Weekly Football Previews: CV vs. Arcadia; Flintridge Prep vs. Chadwick; St. Francis vs. Cathedral

CRESCENTA VALLEY VS. ARCADIA

•WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday

•WHERE: Glendale High

•RECORDS: The Falcons are 9-0, 5-0 in Pacific League; the Apaches are 4-5, 2-3 in Pacific League

•LAST WEEK: Crescenta Valley defeated Muir, 28-14; Arcadia defeated Burroughs, 36-28

•OUTLOOK: Crescenta Valley, the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division X, clinched a share of the Pacific League championship Friday with a convincing home win against Muir. Now, Crescenta Valley will look to win the crown outright at the expense of its mainstay rival on a short week and possibly without its starting quarterback in the lineup. Senior starting quarterback Chase Center suffered an apparent right knee/leg injury in the fourth quarter against Muir following a running play. Center had to be helped off the field by members of the training staff after he completed 11 of 17 passes for 174 yards. He had one touchdown pass and two interceptions, all in the first half. If Center isn’t available, Crescenta Valley will turn to Brendan Pehar to handle the signal-calling responsibilities. The Falcons, who had last won a league title in 2016, when they finished 7-0, received two rushing touchdowns from Sebastian Deleon and one from Maximus Grant versus Muir. Crescenta Valley also received impressive efforts on defense from Chuck Meyer and PJ Weinmann. Both had first-half sacks and Weinmann blocked a punt that subsequently led to a Falcons touchdown. Arcadia, the defending league champion, enters play in fifth place in league and would like nothing more than to hand Crescenta Valley its first defeat. Arcadia, which is coached by former Hoover coach Andrew Policky, showed plenty of pride in beating Burroughs at home Friday to end a two-game losing streak. The Apaches will turn to quarterback Michael Hillier, who completed 18 of 24 passes for 302 yards and one touchdown to top Burroughs. Receiver Isaiah Lopez caught eight passes for 196 yards.

•SOMETHING INTERESTING: Since the 2010 season, Crescenta Valley and Arcadia have combined to win six Pacific League championships.

FLINTRIDGE PREP VS. CHADWICK

•WHEN: 3 p.m. Friday

•WHERE: Chadwick

•RECORDS: The Rebels are 7-1, 1-1 in Prep League; the Dolphins are 7-1, 1-1 in Prep League

•LAST WEEK: Flintridge Prep defeated Milken Community, 69-14; Chadwick lost to Windward, 33-27

•OUTLOOK: In eight-man action, Flintridge Prep got back on track with a convincing Prep League win against visiting Milken Community on Thursday. The Rebels tallied 56 first-half points, as quarterback Max Gitlin tossed five of his six touchdowns passes in the first half. Overall, Gitlin completed 12 of 20 passes for 265 yards and no interceptions. Receiver Christian Baydaline caught four passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns for the Rebels. Teammate Zach Kim had five receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns for Flintridge Prep, which is ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Division I. Flintridge Prep enters play tied for second place with Chadwick (No. 2 in the division) behind Windward. Windward, ranked No. 1 in the division, gained a share of the league title after it posted a home win versus Chadwick on Friday and can win the title outright with a victory against Milken Community (0-2 in league) on Thursday. Chadwick, which won the league crown last season, yielded the winning touchdown midway through the fourth quarter after holding a 14-6 lead in the second quarter. Dolphins running back Oryan Hamlin rushed for four touchdowns against Windward. The top two teams in the league automatically qualify for the playoffs. The winner of the Flintridge Prep-Chadwick game will finish no worse than second place.

•SOMETHING INTERESTING: Flintridge Prep is 1-2 against Chadwick since joining the eight-man circuit in 2016.

ST. FRANCIS VS. CATHEDRAL

•WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday

•WHERE: St. Francis High

•RECORDS: The Golden Knights are 7-2, 1-1 in Angelus League; the Phantoms are 5-4, 2-0 in Angelus League

•LAST WEEK: St. Francis defeated Salesian, 56-0; Cathedral defeated Crespi, 24-7

•OUTLOOK: St. Francis ended a two-game losing streak by thumping host Salesian on Friday. It marked the third straight game that St. Francis has blanked Salesian. St. Francis quarterback Jack Clougherty completed all four of his passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns, one each to Max Garrison and Bryson Reeves. Clougherty, in limited action, also had a 28-yard rushing touchdown. The Golden Knights will look to ride the momentum from that game against Cathedral, which clinched a share of the league title by virtue of its win versus Crespi on Friday. St. Francis and Cathedral were considered the favorites to win the league championship this season. A St. Francis victory would give it a split of the league title. Cathedral, which has won or shared the league championships for five straight seasons, earned a road win versus Crespi on Friday. Cathedral quarterback Lucas Lenhoff threw for more than 100 yards and had a touchdown pass. The Phantoms received one rushing touchdown each from Keith Davis and Darius Wallace.

•SOMETHING INTERESTING: St. Francis last won the Angelus League championship in 2014, when it finished 5-0.

GLENDALE AND HOOVER

For the second straight season, cross-town and Pacific League rivals Glendale and Hoover will not participate in the “Battle for the Victory Bell.” Glendale (1-9, 0-6 in league) closed out its season Friday with a 41-0 league road loss against Pasadena. The Nitros dropped their final nine games of the season and were shut out in their last three contests against Crescenta Valley, Burbank and Pasadena. Hoover chose not to field a varsity team in May, resulting in the “Battle for the Victory Bell” contest to not be played. In 2018, Hoover was forced to forfeit its final four games — all in league — following an on-campus brawl that involved multiple members of the football team. The rivalry began in 1930 and has served as the annual homecoming game for both schools.