Weekly Football Previews: Somebody’s ‘O’ must go in St. Francis-Buena Park collision
With formidable foes such as La Serna and Dorsey in the past and Angelus League adversaries Cathedral and Salesian up ahead, St. Francis High might well have its toughest opponent traveling to St. Francis High at 7 p.m. Friday.
In their first four games of the season, Buena Park and St. Francis have proven to be juggernauts. The Coyotes and Golden Knights are each 4-0 and ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, in CIF Southern Section Division III.
The teams will look to remain perfect entering their nonleague contest at Friedman Field.
St. Francis, which was included in the Division III rankings for the first time this season this week, posted a 34-28 intersectional home win against Dorsey on Friday. The Golden Knights held a 28-7 halftime advantage before Dorsey stormed back to tie it at 28.
Elijah Washington scored the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter to lift St. Francis. Washington finished with two total touchdowns.
St. Francis quarterback Michael Bonds completed 13 for 18 for 222 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Daniel Scott. Running back Jace Harrick of St. Francis had a two-yard run in the first half. Overall, he finished with 12 carries for 66 yards.
On the season, Bonds has completed 51 of 82 passes for 814 yards and 11 touchdowns. Harrick has rushed for 246 yards in 41 carries and two touchdowns.
Buena Park has been stingy on defense, allowing six points in four games. The Coyotes have blanked their last three opponents, including a 67-0 win against Pioneer on Sept. 16. They had a bye last week.
Buena Park quarterback Deshaun Harvey has completed 65 of 99 passes for 1,191 yards and 16 touchdowns. Receiver Victor Bates has caught 12 passes for 383 yards and six touchdowns.
“They like to spread the field and they remind me a lot of [Angelus League opponents] Salesian and Cathedral,” St. Francis Coach Jim Bonds said. “They can run the ball well and they are not adverse to throwing the ball downfield.
“They also have a very good defense and we have an offense that’s been clicking.”
St. Francis and Buena Park have a common opponent in Pasadena. Buena Park opened the season with a 63-6 win against Pasadena on Aug. 26 and St. Francis registered a 35-0 victory Sept. 8.
Burbank at Glendale, 7 p.m. Friday: Since Burbank joined the Pacific League in 2006, Glendale has defeated the Bulldogs just once, which happened in 2008.
Breaking the Bulldogs’ seven-game winning streak in the rivalry appears to be a tall task for Glendale (1-3), which opened up Pacific League play against Crescenta Valley with a 52-0 defeat.
Burbank (2-2, 1-0), considered by many as the frontrunner to win the Pacific League, opened league play with a win at Muir, 39-14.
As has been the story in recent seasons, Burbank has been led by its defense, which is allowing 15.5 points per game. It’s not a good forecast for the Nitros, who are averaging only 15.25 points per game.
Last year, Glendale lost to Burbank, 61-7.
Flintridge Prep at Sherman Oaks Center of Enriched Studies, 7 p.m. Friday: Ranked second in the CIF Southern Section Eight-Man Division I poll, Flintridge Prep (3-0) heads on the road for a battle of undefeateds against Sherman Oaks Center of Enriched Studies (4-0).
SOCES is coming off a 50-38 victory against Los Angeles Milken Community, keyed by running back Ezequiel Estrada’s 205 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries. Estrada’s rushed for 533 yards in 62 carries with six touchdowns. The run-heavy Wildcats have run for 872 yards as a team.
The Rebels, meanwhile, have annihilated all three of their foes so far, with a 53-6 win at Fulton, a 78-12 rout of Hillcrest Christian and a 71-8 victory over Bellarmine-Jefferson.
Prep quarterback John Lytle has thrown for 13 touchdowns, but the Rebels’ biggest strength has been its defense, which scored two touchdowns and forced four turnovers against Bell-Jeff.
La Cañada on bye: More than a decade has passed since the Spartans have won a Rio Hondo League championship, sharing the crown with Monrovia in 2004. The last time the Spartans beat the Wildcats was 2005.
But this season, there’s hope of making some noise in the Rio Hondo League and La Cañada will have two weeks’ time for build-up and preparation with its league opener at Monrovia on Oct. 7 awaiting.
Monrovia (1-4) and reigning league champion San Marino (2-3) have both graduated plenty of talent from a season ago, while La Cañada (3-2) has shown great improvement.
Consequently, the Spartans, San Marino, Monrovia, Temple City (1-4) and Blair (0-3) have bye weeks ahead of the Rio Hondo League’s first week. Only South Pasadena (3-1) is in action, traveling to Gabrielino on Friday.