First published in the Sept. 22 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
The Maranatha High School varsity football team picked up a 41-24 nonleague victory at Western Christian High in Upland last Thursday, helping the Minutemen improve to 3-0-1 overall.
It was a dominant first half as Maranatha jumped to an early 23-8 lead before adding 18 points over the final two quarters.
Sophomore Miles Omalley led the running game with a team-high 248 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries. Senior quarterback Michael Martin completed seven passes for 172 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 62 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.
Junior Carter Shupper made one reception for 40 yards while rushing for 5 yards and a touchdown on a pair of carries. He also made five tackles on defense. Junior Jah Reeves made two catches for 23 yards and a touchdown while adding a pair of tackles on defense. Samuel Funches had two catches for 73 yards and a 37-yard interception, while freshman Niko Vergara and senior Connor Patterson each made one reception for 5 and 4 yards, respectively. Sophomore Owen Meleka drilled a field goal and went 2-for-3 in PAT attempts.
Dejohn Jones tallied five tackles and a sack, Jacob Neely collected four tackles, and Aj Campana finished with three tackles and an interception. Paul Argueta recorded three tackles, a sack and a pair of pancake blocks, Bradley Loiacono notched three tackles, and senior Karsten Halvorson registered two tackles and a pass deflected. Beau Stubbs and Duke Mora each had two tackles, senior Isaac Ton, junior Andrew Massino and freshman Dexter Bryant each had one tackle, and senior Yanjun Li made three pancake blocks.
Maranatha previously tied a nonleague game with visiting Bishop Montgomery High of Torrance, 35-35. Despite the Minutemen holding the momentum in the final quarter, Bishop Montgomery declined to play overtime which caused the game to end in a draw.
Omalley led the rushing game with a game-high 172 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, while Reeves made four catches for 49 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Martin completed nine passes for 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Shupper collected a game-high 17 tackles and a sack on defense. Meleka was a perfect 5-for-5 in PAT attempts, Miguel Vazquez had one catch for five yards, senior JT Lam had three tackles and Patrick Covert made one tackle.
Maranatha will conclude nonleague action by hosting Silver Valley High of Yermo on Friday, Sept. 23, before opening Cottonwood League play at Whittier Christian High in La Habra on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m.
ST. FRANCIS
Senior Jack Jacobs threw for 231 yards and five touchdowns in the Golden Knights’ 41-0 victory over visiting Muir last Friday.
The Golden Knights shut out visiting Muir, 41-0, to conclude nonleague action last Friday.
Senior quarterback Jack Jacobs had a terrific evening, completing 12-of-20 passes for 231 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 24 yards on six carries. Senior Devyn Turner rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries while making three receptions for 48 yards.
Seniors Antonio Merlos and Hank Foley each made a pair of catches while each also produced a touchdown. Senior Jett Mccullough had two receptions for 29 yards and two touchdowns, while Senior DruShun Phillips had one catch for a 20-yard touchdown while adding three tackles on defense. Sophomore John Sanders rushed for 13 yards on six carries, junior John Calmette carried three times for 19 yards, and senior Owen Peterson rushed for 5 yards on a pair of carries. Junior Giuliano Lampasona made one reception for 3 yards, while senior Clint Geryak went 5-for-5 in PAT attempts.
Sophomore Julian Navarro collected eight tackles, while junior Preston Jernegan tallied six tackles. Senior Michael Gordo produced four tackles and a sack, junior Tyler Cofre registered four tackles and an interception, and junior Alex Juarez posted four tackles. Sophomore Jamie Lawyer finished with two tackles and an interception, senior Ryan Doerfler and junior Adam Sandoval each had two tackles, and senior James Clapp and sophomore Thomas Deluccia each notched one tackle.
SFHS previously lost its nonleague home-opener to St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy of Downey, 47-22. The Golden Knights suffered their second straight loss and moved to 1-3 overall.
SFHS took an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter but fell behind 20-13 at halftime. St. Pius added 27 points over the final two quarters while St. Francis only added a field goal and a touchdown in the third quarter.
