Two games into the season, South Pasadena High came away with a 21-6 victory over Arcadia at home Friday night.
The Tigers, who did all their scoring in the second half, iced it with four minutes to go in the game as Trey Freking went the two yards for South Pasadena’s final touchdown. David Ortega scored the Tigers other two touchdowns, one on a four-yard run up the middle and another on a 20 yard sweep.
Freking finished the night with 160 yards on 21 carries while Ortega picked up 110 on 11.
Trailing by six at the half, SPHS Athletic Director CB Richards said the Tigers made some key adjustments at intermission. “The coaches talked about the importance of fundamentally blocking as a unit, and it paid off,” he explained. “You could really see the players come out in second half with a different focus as the team began to open holes and the backs find daylight.”
Tigers’ coach Jeff Chi emphasized that it was important “for us to play as a unit. The guys responded in a very positive way and played much better in the second half than the first half.”
The Apaches only score came on a fumble recovery, defensive end Max Yang picking up the loose ball and rambling in from the Tigers’ 25 yard line. Offensively, Arcadia didn’t get inside the Tigers’ 30-yard line as South Pasadena’s defense turned up the heat, showing significant improvement over last week’s performance in a 28-0 opening season loss to Schurr.
“Arcadia played really well in the first half, holding us without a score and forcing four turnovers,” said Richards. “They will be a good team since this was the first game of the year, giving them time to improve as well.”
Arcadia took a 6-0 lead into the half, scoring its only points in the second quarter, before the Tigers put seven points on the board in the third period and 14 more in the fourth.
The Tigers will now look to improve on their 1-1 record when they host Crescenta Valley on Friday, September 6, at 7 p.m. in the third of five non-league games ahead of Rio Hondo League action.
