Game of the Week: New era begins for Flintridge Prep football
There’s a certain enthusiasm that goes into the opening week of the football season that is unparalleled.
Months of spring practices, summer passing leagues and lifting give way to actual games, hard-hitting action and wins and losses.
Though not all area teams kick off their season Friday evening, some will, leading with Flintridge Prep. The Rebels will travel to face Van Nuys Fulton Prep on Friday at 7 p.m. after going 3-7 in 2015.
It’s a bold new world for Flintridge Prep, which is changing back from 11-man football to the eight-player variety for the first time this century. Flintridge Prep is dropping out of the Prep League, a league it helped create, and will be playing freelance football along with breaking in a new quarterback and a new coach Friday night.
With so many distractions, the thought of an actual game provides relief for new coach Russell White.
“I’ve been ready for the games to start since back in April,” White said. “It’s always great to play that first game, to get some of the bugs out and see what your guys can do.”
White was concerned with his team’s ability, but was relieved to see the squad play with discipline in a scrimmage the previous Friday against Laguna Blanca.
“I was a little worried before the scrimmage, but afterward, my mind changed,” White said. “I was impressed with the team camaraderie and great play. There were guys stepping up all over the place. I think we’re ready.”
White will break in a new quarterback for the first time in four years in sophomore John Lytle. White said that although his team takes a high-flying approach, that the offense will give Lytle some time to ease in.
The Rebels will face a tough opening task in Fulton Prep, which finished 7-4 last season and lost in the title game of the Los Angeles City Section eight-man championship. The Jaguars have won six straight home games dating back to 2014.
La Cañada at Hawthorne, 7 p.m. Friday: Despite three coaching changes over the last four years, the Spartans have found success on opening days and own the area’s second-longest streak with four straight wins (Crescenta Valley has won nine consecutive season openers).
The Spartans, who finished 4-6 last season, are on the road and open with Hawthorne, a squad that finished 3-7 last season and missed the postseason.
“I’m ready to get the season started, honestly,” La Cañada Coach Ryan Zerbel said. “We had a great summer and a busy summer and a full offseason and it’s time to play. It will be good to see the fruits of our labor come into play.”
Like Flintridge Prep, the Spartans will break in a new quarterback in Eric Helbing.
The junior won’t likely have the services of Loyola High transfer Drake Beasley. The senior had his transfer challenged by his former school. The CIF Southern Section office and La Cañada High are both still investigating the matter and no decision was made as of Tuesday.
