First published in the Dec. 1 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
The Maranatha High School varsity football team saw its terrific season end in the CIF Southern Section Division XIII semifinals by losing at San Gabriel, 52-42.
After finishing last year with just a single win, the Minutemen seemingly proved all doubters wrong by collecting a Cottonwood League title with a perfect 5-0 record and ending with an outstanding 11-1-1 overall record. The league title was the first for Maranatha since 2014 while appearing in the postseason for the first time since 2019.
“These kids didn’t quit, they kept going and it was just an epic turnaround of this program,” Maranatha head coach Rand Holdren said. “I’m glad they got to see the fruits of their labor, if you will. They worked hard and they saw what it was like to win. I’m proud of them because they set some goals and achieved them.”
The Minutemen battled hard in their semifinal game but without defensive standout Carter Shupper on the field due to injury, San Gabriel was able to run up the score in the first half and build a 30-14 lead.
“Not only did we lose our leading tackler but we lost our captain, a defensive coordinator on the field, a big brother — everything. With the injury he just had to sit but not for lack of trying, that’s for sure. In the last game, he played three plays and we had to pull him but he was not happy about that,” Holdren said. “What it does for a program like us is it doesn’t just take our middle linebacker, it really has a huge effect because our roster is so small — everybody plays numerous positions.”
The Maranatha offense was resilient, scoring double as many points in the second half as the first, but the late rally fell short when San Gabriel padded its lead with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Senior quarterback Michael Martin completed 12 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 47 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Sophomore Miles O’Malley rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, eclipsing the 100-yard mark in a single game for the seventh time this year. Senior Samuel Funches made a pair of catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns, while freshman Niko Vergara had a pair of receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Maranatha will look to defend its league title and return to the postseason next year.
