Good times for Golden Knights
The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.
Rian Younker (St. Francis High, 2009) Cal Lutheran football junior: With another impressive showing from Younker on the defensive line, Cal Lutheran turned in another impressive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.
The former All-Mission League, All-Area and All-CIF honoree had 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, both team-bests, as Cal Lu throttled Whittier, 56-0, on Saturday at home.
Younker had six tackles in all, as the Kingsmen won their 16th consecutive SCIAC game.
Another pair of former Golden Knights also got starts for the Kingsmen (3-1, 2-0 in SCIAC) in the victory. John Schachtner, the team’s starting center, aided an offense that scored on seven of its first nine drives, allowed just one sack and gained just under 700 total yards of offense. Chris Cabrera, a starting linebacker, had three tackles in the shutout defensive performance, including one for a loss.
On the year, Cabrera has 17 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks.
Younker leads the team with four sacks and six tackles for a loss. He has 19 tackles all together.
Cal Lu returns to the gridiron Saturday at La Verne.
Ian Sternau (St. Francis High, 2011) Simon Frasier football freshman: Sternau was a part of history, as Simon Fraser won its first-ever Great Northwest Athletic Conference game with a thrilling 62-56 triple-overtime win over Dixie State College.
Sternau played a pivotal role, sending the game into overtime with a 23-yard, game-tying field goal with nine seconds to play in regulation.
Sternau had a big day all around with 12 points scored, as he was two for three on field-goal attempts and six-for-six with point-after attempts. He also had three punts for a 41.7 average per kick and put one inside the 20 and had eight kickoffs with one touchback.
Sternau has been solid for the Clan (2-4, 1-4 in GNAC), making good on four of five field-goal attempts and all 15 of his PATs. Punting-wise, he’s averaging 38.6 yards per kick, with five falling inside the 20 and five of 50 yards or more.
Next up for the Clan is another GNAC scrap against Western Oregon on the road Saturday.
Luke Collis (St. Francis High, 2007) Occidental football senior: With their running game ineffective, the Tigers threw and threw on Saturday night, leading to a big night for Collis, but a loss nonetheless, as La Verne defeated Occidental, 30-21, at home.
Collis was 42 of 65 for 407 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. In contrast, Oxy was held to 42 yards on the ground.
The loss dropped the Tigers to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in SCIAC play. La Verne (1-3, 1-1) rushed for 321 yards.
Collis also punted twice in the game, putting the ball to rest inside the 20 both times.
For the season, Collis has passed for 1,179 yards, just under 300 per game and completed 116 of 179 passes attempted. He’s thrown 11 touchdowns to four interceptions. And, on the three occasions he’s been called on to punt, he’s put every kick inside the 20.
Collis and Oxy take to the road Saturday to face SCIAC foe Pomona-Pitzer.
Dietrich Riley (St. Francis High, 2010) UCLA football sophomore: Riley and the Bruins rallied to defeat Washington State, 28-25, on Saturday at theRose Bowl.
Riley, starting at strong safety, tallied four tackles in the outing. On the season, he has 27 tackles and four passes break-ups, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
The Bruins (3-3, 2-1 in PAC-12 Conference) are on bye this week and will return to action on Oct. 20 atArizona.
The game also featured another St. Francis alum, as Andrew Roxas is an offensive lineman at Washington State. Though Roxas did not start, he did get playing time.
Matt Vidales (St. Francis High, 2009) Iowa Wesleyan football junior: Listed as a fullback on the team’s website, Vidales is getting his starts at receiver, where he led Iowa Wesleyan with seven catches for 46 yards in the team’s 21-16 comeback victory over Trinity International.
Vidales has also played tight end and linebacker in his previous two seasons with the Tigers.
For the season, he has 12 catches for 67 yards through his first five games played.
The Tigers are 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Mid-States Football Assn. Midwest League with another league game against Saint Ambrose scheduled for Saturday.