Flintridge Prep football has no problems with Bellarmine-Jefferson
LA CAÑADA — It’s only taken three games for the Flintridge Prep football program to totally revamp its image.
A squad that struggled with numbers and size at the 11-man level has continued its renaissance as an eight-man power, bulldozing through three squads and ending games by halftime.
Nearby Bellarmine-Jefferson fell victim to the Rebels’ resurgence as CIF Southern Section eight-man Division I second-ranked Flintridge Prep scored 57 points by halftime and defeated the visiting Guards, 71-8, in nonleague play Friday evening.
With the win, Flintridge Prep improved to 3-0 and has outscored its three opponents this season by a combined score of 202-26.
At game’s end, first-year Flintridge Prep Coach Russell White gave a big hug to his counterpart, Bell-Jeff’s Fred Martinez, and gave some friendly advice.
“I’ve been there before, not at the eight-man level, but certainly at the 11-man level, and I know what it’s like to lose like that,” White said. “I really believe he’s going to use that as a learning experience. I know I did.
“You don’t want to score 70 points on a team, but our last couple of scores were unexpected. The last one came from a freshman.”
Flintridge Prep finished with seven offensive touchdowns, two defensive scores and a quirky special teams touchdown.
As for the Rebels defense, it held Bell-Jeff (1-2) to 63 yards of offense, while the Guards totaled 17 negative-yardage plays. Flintridge Prep also forced four takeaways versus two giveaways.
Despite the lopsided contest, Martinez was proud of his team and took away a few positives.
“We talked about the speed of the game and as the game went along we got better,” Martinez said. “The score doesn’t indicate our effort. These games just happen, but we showed more resilience today than we did all of last year. That’s the big difference for us this year.”
Rebels sophomore quarterback John Lytle completed nine of 13 passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
Lytle connected on touchdown passes of 15 yards to Nate Gi and 14 yards to Nick Davis in the first quarter as the Rebels took a 29-0 lead after 12 minutes.
Running back Kendall Kikkawa also punched in a three-yard touchdown in the first quarter, while Danny Chiarodit scored from 25 yards.
The scoring didn’t ease up in the second quarter as Gi punched in his second touchdown, this via a five-yard run to put Flintridge Prep up, 36-0, with 7:27 left in the first half.
“It feels great to be in this position,” said Gi, who also added an interception. “We’ve struggled the last couple of years and it’s nice to be on the other side. It’s nice to show our home crowd that we appreciate their support.”
Lytle then tossed what appeared to be the final touchdown of the first half, a 13-yard pass into the corner of the end zone to Beau Detchemendy that put the Rebels ahead, 43-0, with 1:37 left.
The scoring didn’t end, however, as Chiarodit scored his second touchdown on a 24-yard interception return for a score with 1:12 left as Bell-Jeff was unable to end the half without any further damage.
Again the Guards received the ball and again they turned it over late, this time with a fumble recovered in the end zone by senior lineman Warren Hosseinion with 44 seconds left as the Rebels took a 57-0 lead into the break.
For Hosseinion, that touchdown didn’t quite have the same satisfaction as score No. 2, when a squib kick on a kickoff bounced right to the 225-pound lineman and he rumbled 40 yards for a touchdown that gave Flintridge Prep a 64-8 lead.
“That’s the dream,” Hosseinion said. “I had two touchdowns called back my sophomore year because of penalties. I’ve been waiting for that opportunity for a while and I finally got it.”
The Rebels’ last score came on a 12-yard run with 19 seconds left from junior varsity call-up Alex Payne. Flintridge Prep did not attempt an extra point, instead allowing the running clock to wind down.
Even with a tough loss, there were some positives for the Guards, who saw Tomas Butkus (13 carries for 44 yards) break up a shutout with a one-yard touchdown with 2:16 left in the third. Bell-Jeff went for two and converted on a pass from Butkus to Paulis Kasteckas.
Junior safety Canaan Williams also had an interception for Bell-Jeff, which had a fumble recovery from Kasteckas.
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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com
Twitter: @campadresports
