La Cañada football’s defense steps up in win over Temple City
LA CAÑADA — Offense came at a premium in the La Cañada High football team’s crucial Rio Hondo League game with Temple City on Friday night.
It went both ways for the prevailing Spartans, to their defense’s credit, holding Temple City to 191 yards of total offense — 55 in the first half — which proved enough for La Cañada’s offense that couldn’t surpass 200 yards in a 23-6 home victory.
PHOTOS: La Cañada High takes on Temple City
The win was much needed for a La Cañada squad that had lost the previous three games, including the league opener, making Friday night’s tilt a must-win if the Spartans are going to play themselves back into the playoff picture.
“That’s our style of football … grinding it out,” said Spartans Coach Ryan Zerbel, whose team improved to 3-4, 1-1 in league. “We were flying around on ‘D,’ creating havoc and on offense we were running the ball. [Ryan] Brenemen cut some runs. Christopher Han gave us some good runs and we got it.”
While their offense scored enough to keep the Rams (2-5, 0-2) from battling back, it was the Spartans defense that set the tone on this night, forcing four turnovers, a welcome turning of the tables for a La Cañada team that had its own turnover problems in previous contests. Against Temple City, the Spartans did a better job of taking care of the ball with just one turnover.
Andrew Sarceda’s interception and fumble recovery helped the Spartans defense nullify Temple City’s offense, particularly in a first half in which the Rams picked up two first downs, opting to punt the ball on three of their five first-half possessions. Sarceda’s interception and a turnover on downs accounted for the other two.
“We gave it our all,” Sarceda said. “We’re aggressive and we get into people’s heads. We needed to do our jobs, do it for the coaches that put in so much time. We had been slacking but we played better tonight.”
Early in the game, La Cañada sent kicker Mikey Selsor out for a 43-yard field goal attempt and the senior delivered, giving the Spartans a 3-0 lead with 1:19 remaining in the opening quarter.
Brenemen, who Zerbel said was ill all week, capitalized on Temple City punting from its own end zone to Sarceda, who returned it to Temple City 14-yard line. Two plays later, Brenemen dashed for 12 of his 67 yards and one of his two touchdowns. The extra point was blocked, but La Cañada owned a 9-0 advantage.
Playmaker Daivon Grayson was out for the game, but Zerbel said he is expected back soon. With Brenemen under the weather and Grayson out, the first-year coach was pleased with the contributions of Han and Angel Salazar.
The Spartans ran only three plays in the third quarter, but Brenemen made one of them count, as he sprinted for a 56-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive following a Temple City turnover. The two other plays were part of a seven-play, 73-yard drive that went into the fourth quarter, capped with a six-yard touchdown from Han, who finished the game with seven rushes for 48 yards and one touchdown.
Temple City put together three long drives in the second half, but was able to score on only one of them, capitalizing on La Cañada’s lone turnover and cutting the Spartans’ lead to 23-6 with 3:10 left in the game.
The Rams recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. Sarceda dashed any hope of a comeback with a fumble recovery on the back-end of a completed pass to La Cañada’s 31-yard line.
“I think so,” said Zerbel when asked if it’s a game that the team can build on going into the final three games of the season. “We’ve been banged up, but we needed a victory. Winning fixes a lot of things.”
The output is La Canada’s highest since a 22-9 win over Glendale on Sept. 11. The Spartans will look to keep up the positives as they stay home to welcome Blair on Thursday.