Weekly Football Previews: La Cañada vs. Monrovia; St. Francis vs. Salesian; Flintridge Prep vs. Milken Comm.
LA CAÑADA VS. MONROVIA
•WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
•WHERE: La Cañada High
•RECORDS: The Spartans are 5-3, 1-1 in Rio Hondo League; the Wildcats are 8-1, 3-0 in the Rio Hondo League.
•LAST WEEK: La Cañada lost to San Marino, 42-27; Monrovia defeated South Pasadena, 49-7
•OUTLOOK: La Cañada, ranked No. 10 in CIF Southern Section Division XIV, took a step back in suffering its first league game of the season. The Spartans will hope to get back on track as they host Monrovia in hopes of keeping their bid for a CIF Southern Section playoff berth alive. In the loss to San Marino, the Spartans turned the ball over three times in the first half and had a bad snap on a punt deep in its own territory to consistently set up San Marino with short fields. Quarterback Brandon Reese scored on a one-yard run early in the second quarter for the Spartans’ lone score. Reese completed eight of of 22 passes for 51 yards and added 16 yards in six carries. Jacob Hardy carried eight times for 30 yards and Dez Delgatty caught three passes for 41 yards. Friday’s game will be the regular-season finale for Monrovia, which is alone in first place in league. Monrovia took control of its game early against South Pasadena, enjoying a 42-0 lead at halftime. The Wildcats have an accomplished quarterback in Nick Hernandez.
•SOMETHING INTERESTING: Following Friday’s game, the Spartans will finish the regular season with a league game at South Pasadena. La Cañada is trying to qualify for the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the first time since 2014.
FLINTRIDGE PREP VS. MILKEN COMMUNITY
•WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Thursday
•WHERE: Flintridge Prep
•RECORDS: The Rebels are 6-1, 0-1 in Prep League; the Wildcats are 5-1, 0-1 in Prep League
•LAST WEEK: Flintridge Prep lost to Windward, 69-38; Milken Community lost to Chadwick, 62-22
•OUTLOOK: In eight-man action, it will be a short week for Flintridge Prep. The Rebels, ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division I, suffered their first loss of the season in their league opener at home Friday against top-ranked Windward. Flintridge Prep, which took third in league last season, held a 14-13 lead after the first quarter before giving up 28 second-quarter points. Flintridge Prep quarterback Max Gitlin completed 32 of 51 passes for 375 yards and four touchdowns against Windward. Ben Grable and Zach Kim turned in big efforts as well for the Rebels. Grable led the team with 13 receptions for 151 yards and Kim had 11 catches for 121 yards. Milken Community fell to visiting Chadwick, which captured the league championship last season, on Thursday. Quarterback Lev Knolla has thrown for more than 10 touchdowns on the season for the Wildcats, who finished in last place in league in 2018. The top two teams in league automatically qualify for the playoffs in November.
•SOMETHING INTERESTING: Flintridge Prep and Milken Community are averaging 50.4 and 51.1 points per game, respectively.
ST. FRANCIS VS. SALESIAN
•WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
•WHERE: Salesian High
•RECORDS: The Golden Knights are 6-2, 0-1 in Angelus League; the Mustangs are 1-7, 0-1 in Angelus League
•LAST WEEK: St. Francis lost to Crespi, 42-35; Salesian lost to Cathedral, 51-0
•OUTLOOK: Things didn’t go as planned for St. Francis in its league-opening game Friday at Crespi. The Golden Knights, who are a favorite by many to win the league championship, stumbled and have lost two straight contests. St. Francis will look to get back on track after yielding four unanswered touchdowns versus Crespi. St. Francis quarterback Jack Clougherty completed 20 of 42 passes for 273 yards on Friday. He had three touchdown passes and on interception. Running back Kevin Armstead rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns in 28 carries and receiver Bryson Reeves caught 10 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. Max Garrison added two catches for 80 yards and a touchdown for the Golden Knights. Rebuilding Salesian fell to host Cathedral, the reigning league champion, on Friday. Cathedral held a 41-0 lead after the first quarter and led, 48-0, at halftime. The Mustangs have been blanked three times this season and have scored just six points in their last last two tilts. The two top teams in the four-squad Angelus League automatically qualify for the postseason.
•SOMETHING INTERESTING: St. Francis has outscored Salesian, 110-0, in two games since Salesian joined the Angelus League in 2017.