Football Previews: CV vs. Montebello; Prep vs. Sage Hill; St. Francis vs. Damien; Glendale vs. San Gabriel
CRESCENTA VALLEY VS. MONTEBELLO
•WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
•WHERE: Moyse Field (Glendale High)
•RECORDS: The Falcons are 1-0; the Oilers are 0-2
•LAST WEEK: Crescenta Valley defeated Santa Fe, 37-0; Montebello lost to San Dimas, 32-24
•OUTLOOK: Crescenta Valley first-year coach Hudson Gossard picked up his first career win last week after previously serving as a Falcons assistant. Crescenta Valley’s defense forced three first-half turnovers. Quarterbacks Chase Center and Brendon Pehar split the quarterback responsibilities, as the the starting job remains on the line for at least the beginning of the season. Center completed eight of 18 passes for 108 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Pehar completed five of 13 passes for 65 yards and one touchdown. Receiver Vincent Parrott had two touchdown receptions for the Falcons. Montebello fell against host San Dimas after opening the season with a 27-6 loss against Garfield. The Oilers yielded four touchdowns and nearly 300 rushing yards against San Dimas. Running back Eduardo Gonzalez had two rushing touchdowns for Montebello. He scored on runs of eight and 12 yards.
•SOMETHING INTERESTING: Crescenta Valley, which earned a 44-26 road win against Montebello in 2018, will look to begin a season with two straight wins for the third straight year.
FLINTRIDGE PREP VS. SAGE HILL
•WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
•WHERE: Sage Hill High
•RECORDS: The Rebels are 1-0; the Lightning are 1-0
•LAST WEEK: Flintridge Prep defeated Hesperia Christian, 58-8; Sage Hill defeated North Valley Military Institute, 56-14
•OUTLOOK: Flintridge Prep began its fourth season at the eight-man level on the right note by limiting Hesperia Christian to minus-32 yards of offense. Quarterback Max Gitlin, making his first starting appearance at quarterback for the Rebels, completed all eight of his pass attempts for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Zach Kim, Silas Chavez and Kevin Ashworth each caught a touchdown pass. Flintridge Prep held a 44-0 halftime lead. Sage Hill, which won the Express League title last season, will feature a contingent of juniors. Sage Hill is led by senior running back/corner back Jake Nadelman, junior defensive end/fullback Alvaro Corona, junior defensive back/receiver Christopher Karahalios and junior guard/defensive end Christian Moyano.
•SOMETHING INTERESTING: Flintridge Prep suffered a 28-26 road defeat to Sage Hill in a CIF Southern Section Division I eight-man first-round game last season.
ST. FRANCIS VS. DAMIEN
•WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
•WHERE: Damien High
•RECORDS: The Golden Knights are 1-0; the Spartans are 1-1
•LAST WEEK: St. Francis defeated Mira Costa, 23-21; Damien defeated Claremont, 26-14
•OUTLOOK: St. Francis’ defense paved the way in its nonleague win to open the season. Bryson Reeves intercepted a pass deep in St. Francis territory in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory. On special teams, St. Francis’ Evan Jernegan blocked a 33-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter. Making his first start at quarterback, Jack Clougherty completed 20 of 32 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Reeves had 10 receptions for 128 yards. Running back Kevin Armstead finished with 71 yards rushing in 20 carries and one touchdown for the Golden Knights. Damien, under the direction of first-year coach Matt Bechtel, who guided South Hills to a CIF Southern Section Division VI championship last season, topped Claremont after kicking off its season with a 24-7 defeat to Glendora. Quarterback Jordan Barton returns after throwing for nearly 2,300 yards last season. Barton will be joined by Jermaine Barner, who rushed for more than 850 yards in 2018.
•SOMETHING INTERESTING: St. Francis picked up a 38-21 win against Damien last season en route to finishing 4-1 at home.
GLENDALE VS. SAN GABRIEL
•WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
•WHERE: Glendale High
•RECORDS: The Nitros are 1-1; the Matadors are 0-2
•LAST WEEK: Glendale lost, 33-3, to La Cañada; San Gabriel lost, 41-13, to Rosemead
•OUTLOOK: Glendale will look to get its offense on track, as its scored just 14 points in its first two games. The Nitros could muster just a 40-yard field goal drained by Edgar Ovasapyan that gave them a 3-0 lead in the first quarter against the Spartans. Glendale finished with 86 yards of offense and didn’t complete a pass attempt. San Gabriel fell to Rosemead after beginning its campaign with a 29-28 loss against Montclair. The Matadors last had a winning season in 2011, when it finished 9-5 and fell to Monrovia in the CIF Southern Section Mid-Valley championship contest.
•SOMETHING INTERESTING: With one more victory, Glendale will surpass its win total from last season.
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