Over the next three weeks, South Pasadena High will wind down the Rio Hondo League season facing its toughest stretch – all teams with winning records starting Thursday night when it hosts Monrovia, coming in with a little bit of a chip on its shoulder.
Tigers’ coach Jeff Chi knows the Wildcats will be looking for a little revenge in the 7 p.m. battle after South Pasadena handed Monrovia its only league loss a year ago in a rout, 56-28. South Pasadena, the Wildcats and San Marino all finished with 4-1 records for a share of the title.
Chi, who has his team at 5-2 overall, 2-0 in league play, knows the path to an outright championship this season will be much easier should the Tigers get past 2-0 Monrovia, 6-1 against all opponents.
Following the Wildcats, South Pasadena’s plays Temple City, 5-2, 0-1, at home on Friday, October 25, and goes on the road against unbeaten La Canada 7-0, 2-0, on November 1 to conclude the regular campaign ahead of CIF playoff action.
“They’ve got a lot of talented kids,” said Chi of Monrovia, recognizing the Wildcats have good size and a deep bench. “It’s going to take our best effort. If we want to be league champs we know we have to go through them.”
Emphasizing what it means, the Tigers coach insists, “It’s probably the biggest game of the season. So, we’re going to have to really challenge ourselves and go after them and hopefully come out with a win.”
A big step to claiming the league crown all by themselves was taken last Friday night when the Tigers got past their rival to the east. “It’s always nice to beat San Marino,” Chi said, talking about South Pasadena’s 24-17 victory over the Titans.
Another solid effort by the Tigers’ swarming defense was key as San Marino was held to a mere 20 yards on the ground and 130 yards through the air.
“Our guys did a great job defensively to shut them down,” said the coach. “We’re finally healthy and have all the guys in the right spot,” praising the play of his linebackers, defensive ends, tackles and young secondary, saying it all came together. “We were able to stop the run and pass as well. It was a good night.”
Locked in a 10-10 tie at the half, South Pasadena held the Titans scoreless in the third quarter while putting 14 points on the board to pull ahead 24-10. San Marino scored late in the fourth quarter before the Tigers celebrated, ending a two game losing streak to the neighboring school in the 70th meeting between the two squads. San Marino leads the overall series 37-30-3.
“We set the tone early,” explained Chi. “We told the guys we really needed to establish the line of scrimmage and be able to run at will. I think that was the key.”
The Tigers grabbed a 7-0 lead on their first drive, David Ortega rushing the final 10 yards for the score. “That gave our players the confidence to say, “Hey, we can do this,” Chi noted. “That was kind of carried throughout the game.”
San Marino struggled to slow down the Tigers’ one-two punch of running backs in Trey Freking and David Ortiz. Freking had 32 carries for 188 yards while Ortega added 70 more, packing the ball 13 times. David Eisenberg chipped in with 16 yards on four.
South Pasadena sophomore quarterback Andrew Nott would like to have one throw back that fell into the hands of a Titans’ defender, who ran it in for a San Marino touchdown, but overall Chi was pleased with his signal caller’s performance, Nott completing 6 of 8 for 72 yards.
“It was a learning lesson,” Chi said of the pick-6. “At the moment, it was tough, but after the fact you learn from this and hopefully it won’t happen again. On the night, he threw for a high percentage and our receivers did a good job of getting open. He made one bad throw, he’ll learn and get better.”
Eisenberg had three catches for 33 yards, Jordan Rodgers two for 30 and Freking one for 9, accounting for the passing yardage. Rodgers also had a 38-yard touchdown run, putting the Tigers on top 24-10 with about three minutes left in the third quarter.
After it was over, Tiger players rejoiced by hoisting not one but two trophies – the perpetual Plaque and Crowley Cup – going to the winner in the aftermath of the longstanding rivalry between the two teams.
“We told the guys to enjoy the win obviously, but really focus on our ultimate goal, which is to win the league title,” said Chi, describing his message to the team after the game. “We want them to believe in the system the coaches are installing, and in each other. I was really pleased because they looked dominant on both sides of the ball.”
The message from the coach going forward now as the Tigers’ eighth game approaches, is to keep it up, continue to work hard, win every play, and more victories will come along with it as a result. A league title is the target.
“We just have to play consistently on both sides of the ball,” Chi stressed. “It’s not about individuals. It’s what we do as a team. As long as they buy into it and keep doing it, they have a shot.”
