Just when they caught some momentum, thinking their season was back on the upswing, South Pasadena High suddenly took a step backward, losing for the fourth time in six games Thursday night, this time falling to host West Covina 35-14.
With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 3-2.
It marked the final non-league game for the Tigers, who were coming off a big win over Franklin of Los Angeles last week, hoping to use it as a springboard to get their season back on track.
Instead, the Tigers hope to find their winning ways once again when they take their 2-4 record to Monrovia on Friday, October 3, for the start of the Rio Hondo League campaign. It promises to be another difficult matchup for South Pasadena as going into this week’s play the Wildcats are unbeaten at 5-0.
West Covina scored seven points in the first quarter, another 14 in the second and 14 more in third to end its scoring. The Tigers’ only points came early in the second period, tying it 7-7, along with a final touchdown early in the fourth, both scores on running plays by top back Trey Freking.
“West Covina was a tough opponent, and we played well against them when we did not miss our assignments,” said South Pasadena coach Jeff Chi afterwards. “We hurt ourselves with our own mistakes. We need to limit those mistakes if we want to beat Monrovia next week. I saw a lot of good plays on both sides of the ball, we need to focus and execute them more consistently.”
From here, the Tigers hope to regain much of their magic that propelled them to a 10-3 overall record, a league crown, and trip to the CIF-Southern Section playoffs a year ago.
It has been a topsy-turvy, rollercoaster season for South Pasadena, which lost its season opener in humbling fashion, 62-34, to El Segundo ahead of a lopsided 55-16 win over host Arcadia, the first of three games on the road. The Tigers followed up that effort losing to Crescenta Valley, 42-21, and Golden Valley of Santa Clarita, 35-13, handed Franklin a 42-35 loss last week, ahead of the loss to West Covina.
Up to this point, Chi has stressed the importance of playing a difficult preseason schedule to prepare for a demanding league campaign.
After taking on Monrovia, South Pasadena is home for two weeks, the first one facing La Cañada on October 10 and the second taking on rival San Marino October 17, before the regular season concludes with an October 24 trip to Temple City.
