Flintridge Prep football falls to Rio Hondo Prep, eliminated from playoff contention
ARCADIA — Entering Friday’s Prep League road contest, the Flintridge Prep football team looked to get two things accomplished.
The Rebels strived to resuscitate their slumping offense while also looking to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Flintridge Prep got mixed results, as it suffered a 56-33 road defeat against Rio Hondo Prep.
“We go out and score 33 points, but we had some breakdowns again on special teams,” said Flintridge Prep Coach Glen Beattie, whose team dropped to 2-7, 0-2 in league with one game remaining. “We couldn’t get all three parts of our game together.
“We had trouble handling their speed and they got some big plays. I liked the way we played. They had a lot to be proud of.”
Flintridge Prep began league play Oct. 24 with a 34-7 loss against rival Pasadena Poly (2-0 in league). Rio Hondo Prep (5-3, 2-0 in league) will meet Pasadena Poly on Friday for the league championship. Pasadena Poly and Rio Hondo Prep have locked up the two automatic playoff berths from the Prep League.
Flintridge Prep, which dropped its sixth game in a row, found itself in a back-and-forth tussle with Rio Hondo Prep.
Flintridge Prep quarterback Andrew Tsangeos had a big performance. The reigning All-Area selection rushed for 138 yards in 19 carries and completed 25 of 37 passes for 270 yards. Tsangeos threw three touchdown passes and rushed for two scores for the Rebels, who scored a combined 22 points in their previous two contests.
“We were able to strike first and we had some momentum early on,” Tsangeos said. “We had that mental edge early, but they have a very good team.
“Rio Hondo Prep always had disciplined teams. We showed we could hang in there and we put up some points.”
Flintridge Prep took a 6-0 lead when Tsangeos lofted a 54-yard pass to Robbie Leslie, who finished with 12 catches for 222 yards, with 10:13 left in the first quarter. Rio Hondo Prep took an 8-6 lead on an 11-yard run by Stephen Santizo with 8:45 to go in the first quarter.
Tsangeos then connected with Aldridge Khin on a seven-yard pass to give the Rebels a 12-8 advantage with 5:28 to play in the first quarter. A 17-yard touchdown pass from Rio Hondo Prep quarterback Clark Bolinger to Domenico Chico gave the Kares a 15-12 lead with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter. Santizo closed out the first-quarter scoring with 35.9 seconds left on a 38-yard run to make it 29-12.
Flintridge Prep pulled to within 29-19 on a one-yard run by Tsangeos with 10:19 to go in the second quarter. Then Flintridge Prep saw Chico return the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to raise the Kares’ lead to 36-19.
Tsangeos followed with an 11-yard touchdown run to bring the Rebels to within 36-27 with 7:45 remaining in the first half.
Chico gave the Kares a 43-27 lead on a 10-yard run with 5:22 left in the third quarter. Leslie then caught a 23-yard pass from Tsangeos to trim the deficit to 43-33 with 2:26 remaining in the third quarter. Santizo (137 yards rushing in 17 carries) scored on a 14-yard run to pad the advantage to 50-33 with 38.9 seconds to go in the third quarter.
The Kares closed out the scoring with 48.3 seconds left in the game on an eight-yard run by Mikey Tsogt.
Flintridge Prep will close out its season at 7 p.m. Friday with a league road game against Firebaugh (0-2 in league) at Lynwood High.