Sports Briefs: La Cañada football earns accolades
Spartans pick up Rio Hondo League honors
Eight players from the La Cañada High football team picked up 10 accolades on the Rio Hondo League awards list.
The Spartans merited three first-team and five second-team selections and two honorable mentions after finishing with a 0-10 record and 0-4 mark in the Rio Hondo League.
“We reflected after the season and saw that a lot of problems had to do with our offseason,” La Cañada first-year coach Jason Sarceda said. “I started late and we had minimal offseason training. We were playing catch-up all year.”
The defense picked up two of three first-team selections with senior linebacker John Solis and junior defensive end Tobias Humphrey meriting honors.
Solis finished with 67 tackles and one fumble recovery. His best effort came versus Rio Hondo Prep, when he tallied 16 tackles.
“John was a guy who didn’t have much football experience,” Sarceda said, “but he worked really hard, listened and was disciplined. He ended up leading the league in tackles.”
Humphrey finished with 30 tackles, one interception, one caused fumble and two fumble recoveries. On offense, Humphrey was one of his team’s key receivers and hauled in 29 receptions for 518 yards and three touchdowns. He also earned a league second-team offensive award.
“Tobias matured quite a bit,” Sarceda said. “We struggled offensively for sure, but he continued to improve. He did quite a bit for us on both sides”
Eric Helbing earned first-team punter honors, while also being rewarded with a second-team offensive accolade at quarterback.
Helbing averaged 41.8 yards per punt with a long of 68 yards and two punts inside the 20.
At quarterback, he completed 47 of 108 passes for 613 yards. On the ground, Helbing rushed 21 times for 199 yards and three touchdowns.
“Eric was an all-around stud,” Sarceda said. “We had to punt considerably and he was fantastic. He did a great job punting that ball down field.”
La Cañada linemen Eugene Hong and John Woodhouse (31 tackles on defense with one fumble recovery) earned league second-team accolades on offense, while lineman Liyu Sun (24 tackles, two sacks) was awarded a league-second honor on defense.
Senior linebacker Justin Brown (45 tackles) and sophomore cornerback/receiver John Humphrey (28 tackles and one interception and 23 receptions for 234 yards) were honorable mentions.
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