South Pasadena and Palmdale high schools know firsthand the long road to the CIF-Southern Section quarterfinals has not been easy.
In fact, it’s been downright bumpy for the two squads as they’ve both hit their share of potholes along the way before the journey has smoothed out considerably in recent weeks.
The Tigers opened the 2025 season with a major jolt out of the gate, losing to visiting El Segundo 62-34, then rebounded with a convincing 55-16 win the next week over Arcadia, only to lose three out of their next four to go 2-4 in non-league play.
Part of it was by design, an annual tradition, as South Pasadena head coach Jeff Chi and his staff like to intentionally create a challenging preseason slate to get their teams battle tested for the rugged demands of league competition.
Like clockwork, it worked again this year.
After the rocky beginning, the Tigers found their way, rattling off four straight Rio Hondo League victories to claim their second straight title ahead of last week’s lopsided 42-17 win over San Marcos of Santa Barbara at home in their CIF Division-11 first round game.
Palmdale went down a similar path. An initial look at the Falcons’ 6-5 overall record is a bit deceiving, some, perhaps, assuming the Falcons may not be a formidable opponent.
That’s hardly the case.
They opened the season losing five straight, yes, going 0-5, including huge setbacks in league play to Lancaster (71-22) and Quartz Hill (55-18) before turning its season around by winning six in a row. Among those victories was recorded last week when the Falcons handed Diamond Bar a 39-20 loss in its round one CIF game.
Chi knows it will take a monumental effort on the road for his 7-4 team, seeking its sixth straight triumph, to turn away Palmdale, the Golden League third place finisher at 5-2, Friday night starting at 7 p.m.
He was quick to add, “Their skill players are fast and can make big plays.”
Specifically, he’s speaking of running back Elleyon Clark and wide receiver Zason Walker, both juniors, who continue to make a difference for Palmdale.
In 11 games, Clark has rushed for 968 yards on 145 carries for a 6.7-yard average and 13 touchdowns to lead the Falcons in rushing.
Walker compliments him on the pass catching side, hauling in 67 balls over the same stretch for 852 yards, for a 12.7 average, and seven TDs up to now.
“We need to set our edge and keep everything inside of our defensive ends, preventing the running back from running outside and keeping the quarterback in the pocket,” insisted Chi.
That QB happens to be Joshua Suarez, who has passed for 2,136 yards in the 10 games he’s played on 155 passes for a 13.8-yard average, to go along with 21 touchdowns. A sharpshooter in his own right, Suarez has thrown just four interceptions.
South Pasadena comes into the contest with its own set of offensive weapons, anchored by senior Trey Freking, the Tigers’ superb running back who seemingly gets better as the weeks wear on.
In 10 games, he’s packed the ball 226 times for 1,563 yards for a 6.9 average, a long of 40 yards, and 22 scored touchdowns. In addition, two of his receptions have resulted in scores.
Much of the responsibility of the Tigers’ solid running game falls into the hands of their offensive line, featuring left tackle Hrag Ourichian, left guard Baron Shroff, center William Girvigian, right guard Jacob Scott and right tackle Guillermo Melara, who create the running lanes for Freking and others to slice through defenses.
“These guys are improving every day to make our running game more effective and reliable,” praised the coach. “They have created our identity as a solid running team.”
Freking, noted Chi, set the tone in last week’s win over San Marcos by carrying the ball 22 times for 262 yards, winding up with four first half touchdowns – three on the ground and one through the air.
“It seems like as the bigger the game gets, Trey plays even bigger,” Chi said. “He has been very patient setting up his blockers and maximizing his runs. And his vision is getting better as he is making better decisions about which holes to run through. Lastly, his toughness and speed are just an added bonus to his running game.”
Under center have been the steady play of signal callers Andrew Nott and Cody Robinson. In 11 games at quarterback, Nott has completed 62 of his 113 passes for 1,023 yards and thrown 13 TDs while Robinson, in nine outings, has been successful on 45 of his 80 throws for 675 yards to go along with a handful of touchdowns.
The Tigers top target has been Grayson Ebner, who has caught 26 passes for 502 yards and four scores, joining the talents of Lorcan Swift with 22 for 396 and six touchdowns, and Lorenzo Jones, 22 for 304 and another three.
South Pasadena is not the only Rio Hondo League team to advance to the quarterfinals of CIF action. La Cañada, 10-1, runner-up to South Pasadena in league with its only loss coming from the Tigers, knocked off West Covina 30-14 last Friday in its first-round game, and now travels to face Barstow in a Division-7 matchup. Barstow was a 34-12 winner over Serrano in its first game.
Meanwhile, Monrovia, a Division-10 contender, fell to Hillcrest of Riverside at home 41-14, ending its season at 7-4.
South Pasadena, which finished 10-4 overall and went deep in the playoffs a year ago, would like nothing more than to come away with a win over Palmdale and return to the semifinals where it all ended last season, falling short of its goal of winning a CIF title.
Chi contends his club is ready for another week of Friday night lights.
“The key to winning this game is to control the tempo and the line of scrimmage on offense and score on each of our possessions,” Chi emphasized. “Defensively, we need to keep them in front of us and not give up big plays.”
