He talked, they listened — and as a result, the Tigers are flying high, filled with elation, and suddenly feeling invincible.
Jeff Chi’s season-long message has paid off massively for South Pasadena High’s football team.
The Tigers, now 3-4 after an up-and-down, topsy-turvy non-league season, came up big — really big — taking the head coach’s words to heart Friday night as they left nothing on the field. They showcased their best effort and standout performance in handing previously unbeaten Monrovia a 23-21 loss on the road in the Rio Hondo League opener.
From day one, Chi preached that a demanding non-league schedule — including games against stronger opponents with higher CIF-Southern Section rankings — was designed to get his club ready for the likes of the Wildcats (now 5-1) and others the Tigers would face in the season’s final stretch.
It didn’t matter much to the South Pasadena coach that his team carried a 2-4 mark going into the games that count the most — the league campaign. All he asked was for every member of his squad to give every ounce of their ability in order to defend their league title.
A year ago, the Tigers reaped the benefits of hard work and a will to win by claiming the crown for the first time in 45 years en route to a 10-3 overall mark before going three games deep into the postseason, reaching the CIF-Southern Section semifinals.
South Pasadena’s goals are no different in 2025 — to come away with a league championship and use it as a springboard to win at the highest CIF level again this year.
“I was happy for the players,” said South Pasadena coach Jeff Chi when it was over. “All their hard work paid off tonight. I believed that our preseason has helped us get tougher mentally and physically. I really believed that this group of players are gifted, and they will surprise some teams once we get everyone healthy and play the game the way we expect them to.”
The Tigers used a potent offensive attack and solid defense to hold off Monrovia, which had no trouble with non-league opponents over the first five weeks of the season.
The Wildcats had a chance to take the lead late in the game but missed on a 20-yard field goal attempt on a low kick.
The Tigers scored six points in the first period, 10 in the second, and seven more in the third to end their scoring. Monrovia was held scoreless in the first, put seven on the board in the second, seven in the third, and another seven in the fourth.
South Pasadena scored the first time it got the ball as quarterback Andrew Nott found Grayson Ebner from 12 yards out midway through the first quarter, making it 6-0. The PAT was missed.
Like he’s been doing all season, hard-charging Trey Freking found a lane, going 14 yards for an early second-period TD and South Pasadena increased its lead to 13-0.
It took the Wildcats four minutes into the second quarter before they put their first points on the board — Troy Gries taking the ball the final five yards on the ground, closing it to 13-7.
Inside of a minute before halftime, Nicholas Dragonas booted a 21-yard field goal, giving the Tigers a 16-7 advantage at the break.
With three minutes left in the third period, Monrovia scored its second touchdown of the night as Gries connected on a 4-yard pass to Kaleb Ellison, the Wildcats now trailing 16-14.
Yet, there was no quit in the Tigers as they came right back, handing the ball to Freking, who scored his second TD of the night — this time rushing four yards and building the Tigers’ lead to 23-14.
With three minutes gone in the fourth quarter, Dashawn Sieber scored for Monrovia on a 28-yard run, South Pasadena now holding on by two, 23-21.
After the failed field goal, the Tigers took over, held on, and finally rejoiced, knowing they had just knocked off one of the top teams in the San Gabriel Valley.
Freking had another big night, picking up 110 yards on 28 carries to go along with his pair of touchdowns. Throwing the ball sparingly, Nott was 4-of-8 through the air for 90 yards and one TD. Ebner was his key target, hauling in three of them for 83 yards and a score.
Now that Chi and company have crossed a major hurdle, continuing the momentum over the next three weeks will be the next big test for the Tigers. Away for much of the season, South Pasadena likes the idea it will be home for the next two — starting October 10 against La Cañada, followed up by rival San Marino on October 17, ahead of a travel date to Temple City on October 24 for their regular-season finale.
“I feel relieved,” said Chi. “I feel like I can rest for a few hours then go right back to work, getting ready for La Cañada. As for the game, our offensive line did an excellent job of controlling the line of scrimmage for our running backs to run, having a successful outcome. Our defense played better as a team and we were able to stop several of their drives to get the ball back. Tonight was a team-effort win, a huge win for us. We will work this coming week to continue our path to the league title.”
