The Tigers are getting used to that sweet sound of being called champions.
South Pasadena High’s 30-22 win over rival San Marino last week clinched the second straight Rio Hondo League title for the Tigers, who wind up the regular season Friday by traveling to face struggling Temple City.
Following a 2-4 non-league slate, SPHS turned its season around by winning a pair of nail-biters, knocking off Monrovia, 23-21, and La Cañada, 23-22, before beating the Titans, going 3-0 to open league, setting the stage to now visit the Rams, 3-5 overall, 0-2 in league.
Should South Pasadena, 5-4 on the season, slip up this week and finish 3-1 in league — which is unlikely — and La Cañada or San Marino also end the season at 3-1, the Tigers would have the edge in head-to-head games, earning the tiebreaker.
While the Tigers conclude regular season play this week, La Cañada (2-1) has a bye and ends its campaign on October 31 against San Marino. The Titans can finish 3-1 with wins over Monrovia Friday and La Cañada the following week.
Yet, South Pasadena, with a victory over the Rams, can eliminate all those potential outcomes.
“We plan not to be in that scenario,” said South Pasadena head coach Jeff Chi. “We just need to go out and beat Temple City and go 4-0 to leave no doubt in our standings.”
After facing Temple City, in what Chi expects will give his club a 6-4 regular season ending record, the Tigers must wait until after the games played on October 31 to learn who South Pasadena will take on in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section playoffs set to begin the first week of November.
Chi will tell you he likes the idea of sitting in first place, coming off a huge rivalry victory in which his running back ran wild, giving a standout performance, yet saying: “We have things that we could have done better. We need to get better on both sides of the ball. So, we need to focus on those and getting back to the basic fundamentals.”
And despite their difficulties up to now, “Temple City does have few players that can make big plays, so we cannot underestimate or overlook them,” said Chi. “We need to continue to play tough football and focus.”
In other words, noted the coach, don’t underestimate a team with some big play talent.
“We need to prepare like every other game and win the line of scrimmage to slow them down on defense,” he said. “Offensively, we need to limit mistakes so that we can effectively run and pass the football. Once again, we are going to rely on our offensive line to accomplish our goals.”
Chi is talking about left tackle Hrag Ourichian, left guard Baron Shroff, center William Girvigian, right guard Ryan Hamdan and Kevin Figueroa, along with right tackle Guillermo Melara, who have been opening running lanes all season long for the Tigers’ impressive running game, punctuated by the extraordinary play of senior Trey Freking, who picked up 264 yards on the ground on 34 carries in South Pasadena’s win over San Marino.
“Trey has great vision and possesses explosiveness to hit the hole aggressively and finish the runs, dragging opponents,” Chi praised. “His impact in the game has given our team huge confidence knowing that we can move the ball effectively on the ground, and getting the attention of our opponents on him that also helps with opening up our passing game.
“He has created a great balance for our offense,” he added. “Obviously, all these are possible because of our O-Line doing their job of opening running lanes and protecting our quarterback. They have been improving from day one, getting better each week. They will be an instrumental part of our success moving forward into the playoffs.”
And, of course, Chi realizes his team wouldn’t be in the position it is without the dedication of a solid coaching staff, most of whom have been a part of the program for many years. He’s grateful for the support from Jason Barnes, John Fonseca, John Morant, Nate Olsen, and Paul Hugasian, joining statistician CB Richards, the school’s highly respected athletic director.
“I have been very fortunate to have such loyal, committed, and dedicated staff for years,” said Chi. “They spend endless hours of watching films, planning game plan and practice to prepare our players for each game every week. Without them, we would not have had the success that we have had in recent years, especially in league competitions. We have an understanding among our staff about our goals and trying to reach them by working together cohesively. I am grateful for their professionalism and friendship. We really enjoy working together.”
The message was clear following the victory against the Titans last week: Enjoy it, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
“We wanted our players to enjoy the win, especially after putting in so much effort in preparing for the game,” Chi said. “But we also want to finish the league the way we started this year, basically, finishing what we started. We told them to continue to work and prepare for Temple City like they did in the previous three games in league.”
And, of course, enjoy that championship feeling, as in Rio Hondo League champs — which rolls off the tongue nicely.
