Nitros, Tornadoes in line to ring Victory Bell
SOUTHEAST GLENDALE —- The Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club, in its 70th year, meets Tuesdays at the Elk’s Lodge. The following are odds and ends from the eighth meeting of the year.
PRIDE ON THE LINE FOR RIVALS
Although the Hoover High and Glendale football teams have been eliminated from playoff contention, Hoover Coach Andrew Policky and Glendale Coach John Tuttle won’t likely have a problem getting their respective teams motivated. The squads will meet in the rivalry game at 7 p.m. Friday at Moyse Field.
The teams first met in 1930 and Glendale is 49-33-2 in the all-time series (47-33-2 for the bell). Glendale posted a 55-49 Pacific League victory in last season’s “Victory Bell” game. The teams combined for the most points scored in a game in the series history.
Hoover is 3-6, 1-5 in league, while Glendale is 2-7, 1-5.
Records don’t matter to Policky.
“It’s just a huge rivalry with a lot at stake,” said Policky, whose will look to guide the Tornadoes to their first victory against the Nitros since 2009. “It’s one of the oldest in the state.
“We don’t need to say a whole lot to the kids about getting ready. It will be a fun game to play in. We just have to be able to go out there and execute our plan.”
For Tuttle, it will be his first time being a part of the rivalry as a head coach.
“It should be fun,” Tuttle said. “We know that Hoover has done a great job of running their offense.
“For us, we are going to have to do a better job of executing when we get into the red zone.”
KNIGHTS CONTINUE TO REMAIN POSITIVE
Times have been tough for the members of the St. Francis High football team. The Golden Knights will miss the postseason for only the second time since Coach Jim Bonds took over the program from Bill Redell in 2000.
St. Francis has lost five games in a row, including its first four in the ultra-competitive Mission League.
While it might appear odd that the Golden Knights won’t be a part of the playoff picture, Bonds said his players haven’t quit going into their final game against visiting St. Paul at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“The players are continuing to listen and trying to get better,” said Bonds, whose team is 3-6, 0-4 in league. “We just finished up the gauntlet of the Mission League against Cathedral, Harvard-Westlake, [Gardena] Serra and Chaminade.
“We are trying to finish up strong.”
FORMER KNIGHTS COACH RETURNS
Whether it’s been as a player or coach at various levels, Bill Redell made a name for himself nationally in football. Redell starred at San Marino High in several sports before excelling at Occidental College. He also turned around a struggling St. Francis program from 1993-99 before developing a dynasty at Oaks Christian in Westlake Village. Under Redell, the Lions won seven CIF championships between 2003-10.
Redell, 71, was the guest speaker at Tuesday’s meeting, marking the third time he’s addressed the club since Sept. 11, 2007. He’s now in his first year coaching at Occidental.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of the great game of football for a long time,” said Redell, who played six seasons in the Canadian Football League and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001 with John Elway and Marcus Allen. “I’ve had some outstanding coaches wherever I’ve been, including Jim Bonds.
“I’ve made some great friends who are a part of the coaching fraternity.”
Redell, who also guided Crespi to a CIF title in 1986 before leading Oaks Christian to six CIF crowns in a row between 2003-08, retired briefly from coaching in March. Redell compiled a 233-65-3 overall record in 24 seasons of coaching at the high school level.
Redell’s hiatus didn’t last long. Occidental coaxed him out of retirement in the spring after coach Dale Widolff was let go by the Tigers after being accused of recruiting violations by the NCAA.
Returning to Occidental wasn’t something that crossed Redell’s mind.
“My college roommate asked me about talking about the Occidental job, and I thought it would be as a consultant or being on a selection committee about hiring a new coach,” said Redell, a former All-American at Occidental who graduated in 1964. “Then I found out that they were looking at me being the next coach.
“I’ve enjoyed the whole experience of being in football. It’s going to take a while to turn the program around. We just have to be patient. We will get it back [on the winning track].”
The Tigers, a Division III program, are 2-5, 2-3 in the Southern California Collegiate Athletic Conference. They snapped a two-game losing skid Saturday with a 31-27 come-from-behind conference victory against visiting Pomona Pitzer College.
