Success depends on maturation for Flintridge Prep football
If the transition from 11-man football to the eight-man game was supposed to be difficult, the Flintridge Prep football team did a wonderful job concealing the turmoil.
The Rebels arguably turned in their best season last year since the 2003 CIF Southern Section Division XIII championship campaign. First-year coach Russell White led his squad to a 7-4 record as a freelance team and advancement to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Divisioin I eight-man playoffs.
“We had a real special season and our priority this year is to build on it,” White said. “We can even though we’re very young. We’re going to have to do it without all that experience from last year.”
The Rebels graduated a slew of talented players, including four of five All-CIF picks in running backs Danny Chiarodit and Kendall Kikkawa, lineman Warren Hosseinion and receiver Beau Detchemendy. Hosseinion, Detchemendy and Kikkawa were also All-Area picks.
So, perhaps it’s natural that the Rebels will build their team around the only returning All-CIF and All-Area selection in quarterback John Lytle.
The 6-foot-3 junior was quite the gunslinger last year and developed a propensity for the long ball with Detchemendy.
Lytle completed less than 50% of his passes (154 for 314), but still totaled 2,197 yards and a whopping 42 touchdowns.
This season, Lytle is promising improvement.
“I’ve been working a lot this offseason just trying to get more accurate,” Lytle said. “The coaches have helped a lot, getting us into a good system and we’re not going to be chucking the ball. We have a lot of good pass plays. I’ve worked hard on being a better quarterback and I think it will show.”
Without the explosive Detchemendy, Lytle will turn to a couple of seniors in Nick Davis and Ramzi Beshir at receiver, while sophomore Ben Grable and volleyball convert AJ Nicassio will also play a big role in the passing game.
One of Lytle’s top receivers last year was Kikkawa, whose graduation leaves holes all over the field.
As far as the backfield goes, White’s offense will lean on speedster Alex Smith. The senior is complemented by slashing sophomore back Alex Payne.
Maybe the team’s biggest loss in terms of stability was Hosseinion, an anchor on the offensive and defensive lines.
On offense, Lytle puts his trust in senior offensive linemen Jonathan Au and Bradley Noble.
“Talent-wise, we’re not on par with last year’s group, but I think we have a lot of potential,” Au said. “The guys want to work hard and working hard every day in practice is our No. 1 priority. It’s in the tone and we have good energy in practice every single day.”
Along the defensive front, White sees potential in Mat Son, a sophomore and catcher on the baseball team.
Senior Will Tayback is back and leads a linebacking corps that includes Grable and senior Bobby Hansen.
Maybe the most interesting unit this season is the defensive backs. White is taking a gamble in starting two freshmen in Tommy Porter and Zack Kim.
“It’s a floor-shaker for sure with two true freshmen,” White said, “but when you see these guys, they passed the eye-ball test. They’ll do well.”
The Rebels also welcome a big leg in freshman Silas Chavez, son of girls’ soccer coach Esteban Chavez, to handle the kicking and punting duties.
“We’ve had to do a lot of coaching this summer because some of these guys have never played football,” White said. “For us, it’s going to be attention to detail.
“Right now defense is ahead of offense, but both units are moving along well. As the season goes on, this team is only going to get better.”
