Flintridge Prep football steamrolls in opening-season rout

The Flintridge Prep eight-man football team has a lot of expectations this season.

Hosting Hesperia Christian in a nonleague game at home Saturday, the Rebels would see if all the hard work in the offseason paid off.

In lopsided affair, Flintridge Prep made quick work of visiting Hesperia Christian to the tune of 58-8 victory that marked the season opener for both schools.

“It all started in the summer with the two-a-days and a bunch of practices every day,” Rebels Tommy Porter said. “We just worked hard over the summer and it paid off. We put to use what we practiced.”

The game was effectively over almost as soon as it started. In the first quarter, the Flintridge Prep defense was like a closed door, holding the visitors to minus-32 yards. The Patriots’ first eight plays went for negative yardage and that streak was only broken by an incomplete pass. In total, Hesperia Christian ran 14 plays in the stanza and only one, a two-yard run, netted positive yardage.

The Patriots got the ball first and were driven backward by the vastly physically superior Rebels. The visitors lost 21 yards on the drive that featured a sack by Rebel Ben Grable. The ensuing drive by Flintridge Prep took two plays to find the end zone. The score, with 9:08 left in the first, came on a powerful 13-yard run by Porter.

“I missed most of last season with my injury, so coming back and right away being able to score and help the team from the very beginning really lifted a burden off my shoulders,” Porter said.

The next Patriots drive also went backwards, finishing 11 yards back from the original spot. Flintridge Prep then got the ball back and scored four plays later when quarterback Max Gitlin found Zach Kim in the middle of the end zone behind the defense.

Gitlin, in his first game as starter, finished a perfect eight for eight for 162 yards and three touchdowns.

“It was my first time ever coming out with the [coaches] calling for the first offense and me coming out on the field,” Gitlin said. “It was really nice. It was a great experience for me.”

Hesperia Christian’s third drive continued the trend, this time netting negative-15 yards, which included a sack by Germaine Harvey. It ended with a safety after Kim blocked the punt and the punter covered the ball in the end zone.

Flintridge Prep’s third drive covered 46 yards and resulted in seven more points. The touchdown came courtesy of Porter once again when the junior ran the ball to the left from 24 yards out.

Hesperia Christian fared no better in its fourth possession when on the first play Porter picked off Patriot quarterback Dylan Brigman. The quarter ended with the Rebels in front, 23-0.

The second quarter saw the Rebels find pay dirt again after just 1:20 in. Harvey, at fullback, took the handoff and rumbled up the middle for the score. Thereafter, most of the Rebels starters came out of the game with a 30-0 advantage.

“It was one of those games where [its nice] to play against someone else other than yourself,” Prep coach Russell White said.

Gitlin played the majority of the contest. In the second quarter, the senior threw two more scoring passes. The first saw him find Silas Chavez behind the defense for a 36-yard strike. The second came with 1:08 left before the break when Gitlin found Kevin Ashworth on a short pass that saw the senior spin away from a would-be tackler and go 28 yards for the score.

The Rebels led, 44-0, at halftime.

The second half was played with a running clock.

Porter scored his third touchdown of opener on the kickoff to start the third quarter. He scooped the ball off the ground, than ran left for a 62-yard score. That marked the high point of the Rebels’ advantage at 51-0.

The fourth quarter saw Hesperia Christian, who dressed only 11 players, finally score. Playing against the Rebel reserves, Brigman threw an 20-yard touchdown to Robbie Woods. Woods led all receivers with six catches for 64 yards.

“When you go against bigger schools that have depth, more bodies, it’s a struggle,” White said. “[Hesperia Christian] came and they fought hard.”

The final score of the game came off a drive set up by a Griffin Theis interception of Brigman. Soon after, Ashworth ran the ball left and streaked away from the Patriots for a 73-yard touchdown run.

Chavez handled the kicking duties and was eight for eight on point-after attempts.

The game did serve as a chance for the entire Flintridge Prep roster to see action. That included 10 ball carriers.

“It was a good tuneup for next week,” said White, whose team will play at Sage Hill on Friday.