Jacobs completed 17 passes for 276 yards with a pair of touchdowns, while Merlos made seven receptions for a team-high 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Foley completed one pass for a 58-yard touchdown while adding a pair of receptions for 32 yards. Mccullough had three catches for 97 yards and a touchdown while adding five tackles on defense. Calmette had 12 carries for 36 yards and made four catches for 40 yards, while Phillips caught two passes for 13 yards and collected a pair of tackles on defense. Senior Clint Geryak went 1-for-2 in PAT attempts in addition to his third-quarter field goal.
Jernegan tallied five tackles and a fumble recovery, Navarro posted four tackles, and Sandoval registered three tackles. Senior Racin Delgatty produced two tackles and a sack, while Doerfler recorded two tackles and a pass deflected. Juarez and Deluccia each finished with two tackles, while Cofre and Lawyer each had one tackle.
The Golden Knights (2-3 overall) has a bye week this week before opening Angelus League play against visiting Paraclete High of Lancaster on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m.
LA SALLE
La Salle senior Andrew Boecking finished with one tackle and a sack to help the Lancers blank visiting Rosemead, 48-0.
The Lancers had their two-game win streak snapped after losing a nonleague game to Cathedral High in Los Angeles, 45-6, last Friday.
Junior quarterback David Mysza completed 12 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 31 yards on seven carries. Senior Will Clougherty rushed for 12 yards on four carries and made a pair of receptions for 35 yards. Junior Aidan Leyland had five catches for 39 yards, while senior Anthony Balurdi had 32 yards on six carries. Senior Andrew Boecking made one reception for 11 yards, junior Mauricio Pavon carried once for 11 yards and sophomore Raphael Viramontes had one catch for 2 yards.
La Salle previously blanked visiting Rosemead, 48-0, in a nonleague game. The Lancers jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter before adding 14 points in the second and third quarters.
Mysza completed 12-of-15 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 15 yards on four carries. Clougherty did a bit of everything, making three receptions for 13 yards, rushing for 4 yards on two carries, and posting four tackles and a pair of sacks on defense. Balurdi rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries while producing three tackles and a sack on defense. Pavon had six catches for a game-high 135 yards, junior David Vanden Bosch rushed for 57 yards on six carries, and sophomore Dylan Taylor rushed for 4 yards on one carry. Sophomore Daniel Arroyas Jr. had two receptions for 75 yards and Leyland made three receptions for 56 yards while each added a pair of tackles on defense.
Junior Thomas Gomez collected a game-high five tackles while freshman Alex Darlas and Jack Seibert each tallied three tackles. Freshmen Drew Ward and Chris Cardenas each registered two tackles, Boecking and junior Christopher Bahou each finished with one tackle and a sack, and Viramontes, James Nolan and Kyle Godwin each had one tackle.
La Salle (2-3 overall) will conclude nonleague action by visiting East Bakersfield on Friday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m. before opening Del Rey League play by hosting St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy of Downey on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m.
FLINTRIDGE PREP
Flintridge Prep senior Nnamdi Nwaenia made three receptions for a team-high 98 yards and a touchdown to help the Wolves defeat Lone Pine, 21-14.
The Wolves recently defeated host Lone Pine in a league game, 21-14.
Junior Noah Willingham rushed for a team-high 75 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries while adding three catches for 26 yards and a touchdown. Senior Nnamdi Nwaenia made three receptions for a team-high 98 yards and a touchdown. Junior Alex Chorba completed six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, while senior Jack Jones completed 2-of-3 passes for 37 yards and a touchdown with 11 rushing yards on three carries. Senior Luca Yeghnazar had one catch for 20 yards with 3.5 tackles and 0.5 sacks on defense. Senior Luke Chapman made one reception for 2 yards and a pair of tackles on defense, while freshman Owen Willingham carried once for 11 yards.
Senior Griffin Theis led the defense with 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks, while senior Eq Willis and freshman Will Grable each posted 6.5 tackles. Senior Oscar Yum produced four tackles and 0.5 sacks, senior Sam Symington registered two tackles and 0.5 sacks, senior Teddy Gould recorded 2.5 tackles, and freshman Mac Peutet finished with one tackle.
Flintridge Prep (2-0 overall) will return to action by hosting Thacher High of Ojai in a nonleague game on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 6 p.m.
