Flintridge Prep football sacks Hillcrest Christian, wins by 66

LA CAÑADA — It took just 22 seconds for Friday afternoon’s eight-man football game between Flintridge Prep and Hillcrest Christian to offer up all the indications that a shootout was about to come to fruition.

Instead, the Flintridge Prep defense, most notably its relentless pass rush, took over, while the Rebels’ offense engaged upon an onslaught of its own.

Playing in its first game on campus since 1995, Flintridge Prep turned in a statement-making performance to the tune of a 78-12 throttling of Hillcrest Christian.

“I thought it had the potential to be a shootout, but after the first series, our defense really stepped up,” said Rebels running back Kendall Kikkawa, who had 10 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown, along with a two-point conversion all in the first half. “Not only would [the defense] stop them, but they would create turnovers and give us good field position.”

Hillcrest Christian (2-1) had scored 74 points in each of its previous resounding victories, but Flintridge Prep (2-0) held the Saints to just 117 total yards, with six sacks, three of them coming from Jonathan Au, and forced four turnovers.

The Rebels brought endless pressure and Saints quarterback Ryan Hagge, who finished with just 105 yards passing with seven completions in 23 attempts, was seemingly picking himself up off the grass every passing play.

“That’s what we do; we bring the heat,” first-year Flintridge Prep Coach Russell White said. “Our goal is to turn the heat up; if you don’t like it, get out of the kitchen.”

Hagge threw a 65-yard touchdown to receiver Troy Brown on the first play from scrimmage, but Flintridge Prep answered when Bruce Dennis turned in a 62-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff to tie it up.

“After that, it was kind of like, let’s take it over,” White said.

In all, the Rebels scored 11 touchdowns, building a 21-6 advantage after the first stanza that ballooned to a 49-12 lead at halftime and came to the final score of 78-12 after a 29-point third quarter despite a running clock.

Rebels quarterback John Lytle had five touchdowns with nine completions on 19 attempts for 101 yards, completing six of his last seven after a bit of a shaky start. Receiver Beau Detchemendy had four catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns from 11 and 22 yards.

Running back Danny Chiarodit, who also had an interception on defense, had two touchdowns, as he finished with 54 yards on three carries, his scores coming on runs of five and 47 yards. Ramzi Beshir had the Rebels’ other interception, weaving his way 42 yards for a second-half score and adding a 22-yard touchdown catch.

“I’m excited for the boys. It’s for them, not for me,” White said. “I’m happy they know how it feels to be 2-0.”

Playing its first eight-man season and its first true home game since 1995, the team also jumped out to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2007.

“It’s a great start,” Au said. “I think it gives us a lot of confidence, but at the same time, you have to stay humble.”

Hillcrest Christian, ranked eighth in CIF Southern Section Eight-Man Division II, was coming off a bye week, but Flintridge Prep was coming off two bye weeks and was anxious to go.

“We were just so anxious to play,” said Kikkawa of the Rebels, who opened their season in the zero week with a 53-6 win over Fulton Prep but then had an unexpected bye week in week one when Westmark could not play ahead of a scheduled bye in week two.

Perhaps it was rust that led to the Rebels’ dubious start, but they rebounded emphatically, putting the game away in the second quarter.

Following another Hagge-to-Brown touchdown, this one from six yards to cut the Rebels’ lead to 21-12 just 10 seconds into the second quarter, Flintridge Prep dominated.

The Rebels’ defense forced four consecutive turnover-on-downs, while the Rebels’ offense scored touchdowns on its final four possessions of the first half, beginning with a 20-yard Kikkawa touchdown run and ending with three Lytle touchdown passes over the final 4:53 of the half.

Highlights were abundant for the Rebels.

Nate Gi and Nick Davis also had touchdown catches. In addition to Au’s three sacks, Justin Yu, Will Tayback and Zak Beshir also had sacks, while Brian Lara and Zak Beshir had fumble recoveries.

And running back Alex Smith took a toss left for a 30-yard touchdown run to end the Rebels’ scoring, as, other than a Prep kickoff, the duration of the fourth quarter saw Hillcrest Christian keep possession of the ball.

But it’s the Rebels who have put together two lopsided wins over four weeks in their latest eight-man era.

Said Au: “We all knew we could play like this.”