Hoover football no match for Pasadena

PASADENA — Pasadena High’s football team used plenty of big plays on Friday night to trounce visiting Hoover 68-6 in a Pacific League contest.

Hoover (1-7, 0-4) fell behind 56-0 at halftime.

Hoover’s Mattis Richards completed 17 out of 41 passes for 159 yards and one touchdown. James Chang caught four passes for 69 yards.

The Tornadoes penetrated to the Pasadena four-yard line in the second quarter but turned the ball over on downs. Richards connected on a 43-yard pass to Chang on the drive.

Jalen Jolley led Pasadena (2-6, 2-3) with seven carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Jolley returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and set up another touchdown with a 50-yard punt return.

Nile Rasika gained 101 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns and caught a 55-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

“After halftime we settled in and got more comfortable,” Richards said. “We got used to the speed and pressure and our hard work started to pay off.”

Hoover struggled on offense without two of their big weapons. Maurice Herrera was out with an injury and Quran Bouldin only played sparingly.

Bouldin came on in the second half to catch seven passes for 57 yards and the touchdown. Richards connected on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Bouldin in the fourth quarter.

Hoover was held to six yards rushing.

The game was played with running time in the second half.

“We’re young with a lot of sophomores playing. We’ve got to develop more heart to be able to compete with Pasadena next year,” Hoover coach Terrance Jones said. “We just missed on some passes that could have changed things tonight.”