Glendale, Hoover High football renew Victory Bell rivalry

Though both teams will be absent from the postseason, the members of the Hoover High and Glendale football teams will treat their cross-town rivalry game as a playoff contest.

With a large bipartisan contingent expected to flock to Moyse Field, the Tornadoes and Nitros will hit the sponged turf in the “Battle for the Victory Bell” at 7 p.m. Friday. The Nitros have won three meetings in a row against the Tornadoes, including a 44-13 Pacific League win last season, and own a 49-33-2 lead in the all-time series that began in 1930.

Glendale got a late field goal from Martin Marin to record a 23-20 win against Pasadena on Friday to improve to 3-6, 1-5. Hoover fell to Burbank, 49-0, on Oct. 31 and suffered its seven straight defeat to drop to 2-7, 0-6.

Hoover Coach Matt Andersen, who will take part in his first installment of the rivalry, said to toss aside the records for both teams.

“We are 2-7 right now and we had higher expectations,” Andersen said. “We understand the importance of taking part in a rivalry game because it’s always going to be a special game.

“If we win this, then we’ve had a successful season and we end up on a high note.”

Glendale second-year Coach John Tuttle said he’s curious to see if the Nitros can ride their wave of momentum following the Pasadena contest.

“We were able to pull it out against Pasadena and it will definitely be exciting to see how our players respond,” Tuttle said. “It will be exciting to see the stands full and having alumni on the sidelines.

“We need to be able to control the line of scrimmage and tackle well. If we can do those things, then we have a good chance. We have to make sure our players are focused the whole time.”

While the Tornadoes have been blanked in two of their last three contests, they still have an athlete in Andres Perez who will figure to draw plenty of attention from Glendale’s defense. Perez has caught 22 passes for 370 yards and a team-high four touchdowns in nine games.

“Perez is a good player and he knows how to make things happen,” Tuttle said.

Glendale, which has won 10 of the previous 13 head-to-head meetings against Hoover, will be likely be led by Marin and running back Daniel Jung. Marin caught four passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns against Pasadena. Jung rushed for 193 yards in 29 carries and scored one touchdown to help the Nitros snap a five-game losing streak.

Andersen, a former standout player at Occidental College, said the Tornadoes will be aware of Marin and Jung.

“We’ve been breaking down film and we know what they like to do offensively,” Andersen said. “We like some of the matchups that we can present.

“It’s just going to come down to what team wants it more.”

From one giant to another in the CIF Southern Section Western Division.

After the St. Francis High football team saw its bid to capture the Mission League championship likely fall by the wayside Friday with a 35-21 league road loss against top-ranked Gardena Serra, the Golden Knights must now contend with another formidable for in Chaminade.

The teams will meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Chaminade.

The Golden Knights have already clinched a playoff berth, as the top three teams from the league automatically qualify for the playoffs.

There’s also a lot still up for grabs for the Golden Knights and the Eagles. Of significant importance is wrapping up second and likely grabbing a top-four seed in the division.

The Golden Knights, who are 8-1, 3-1 in league and ranked third in the latest division poll, find themselves in position to grab second place. So do the Eagles, who are 7-2, 3-1 and ranked second in the division following a 73-0 league victory against Harvard-Westlake.

“I think we showed we could play toe-to-toe against Serra and we can play with anybody in our division,” St. Francis Coach Jim Bonds said. “We know we have a tall order against Chaminade, which has a nice homefield advantage and a pretty loud crowd supporting them.

“We have a mature team that knows how to play well on the road. We think we can go over there and give them a good game.”

St. Francis and Chaminade will each have their share of skilled athletes on both sides of the ball. For the Golden Knights, quarterback Ty Gangi completed 19 of 40 passes for 312 yards and a touchdown against Serra, ranked No. 1 in the division. Dylan Crawford had seven catches for 136 yards and Joe Mudie finished with 127 yards of total offense.

Ross Niederhaus and Michael Weber finished with eight tackles each.

Chaminade is coming off its best offensive output and will look to solve St. Francis’ improved defense. Quarterback Brad Kaaya completed 10 of 15 passes for 275 yards and four touchdowns against Harvard-Westlake. Running back Donovan Lee had three rushing touchdowns.

“We feel like we can respond to that big challenge,” Bonds said. “We’ll try to apply some pressure on their quarterback.

