Debut victory goes to Maranatha over Glendale
PASADENA — Big plays proved pivotal in a 42-0 season-opening loss for the Glendale High football team Friday evening at Pasadena Maranatha in the debut game for each squad’s coach.
The visiting Nitros surrendered a touchdown on the game’s first play, allowed three scoring passes from Maranatha quarterback Enrique Garza and were never in contention.
The program dropped its eighth straight contest in the first game for head coach Cary Harris, who was opposed by Maranatha’s LaVar Arrington, the famed former linebacker at Penn State and Washington.
“You see some guys go out there and compete and that’s what it’s about; it’s a learning experience and it’s the first game of the preseason,” Harris said. “Obviously, you want to win every game, but there’s a lot of things that we have to work at. We have to get better at every phase of the game and we have to get back to work on Monday.”
Garza and Minutemen senior running back Zack McClendon turned in their share of big plays.
McClendon opened the contest with an 86-yard kickoff return for a score on the very first play as the Minutemen raced to a 16-0 advantage after one quarter.
The senior also hauled in a 44-yard reception on fourth down in the second quarter that eventually led to a 35-yard field goal from Jacob Kefalas.
McClendon finished the first half with a 17-yard touchdown run to give the Minutemen a 26-0 lead going into halftime. The carry was the lone for the back, who also hauled in two receptions for 54 yards.
The bulk of Maranatha’s offensive success, however, came through the air, as Garza completed eight of nine passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns.
The highlight came on a 50-yard touchdown pass play to junior wide receiver Isaac Fields (three catches for 67 yards) with 8:43 left in the first quarter that gave the home team a quick 14-0 lead.
In the second half, Esparza connected on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Moreno and a 15-yard scoring toss to Jack Goodman. The second score initiated a running clock as Maranatha took a 40-0 advantage with 8:32 left in the contest.
Maranatha senior defensive end Sabien Rivera also registered two safeties on botched punts for the Minutemen’s remaining points.
“It’s a relief,” Arrington said when asked about getting win No. 1. “You hope that all the hard work results in what it’s supposed to be. They deserved to have the showing that they did.”
On the flip side, Glendale struggled to get traction on offense as the team generated two first downs and minus-four yards of total offense.
Nitros All-Area second-team senior linebacker Chris Ibarra was his squad’s lone bright spot on offense as he rushed 12 times for 29 yards. The rest of the squad, however, carried 12 times for minus-33 yards, while Glendale quarterbacks completed one of five passes for zero yards.
On defense, tackle Roderick Mirzakhanian finished with four tackles and anchored a stingy Nitros run defense that held Maranatha to 44 yards in 20 carries (2.2 yards per carry).
“We just tried to be really aggressive against the run,” Mirzakhanian said. “Going forward, we just need to step up. We just need to be a lot tougher.”
