South Pasadena High’s road to a long-awaited CIF-Southern Section football championship just got smoother as the Tigers moved one step closer Friday night with a convincing 41-7 win over host Palmdale in quarterfinal playoff action.
Up next for 8-4 South Pasadena, which handed San Marcos of Santa Barbara a 42-17 first round loss and has now won six straight, is a Division-11 semifinal match-up road trip against Valley View of Moreno Valley – a 21-14 quarterfinal winner Friday over Gahr of Cerritos – on November 21, as the Tigers are now locked in on securing their first CIF crown since 1975.
Count ‘em, that’s 50 years since SPHS has walked off with the prestigious title.
With a victory in the semis, the Tigers will have an opportunity to play in the CIF title game the day after Thanksgiving, November 28, something coach Jeff Chi has always wanted his team to experience. Those days don’t come around often enough, to hold a practice on turkey day.
South Pasadena is no stranger of CIF semifinal play, reaching that stage a year ago when its season came to an abrupt halt after falling to Silverado of Victorville 58-7 in a one-sided loss. All wasn’t lost, however, as the Tigers relished an outstanding campaign, one which included a Rio Hondo League title, a victory over rival San Marino and a 10-win season against only four losses – a solid finish indeed.
“We have been to the semifinals several times,” noted Tigers coach Jeff Chi. “Now our goal is to win one.”
Chi knew going into Friday’s quarterfinals that the Falcons had a big play offense, but the Tigers negated much of that by limiting the Falcons from mounting an solid attack much of the way with a standout defensive effort.
Instead, it was South Pasadena showcasing its own firepower that was the difference in this one, the game played in a steady downpour, light to moderate, from the start.
“Rain always helps with the running team,” said Chi, whose team took full advantage.
The Tigers climbed out to a 21-0 first half lead, scoring seven in the first period and 14 more in the second.
Rick Masuda put South Pasadena on top 7-0 with two minutes left in the opening quarter on a 1-yard run before Trey Freking, the Tigers’ senior workhorse at running back, scored twice in the second, once on a 19 yarder with eight minutes to go and another six minutes later, giving South Pasadena a three-touchdown cushion.
After the break, Freking was back in the endzone with his third score of the night, this time going six yards at the eight-minute mark of the third quarter, making it 28-0.
The Falcons finally got on the board with five minutes to go in the third period, as Jordan Medina hauled in a 34-yard scoring pass, closing the gap 28-7.
Set up by a Tatem Mendoza interception, Freking found plenty of running room, going across the goal line from 25 yards out early in the final quarter for his fourth TD, and now the Tigers were up 34-7 after the PAT was missed.
South Pasadena put an end to the scoring when Evan Hyun went 21 yards on the ground, giving the Tigers a comfortable 41-7 advantage with five minutes left in the contest.
At the end of the night, Freking carried the ball 28 times for 260 yards to go along with his four touchdowns while Masuda had another 63 on 16 carries and one score.
“Our offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage,” said Chi, talking about his big bruisers anchoring the front – left tackle Hrag Ourichian, left guard Baron Shroff, center William Girvigian, right guard Jacob Scott and right tackle Guillermo Melara.
As usual Freking’s number was called often in the huddle, the coach saying afterwords: “They knew he would carry the ball most of the night and couldn’t stop him.”
With the setback, Palmdale’s season came to an end, the Falcons finishing with an up-and-down 6-6 record, going 5-2 in the Golden League for a third-place finish. Palmdale opened the season with five straight losses ahead of winning its next six, including a 39-20 CIF first round victory over Diamond Bar.
Now with two postseason games behind them, the Tigers like the idea of putting together a complete dream season knowing a CIF title is within their grasp, only two wins away.
“Our players fought though a tough week of practice, battling the weather and illnesses, but when game time came, they were ready to play,” Chi said. “I’m very proud of their resilience and cohesiveness as a team.”
