Tigers football expect success in 2012

SOUTH PASADENA — In one sense, second-year South Pasadena High football Coach Marty Konrad was disappointed with the 2011 season.

The Tigers began the year with a 3-1 mark and were 6-2 heading into the final two weeks of the season before dropping consecutive games to San Marino and Monrovia, which not only knocked South Pasadena out of first place but out of the playoffs as the Tigers were skipped over for an at-large berth.

“It was all politics last season. We should have made the playoffs,” Konrad said. “We had a better record than some of the teams picked ahead of us and the divisional champion came out of the Rio Hondo League.”

On the flip side, Konrad admits that “there weren’t many expectations” in his first season at South Pasadena, which marked his first high school head coaching gig since 2003.

“The expectations went from zero last year to very high this year. We have some talented players back,” Konrad said. “We feel like we should be able to compete at a very high level this season.”

Perhaps South Pasadena’s deepest position in 2012 is tailback, where the Tigers have several returners, led by league first-teamer Nathan Lee, who paced his squad with 661 rushing yards last season.

Lee’s carries and yardage should go up this season due to the graduation of fellow first-teamer Sean Magill, who carried 83 times for 534 yards.

“Lee is definitely going to be doing a good portion of the rushing for us this year,” Konrad said. “He’s a very elusive back and is capable of making some big plays.”

While Bryan Bednarski will typically line up at wide receiver, the senior will also spend some time in the backfield with Lee and senior Ryan Tang along with fullbacks Nick Fong and Rudy Murillo.

A successful ground attack will be instrumental to the Tigers’ growth in the passing game as South Pasadena lost league second-team quarterback Joey Harmon (63 for 128 for 969 yards, six touchdowns and only three interceptions), who transferred to Arcadia.

Looking to fill the void are a couple of one-time transfers in senior Johnny Karalis, who enrolled at South Pasadena in the summer of 2011 after leaving Bellarmine-Jefferson, and St. Paul senior transplant David Madrid.

“I’m just coming out every day and competing with David for the starting spot and doing everything I can to get better,” Karalis said. “Our expectations this year are to make the playoffs, definitely. We have a nice, solid group of guys coming back and I hope to lead them.”

Either quarterback will have solid targets in league second-team senior receiver Hector Fernandez and honorable mention Bednarski, along with tight ends Nico Sullivan and David Hughey.

Sullivan and Hughey have a formidable task in trying to replace league first-teamer Justin Cornford, an All-Area second-team pick who led the Tigers with 29 receptions for 328 yards.

Along the offensive line, the Tigers boast one of the Pasadena area’s top offensive lineman in senior Ryan Stone, a league first-team selection who can aptly play at either guard or tackle.

Stone will be flanked by returning second-team guard David Cho, along with seniors Quinton Hutchings, Linus Zide and Nick Klinger. Both Stone and Cho are stalwarts on the team’s defensive line that spearheads Konrad’s 3-4 scheme.

At linebacker, Sullivan and Fong are locks, while Hughey will likely grab a starting spot. Bednarski is the team’s most notable returner in a young secondary that lost a talent in league first-team corner Miguel Lagunas.

One of the Tigers’ biggest advantages may very well be at special teams, where soccer standout Heven Gomez has a field goal range of about 40 yards The junior has also rounded into a solid punter.

“We have a great bond that’s grown this summer, even during the news that our quarterback was transferring out. That didn’t stopped us,” Bednarski said. “We’re looking forward to having a great year and going a step further than last year’s team.”