Putting up a good fight not enough for La Cañada football against Salesian
LOS ANGELES — Defensively, the La Cañada High football team looked like the physical team it wants to be identified as.
Offensively, however, an unfamiliar Spartans team took the field against an equally physical and, arguably, the most formidable team coach Ryan Zerbel’s squad will play this season.
The solid play on only one side of the ball was not enough, as La Cañada fell, 27-0, to Salesian on Friday night in a heated nonleague contest at the Mustangs’ Keegan Stadium.
La Cañada (1-1) mustered 126 yards of total offense — a substantial drop-off from its season-opening victory — and was unable to get the team’s bread-and-butter running game going, which negatively affected all facets, much to first-year head coach Zerbel’s chagrin.
“We gave away too many opportunities,” Zerbel said. “We didn’t take care of the ball. We have a brand of football and we didn’t play it tonight; we didn’t run the ball, keep the ball and gave up too many possessions.
“I think we gave this one away.”
The Spartans defense played well in its own right, holding the Mustangs to 97 yards of total offense going into halftime, trailing, 7-0.
Salesian’s first two touchdown excursions both capped 11-play drives. In a game that had the “first team to score wins” vibe, Salesian’s second touchdown, in the third quarter, coupled with three missed field goals from La Cañada in between the two scores, proved to be too much to overcome, particularly for an offense that couldn’t get it going on this night.
Salesian increased its lead to 14-0 with 3:42 remaining in the third quarter.
It was an incident that happened roughly two minutes later that really changed the complexion of the game and the visiting team’s mentality.
With Salesian on its own 12-yard line, the first play of the drive, a dive up the middle, concluded with La Cañada’s Angel Salazar running to the referee and then to his own sideline as he pointed to his face that had irregular substance on it.
The referee stopped play as Zerbel and the La Cañada sideline began to suspect that a Salesian player had sprayed or smeared Icy Hot or something similar on Salazar.
After a few minutes, officials could not prove what exactly happened, but said they would be reporting Salazar and Salesian’s Rahyme Johnson to the CIF. Johnson’s pants had a white substance on them and he was seen washing his hands and taking off his gloves. Salazar washed his face and seemed to be fine, but the incident was the stem of chippy play thereafter in a game that already had a plethora of penalties.
“It threw everything into a loop,” said Zerbel, who admittedly was peeved immediately after the game because of it. “But that’s why people do those things. I’m just happy he’s OK; Icy Hot is not meant to go in your eyes.”
La Cañada managed nine yards in its next two offensive possessions before Salesian’s Justin Manyweather put the game away with a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Mustangs added another touchdown late in the game.
The Spartans defense will look to continue the potent play as the season progresses. La Cañada held Mustangs quarterback Robbie Blosser to 13-of-28 passing for 121 yards and forced three turnovers.