yard strike from Prep quarterback John Lytle.
Not only did the Rebels defense hold RCEA (4-6) to 7 second-half points, they forced four consecutive turnovers to start the second half.
Michael Egan and Bobby Hansen both recovered fumbles.
Prep turned two recovered fumbles into points, as Bruce Dennis cashed them in on runs of 9 and 8 yards, respectively.
Houston finished with the five scores and over 400 yards rushing, but it wasn’t enough for the Wolf Pack.
“It was a hard-fought battle, but as always, we find a way to get it done,” Prep coach Russell White said. “We have a saying for our football team: when one man falls, the next man must step up, and Kikkawa stepped up big for us today.”
White referenced the injury to Prep running back Danny Chiarodit, who is out with a foot injury.
“We had a great team win today,” Kikkawa said. “I have to give a lot of the credit to my offensive line for opening up the holes, and our defense did such a great job in the second half. The defense, in many ways, set up the second-half scores. As a senior, I knew this could have been my last game, but I’m so glad it’s not over.”
