Step one of four in its quest to reach its ultimate goal was made by South Pasadena High Friday night.
Showing why it was the Rio Hondo league’s best this year, the Tigers picked up a 35-28 victory over visiting Patriot of Jurupa Valley in first round CIF-Southern Section football action, and knows with three more postseason victories they’ll be crowned Division 10 champs.
The aim is to win their first CIF championship since 1975.
South Pasadena, despite its small enrollment of just over 1,400 students, is now recognized as a major force on the gridiron, consistently among the league’s elite along with steady contenders Monrovia, La Cañada and San Marino.
And proudly, they’re in the mix with top teams in the San Gabriel Valley.
It wasn’t always that way. There was a day when Monrovia and Temple City once dominated as the top two teams in the league standings with the remaining four fighting for third place.
That’s no longer the case as South Pasadena, improving to 10-2 overall with its win over the Warriors, including a perfect 5-0 league title run, is currently on a seven game winning streak after sending Patriot home with the narrow win. The Warriors, a third place finisher in the River Valley League at 3-2, ended their season 5-5.
A year ago, the Tigers went 9-2, including a 4-1 finish in league play to share the crown with both Monrovia and San Marino. A 30-27 first round CIF loss to Los Osos of Ranch Cucamonga was the impetus to work harder and get back to the playoffs this year.
“We as coaches, told our guys back in April and May as we saw them get better and better and grow, that, ‘Hey, we have a very special team here We want you to understand that, and go make the best of it, don’t have any regrets,’ “Tigers’ coach Jeff Chi told his team. “They continued to believe and work toward that. They’ve come together so well now that they have a shot of going far into the playoffs.”
The Tigers never trailed against Warriors, but oh my, there were some nail-biting moments. Both teams scored TDs in the first quarter before South Pasadena took a two-touchdown lead in the second quarter, upping it 21-7 at the half. The Tigers and Warriors traded scores in the third period, making it 28-14 Tigers at the end of three, but Patriot, in comeback mode, outscored the South Pasadena 14-7 in the fourth quarter to make it close.
“It was a great win but a stressful win,” said Chi at the end. “It came down to the very last second to put this game away. I was very proud how our kids fought from the first second to the very last second. There was no time for a breather. We had to just keep fighting. Our kids hung in there and I’m proud of the way they finished it.”
The Tigers opened the scoring midway through first quarter on a 5-yard run by Trey Freking. Patriot wasted little time answering as Warriors’ quarterback Nathan Villanueva found an opening and rushed 25 yards for the score with five minutes in the period to tie it 7-7.
South Pasadena untied it late in the second quarter on a 5-yard scoring pass from quarterback Andrew Nott to Freking, putting the Tigers up 14-7. The drive was helped by a 41-yard run by David Eisenberg.
Not long after, the Tigers were back in the end zone, this time on a pick-6 by Jasper Heathfield going in from six yards out, South Pasadena now in front 21-7 at the break.
Patriot closed the gap 21-14 early in the third quarter on a two-yard run by Villanueva, his second of the night. But the Tigers came right back, Rick Matsuda going 68 yards for the score, making it 28-14 at the end of the third quarter.
The Warriors tightened it 28-21 Isaac Galiza intercepted a South Pasadena pass and ran it in 35 yards for a touchdown one minute into the final period.
After the Tigers turned the ball over on downs, Jurupa Valley started its drive at its own 41-yardline. After a long run by Josiah Felix, the Warriors had the ball down on the South Pasadena 35. But the Tigers defense stiffened and Patriot gave the ball back on downs at the South Pasadena 41 where the Tigers took over.
South Pasadena scored in the final two minutes of the game as Nott found Jordan Rodgers from 35 yards out, putting the Tigers up by two touchdowns, but the Warriors, showing a lot resiliency, battled back, putting their final points on the board with time running out on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Villanueva to Jayden Luedtke, making it 35-28.
The Tigers recovered a Patriot onside kick, but were stopped, as Patriot got the ball back one last time, and battled to the end, Villanueva throwing a long pass to Luedtke at the South Pasadena 35-yard line as time eventually ran out on the Warriors.
Before the kickoff, Chi felt like his club could run on the Warriors behind the efforts of Freking and David Ortega, who only played sparingly in this one due to an injury, the stronghold of the Tigers’ offensive attack all season. He was well aware of the Warriors’ blitz packages on defense which could slow South Pasadena down, the coach emphasizing: “Our guys can not miss those guys, their linebackers, coming through the gaps,” he said ahead of the game. “When they do, they create havoc. But at the same time, if they blitz to the wrong side, you can have big gains, too. So, we told our guys to make sure you close on your gaps a little, concentrate on your technique, and be ready.”
Chi also knew his defense had to slow down the Patriot ground game, especially Felix, the Warriors’ workhorse running back who entered the contest averaging 163 yards, picking up 1,467 over nine games on 156 carries, to go along with 22 touchdowns, and Villanueva who had another 495, packing the ball 92 times, averaging 55 yards per game. Both had solid performances against the Tigers.
“I have to give Patriot credit,” said Chi. “They did a good job trying to slow down our offense and I think our defense did a good job of slowing down their offense. It came down to the team that best executed on offense, eliminating mistakes, and we barely squeaked out with a touchdown win.”
In his next breath, Chi added: “A win is a win and we’ll take it. Now we just have to get ready for the next game.”
The Tigers, who now will face Valley View of Moreno Valley, which beat neighboring Moreno Valley 35-3 Friday, were the number three seed headed into division 10 behind St. Anthony and San Marcos. South Pasadena needs two more wins to reach the championship game.
Freking carried the ball 30 times against Patriot for 90 yards, and had a touchdown on the ground and through the air. Rick Matsuda had 93 yards on six carries and one touchdown, and Eisenberg ran for 50 yards, packing the ball twice.
Dowd made four catches for 37 yards and Rodgers had a pair for scores, one for 33 and a second for 29. Doing the throwing was Nott, who completed 7 for 11, 110 yards and two TD passes and an interception.
With the wins mounting, the job of coaching football never gets old for Chi, who has been around South Pasadena’s program as either as an assistant or head coach for more than 30 years. Along the way, he had short coaching stints at two other high schools, Hoover and Cathedral, along with La Cañada Jr. All-American, showing youth how to play the game.
“That’s the goal,” he said, when asked if he was still having fun being around the sport. “The day I dread getting up wanting to coach will be the time for me to give it up. So far, it has been good.”
And last night’s win, knowing it means the Tigers season will last for at least another week, felt especially good.
“I’m enjoying it a lot, yeah,” he added.
