Hoover High football has no answers for South Pasadena

GLENDALE — It was a struggle in every sense for the Hoover High School football team, particularly in the deciding first half of its nonleague meeting with visiting South Pasadena on Friday night at Glendale High’s Moyse Field.

The Tornadoes lost the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball, as South Pasadena ran roughshod over Hoover’s defense, while the Tornadoes’ running game couldn’t get it going.

The forgettable 24-minute stretch saw Hoover gain just 27 yards of total offense, as its defense gave up a touchdown on all but three South Pasadena possessions to which the Tigers took a 37-point lead into halftime en route to a 39-0 victory.

“We were outmatched,” said Tornadoes Coach Matt Andersen, whose team falls to 1-2 going into its bye week. “Physically, they’re bigger and stronger up front and they’re a running offense. We were in the right spots, just couldn’t tackle.”

South Pasadena (1-1) relied on its rushing attack to help notch its first victory of the season. Led by Alton Phillips’ 144 yards and Matthew Ayala’s 80 yards, the Tigers accumulated 403 yards of total offense.

Hoover’s offense took a step backward from its 26-12 intersection home victory over Sotomayor last week, mustering only two first downs against the Tigers. David Nersisyan and Elijah Augustine, who both passed the century mark in the team’s win over Sotomayor, were held to 17 and 10 yards, respectively, as the Tigers defense dominated.

Ayala took the second play from scrimmage 64 yards to the opposite end zone with less than a minute elapsed in the contest.

South Pasadena’s ensuing kickoff caught the Tornadoes ill-prepared and a successful onside kick brought the Tigers back on the field, which they capitalized on to take a two-score lead before Hoover’s offense blinked.

Emiliano Sornoso increased the advantage to 20-0 late in the first quarter.

With 8:49 remaining in the second, Joel Bellvue looked to give the Tornadoes much-needed momentum when he intercepted a Michael Partida pass deep in Hoover territory. However, the referees ruled that Bellvue caught the ball at the two-yard line and then ran the ball into the end zone, where he was tackled, resulting in a safety.

“Worst call I’ve seen in my coaching career,” Andersen said. “That’s just one call, though, can’t make excuses.

“After the onside, they had all the momentum. We need to respond to adversity better and they are getting better. We haven’t seen much success, so we need to learn to respond better to those things.”

Hoover’s defense forced three turnovers—two fumbles and the interception.

Ernesto Jauregui took the kickoff after the safety to the Tornadoes’ one-yard line, allowing Phillips to punch it in and give the Tigers a 29-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Sornoso’s second touchdown would be the final touchdown scored on the night. The second half proved uneventful for the most part, aside from Hoover’s second safety, this time on a punt, and James Tumbecon highlighting Hoover’s longest drive of the game with the team’s longest run of the game—a 16-yard dash that resulted in the team’s initial first down.

The Tornadoes will begin Pacific League play in two weeks, traveling to Arcadia on September 26 for the first league game of the season.

“Fundamentals,” Andersen said when asked what the team will need to focus on. “Tackling when we’re in the right spots. We had a good plan, but we didn’t execute.

“We’re an up and down team, it’s hard to explain. We rely on momentum too much.”