“There’s a familiarity between both teams. We have a pretty good idea of what we want to try defensively. It will probably come down to a few plays here or there.”

Arcadia vs. Crescenta Valley at Moyse Field, 7 p.m. Thursday: Crescenta Valley and Arcadia figure to add some additional spice to the long-standing rivalry. Both teams need to win in order to qualify for the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division playoffs.

Crescenta Valley and Burbank are tied for third with identical records of 7-2, 4-2 in the Pacific League. Arcadia is 5-4, 3-3 for fifth place. Burroughs (6-3, 5-1 for second in league) and Burbank will take part in their rivalry game at 7 p.m. Friday at Burroughs’ Memorial Field. The top three teams in league earn automatic playoff berths. There will be one at-large playoff berth available in the division.

If Crescenta Valley and Burroughs win, Burroughs would take second and Crescenta Valley would finish third. Should Crescenta Valley and Burbank pick up victories, a three-way tie would occur for second between Crescenta Valley, Burroughs and Burbank and force a coin flip to determine the order of finish.

If Arcadia and Burroughs post wins, Burroughs would grab second place and would result in Crescenta Valley, Burbank and Arcadia tying for third. A coin flip would then determine the order of finish. Should Arcadia and Burbank register victories, then Burbank would wrap up second place by virtue of beating Burroughs. Burroughs would place third, followed by Arcadia and Crescenta Valley.

Schilling and Co. will look to control their own fate by notching a victory against the Apaches by cleaning up their act on offense. Crescenta Valley saw its bid to at least gain a split of the league title with Muir end after it committed three first-quarter turnovers en route to a 39-26 home defeat against Muir.

“It’s easier to bounce back when you are playing your rival, especially when it’s a Thursday game because you want to get right back at it,” Schilling said. “We learned a lesson against Muir and you can’t fumble three times against a team like that.

“You look at the history of the CV-Arcadia game and a lot of times the underdog has won the game. It’s always like a playoff game. We are taking the approach that we can win and move on.”

Arcadia, under the direction of former Hoover Coach Andrew Policky, suffered its second loss in a row with a 37-14 home league defeat against Burroughs.

The Falcons will rely heavily on junior quarterback Brian Gadsby, who completed 21 of 36 passes for 204 yards and rushed for a touchdown against Arcadia in a 23-7 win last season. Gadsby has come into his own in 2013, completing 153 of 260 passes for 2,159 yards and 28 touchdowns.

“The key will be to protect Brian and catch the ball,” Schilling said. “We can’t give up the big play defensively. Sometimes, that been our Achillies’ heel.”

Temple City at La Cañada, 7 p.m. Friday: When the Spartans take the field, they’ll do so knowing a victory would wrap up third place in the Rio Hondo League and clinch a playoff berth in the Mid-Valley Division. The same can be said for Temple City. The Spartans improved to 4-5, 2-2 in league with a 21-9 league road victory against South Pasadena on Friday. Temple City dropped to 3-6, 2-2 with a 48-0 league defeat versus San Marino.

The Spartans hope playing at home will work to their advantage, though they are 1-3 on their own turf. However, the Rams are 0-4 on the road this season.

La Cañada’s defense flourished in the second half, limiting South Pasadena to three points. The Spartans scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to complete their comeback. Spartans running back Donnie Breneman, who had 100 yards on 13 carries in the pivotal second half, gave the Spartans a 15-9 lead on a four-yard touchdown run.

Temple City recorded a 44-26 home victory against La Cañada last season.

Flintridge Prep vs. Chadwick at L.A. Harbor College, 4:15 p.m. Friday: The Rebels (2-7, 1-2 in league) will look for their third straight win when they face rival Chadwick (5-3, 1-2) in the teams’ Prep League finale.

Flintridge Prep received two touchdowns from senior running back Stefan Smith to pick up a 21-13 Intersectional road victory against Hawkins on Friday. Chadwick picked up a 45-7 league win against Webb. A victory against Flintridge Prep would give the Dolphins a third-place finish after beginning the season 5-0.

Running back Stefan Smith has done it all of late for Flintridge Prep. The reigning All-Area honoree has scored eight touchdowns in the Rebels’ last three games to provide them with a much-needed boost.

Flintridge Prep took home a 54-19 road win last season against a Dolphins squad that has very much become the Rebels’ biggest rival.