Weekly Football Previews: La Cañada looks to go 2-0
A superb running attack led to the La Cañada High football team opening the season with a road victory.
La Cañada will remain on the road, eyeing a similar fate when it meets South Hills at 7 p.m. Friday in a nonleague contest.
La Cañada rushed for more than 400 yards Friday in a 35-21 nonleague win against Hawthorne. Senior Brandon Sharman rushed for 201 yards in nine carries for the Spartans, who got 173 yards in 15 carries from senior Tyler Breneman. The Spartans received 22 carries for 92 yards and two touchdowns from junior running back Vince Dioguardi.
“It’s a thing of beauty to be able to go on the road and rush for more than 400 yards,” La Cañada second-year Coach Ryan Zerbel said. “It’s about being able to go out there and control the ball and clock. We’re trying to be more physical and we played well defensively. We still have some things to clean up, but we like where we are.”
South Hills started off Friday with a 14-7 nonleague home defeat against Diamond Ranch. South Hills quarterback Dylan O’Leary passed for 160 yards and a touchdown.
“To go back out on the road will be another big challenge,” Zerbel said. “We know South Hills will be very physical, too. We are confident with our players going up against a high-caliber team like South Hills.”
It’s not clear if senior running back Drake Beasley will suit up for La Cañada, which will try to begin a season 2-0 for the first time in two years. The transfer from Loyola is still awaiting word from the CIF Southern Section office about his eligibility after Loyola challenged his transfer.
St. Francis at West Covina, Friday at 7 p.m.: Fresh off a 9-4 season in which it marched to the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division, St. Francis begins the 2016 campaign with a new destination of the Division III playoffs.
For the first time in a long time, the Golden Knights kick off their year unranked, but are looking to win their ninth season opener in a row, a streak that dates back to a loss at Arcadia to begin the 2007 season.
Plenty of eyes will be upon senior quarterback Michael Bonds, the nephew of Golden Knights Coach Jim Bonds who transferred from Newport Harbor after throwing for 1,495 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The Golden Knights sport a healthy mix of experienced returners and promising newcomers, highlighted by the returns of All-Area standouts Maxx Jakeway, a senior linebacker who led the team with 113 tackles, junior defensive lineman Gabriel Grbavac (10 sacks last season) and senior receiver Daniel Scott (32 catches for 567 yards and four touchdowns).
West Covina opened its season in zero week with a 49-14 loss to Colony, the third-ranked team in Division IV. The Bulldogs lost on the road to St. Francis last season, 36-24, on their way to a 4-6 campaign, one that began with a much closer 28-21 loss to Colony.
Flintridge Prep on bye: Just a week after the era of coach Russell White and the return to eight-man football began with a resounding 53-6 win at Fulton Prep, the Rebels are on a bye week.
Originally, they were scheduled to host Westmark.
Now, they’ll return to action on Sept. 16 following a three-week hiatus when they’ll begin a new era of hosting home games on campus when they welcome Hillcrest Christian for a Friday afternoon game at 3 p.m.
Westmark canceled the game with no reschedule in the works, confirmed Flintridge Prep Athletic Director Garrett Ohara.
“[Westmark] told us they can’t play the game,” Flintridge Prep athletic director Garrett Ohara said. “They had hired a coach late in mid-August and said that they were sorry that they couldn’t honor the game.
“We tried to find a replacement and we were unsuccessful.”