Weekly Football Previews: League titles on line for St. Francis, Crescenta Valley

Whether by record, rankings or schedule, it appears that the St. Francis High and Los Angeles Cathedral football teams are evenly-matched heading into Friday’s Angelus League showdown downtown at 7 p.m.

The defending co-league champion Phantoms are ranked third in the latest CIF Southern Section Division III poll, while St. Francis is fourth. Both squads are 8-0 and 3-0 in league and they are the last two top-10 undefeated teams in the division.

While high school football site calpreps.com predicts Cathedral will win, 28-24, both teams have reached Friday’s game with a track record of impressive victories.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

Using calpreps.com‘s point system, the Golden Knights have the most difficult win on either team’s schedule, having taken down high-flying Buena Park, 28-19, at Friedman Field on Sept. 30.

Yet, it could be argued that the Phantoms racked up the biggest nonleague victory in the Angelus League’s brief three-year reestablishment when they defeated Division I Loyola, 21-19, on Sept. 16.

Though Cathedral shared last year’s league title, St. Francis has defeated the Phantoms three straight seasons and five out of six times that the teams have met since Cathedral joined the Mission League before the teams became members of the Angelus League.

When asked what concerns him most about the Phantoms, St. Francis Coach Jim Bonds was quick to point to one particular area.

“Their athleticism,” Bonds said. “They have great athletes on offense and defense and a couple of big defensive ends that we have to slow down so we can open up some running lanes. We’ve got our work cut out.”

Though there are similarities between the squads, there are also stark differences.

While St. Francis is firm at signal-caller with Michael Bonds (1,510 yards and 18 touchdowns versus three interceptions), Cathedral has rotated a pair of quarterbacks in senior Andrew Tovar (1,625 yards and 17 touchdowns with four interceptions) and freshman Brian Young (1,052 yards and 11 touchdowns with five picks).

The Golden Knights are also happy to run the ball and have to the tune of averaging 167.9 yards per game, while pass-happy Cathedral carries for 79 yards a game.

St. Francis has three receivers with 20 or more receptions led by Daniel Scott (26 catches for 470 yards and eight touchdowns). Scott would be Cathedral’s No. 4 receiver, as the Phantoms boast a talented corps led by Jamire Calvin, a 2017 U.S. Army All-American.

Calvin has caught 63 passes for 1,056 yards and 10 touchdowns and is one of two Army All-Americans on the Phantoms, along Hunter Echols, one of the talented ends Bonds mentioned.

The USC-bound Echols has five sacks, but 30 quarterback hurries.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the schools is the number of stars per squad.

Cathedral has five players who are ranked by rivals.com, which includes defensive backs Rhedi Short (Arizona) and Jeffrey Manning (Oregon State) and wide receiver Arex Fleming (Oregon State).

St. Francis has one ranked player in Bonds.

“There’s an old saying in athletics for years,” Jim Bonds said. “A great team can beat a team of great athletes. If we play together and have each other’s back and rally around each other, then we can beat anybody on any given night.”

For those unable to attend or find a parking spot, the game will be livestreamed at https://www.foxsports.com/west/prepzone-stream.

Crescenta Valley at Burbank at Memorial Field, 7 p.m., Friday: The Pacific League’s final two unbeaten squads meet with a share of the league championship on the line.

“We’re really pumped and excited about this game,” Crescenta Valley Coach Paul Schilling said. “To be in week nine with a chance to be playing for a league championship, it’s what you hope for as a coach.

“We’ve had seasons where this game hasn’t meant anything to us and it’s great to not need to lift the guys’ spirits. They want this game.”

Headed into the previous week’s contest, Crescenta Valley (7-1, 5-0 in league) had its three toughest league contests of the stacked against it and the Falcons passed test No. 1 with an impressive 38-9 victory over reigning league champion Burroughs (4-4, 3-2).

Following Burbank (6-2, 5-0), the Falcons also have a resurgent archrival in Arcadia (7-1, 4-1) in the regular season finale.

While Schilling is proud of his team’s defense, he knows that Burbank’s bread and butter is stopping opponents by any means necessary.

“I looked at Burbank’s stats and they’re amazing,” Schilling said. “They have 16 interceptions, 12 fumble recoveries, 28 total turnovers and four blocked punts. Wow. Those are crazy stats, but they make our main goal real easy.

“We can’t turn the ball over. We have to hold onto the ball.”

In all but one contest this season, Crescenta Valley has scored at least 33 points, while its underrated defense has kept seven of eight opponents to 13 points or less this season with two shutouts.

Pasadena at Hoover, 7 p.m. Friday at Moyse Field: Three seasons have passed since Hoover last defeated Pasadena, but the Tornadoes are faced with an excellent opportunity as they have played reasonably well in losses the last two weeks to Muir (28-26) and Arcadia (24-7).

Should Hoover (3-5, 0-5 in Pacific League) prevail against Pasadena (1-7, 1-4), it has a very good chance of a .500 season as it will head into the annual “Battle for the Victory Bell” against Glendale as the likely favorite.

Running back Quentin Smith has missed considerable time over the past few weeks for Hoover, but his hamstring injury has improved so there’s a chance of him playing, though he is still questionable.

Glendale at Arcadia, 7 p.m. Friday: Arcadia (7-1, 4-1 in Pacific League) still has a shot at a Pacific League title as it hosts Glendale on Friday.

The Apaches are in third place in league, a game behind Burbank (5-0) and Crescenta Valley (5-0), and are ranked third in CIF Southern Section Division XI.

Glendale (1-7, 0-5) is coming off a rough loss to Muir, 62-26, in which it hung close with the Mustangs through the first quarter, but faltered thereafter en route to its fifth loss in a row and its 12th consecutive league loss dating back to last season.

The Nitros are battling myriad injury problems, while Arcadia is putting together one of its best seasons in recent years.

The Apaches defeated the Nitros, 42-0, last season.

Chadwick at Flintridge Prep, 7 p.m. Friday: Friday night football on the campus of Flintridge Prep football is a rare thing.

But it might well be a good thing as the Rebels have played on three consecutive Saturdays and they’re riding a three-game losing streak.

Flintridge Prep’s return to the eight-man level also means a return to its rivarly with Chadwick.

Though the Rebels’ biggest rival is considered Pasadena Poly, on the gridiron, there was never any love lost between Flintridge Prep and Chadwick, which won the teams’ last meeting in 2013 and won four of the last five meetings.

The game will have plenty of importance as Flintridge Prep (4-3) is ranked sixth in CIF Southern Section Eight-Man Division I and Chadwick (7-1) checks in at No. 8.

Both are looking to solidify playoff berths.

Both freelance teams are vying for at-large berths, which will be released by the CIF Southern Section office by 6 p.m. Sunday night.