Bulldogs football ready to bite into Pacific League title

PASADENA — What does 1984 mean to the Pasadena High football team?

Well, since no one on the current squad was alive when the XXIII summer Olympiad rolled into Los Angeles, the safe assumption is that 1984 is simply known as required high school reading material.

Yet, Bulldogs Coach Randy Horton has a different answer.

“That was the last year Pasadena won a league championship,” Horton said. “That was a long time ago and, at least on paper, we have the sort of team that can change that this season.”

Similarly lengthy is Pasadena’s losing streak to heated intracity rival Muir, which has claimed the last 13 Turkey Tussles and hasn’t actually lost to the Bulldogs since 1995.

While those statistics can be deflating, the Bulldogs are anything but down. In fact, there’s a buzz at practice about this year’s squad being a once-in-a-generation group, led by highly-touted quarterback Brandon Cox.

“My expectations for myself are the same for this team. There are only team goals,” said Cox, who verbally committed to the University of Arizona in late June. “This is the year and this is the unit that can do big things. We’ve got a great team camaraderie and we believe in each other.”

Cox may be the area’s top signal caller, as the All-Area and Pacific League first-teamer completed 60% of his passes for 2, 697 yards and 26 touchdowns versus just five interceptions last season. On the ground, Cox scrambled for 562 yards and eight touchdowns on 96 carries.

“He’s become a leader on this team. The talent was always there,” Horton said, “but he understands his role on this team.”

Overall, Pasadena finished 6-6 in 2011 and tied for third in the Pacific League. However, the .500 record belies the success of last season, as Pasadena recovered from a 1-3 start and also won a first-round road playoff game.

“This is the year of PHS. We have the best quarterback in the nation and we’ve got the best offensive line, I think, in the San Gabriel Valley,” said senior offensive lineman Freddie Barnes III, also a Pacific League and All-Area first-teamer. “Everything is solid.”

While Cox is the team’s most talented player, the most solid unit might be the offensive line, which returns four of five starters in the 5-10, 260-pound Barnes, Jeremy Montoya, Christian Millares and Ferman Hernandez, who team with newcomer Chris Movisian.

If there is one specific area in which Pasadena may not match up as strongly as last season, it’s at wide receiver.

Gone are All-Area first-teamer Riian Simpson (49 catches for 1,007 yards and eight touchdowns) and second-teamer Marcus Green (44 catches for 744 yards and seven touchdowns).

“They are both big guys to lose, no question,” Horton said. “But we have some talent this season ready to make their own mark.”

Horton beamed about the prospects of junior Alex Baer, senior Wardell Barry and hybrid receiver-tight end Ronald Baker, none of whom saw significant time at receiver last year.

By position, Pasadena’s backfield is also green, as returner Torus Stepney, Jr. carried only six times last season and leads a talented, but untested group with Charles Miles III and Guillermo Hernandez.

As for Miles III, he’ll double on defense in Horton’s 4-2-5 scheme as a defensive end book ended with Walter Martinez, while Richard Campbell and Barnes III will are the two tackles.

“I feel that defensive end is my strong point,” Miles III said. “But I’m also looking forward to playing fullback. But either way, I’m going to do everything I can for this team. This is the year for PHS.”

The team’s up-and-coming star may be sophomore linebacker Caleb Devine, a 6-3, 185-pound prospect who will man the strong side with a rotation of Hernandez, Movisian and Cory Cain splitting time at the weak side.

As for the secondary, Ryan Vaughn and Brian Williams are the team’s safeties, while Tomari Hampton and Barry are two of the likely cornerbacks.