Redondo, Costa gridders prepare for area’s best
When Redondo head coach Gene Simon returns to his alma mater tomorrow for a 7 p.m. non-league contest, he knows his squad may be taking on the most talented team it faces all year.
Mira Costa’s Brandon Edmond fights for valuable yardage in the Mustang’s season-opening loss to Loyola. Photo
Simon, who played quarterback for the 1974 Serra squad that became school’s first football team to win a playoff game, is fully aware of how good the defending CIF Division 3 champions are. The Cavaliers return many players from the 2009 team that became the first South Bay team to go 15-0 and are listed third in the state and No. 18 in the nation in the MaxPreps.com pre-season rankings.
“We’ll find out what we’re all about,” Simon said. “It’s not really fair to compare ourselves to that team because we might lose by 20 and still play a pretty good game.”
Both teams won their season openers last Friday and, while Simon will be assessing his own team tomorrow, players and coaches from Bay League rival Mira Costa will have the benefit of scouting two of its opponents in one sitting. The Mustangs have a bye this week, providing coach Don Morrow’s squad extra time to prepare for its next opponent – Serra. The defending Western and Northwest Division champions square off Thursday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. in a game to be played at El Camino College.
Redondo won its season opener with a 21-7 victory at North. With the Saxons missing their top running back, Ryan McDaniel, the Sea Hawk defense held the Saxons’ running game to only nine yards rushing, pressured quarterback Jonathan Garcia and stiffened at the end of the first half when North had the ball inside the 10-yard line, preserving a 7-0 lead.
Redondo quarterback Nick Pope goes head-to-head with North’s Daniel Ramos in the Sea Hawk’s 21-7 victory. Photo
Simon credited John Miller, Adam Ammentorp and Taylor Bongiovanni with strong performances on the defensive line.
“Our defense was suffocating and really led the way,” Simon said. “They couldn’t run the ball and their quarterback had trouble finding open guys. The balls they did catch were contested and caught over our heads. When we held them out of the end zone and without a field goal, that started to put doubts in their minds and gave us even more confidence.”
Redondo carried the momentum into the second half, scoring on its first possession when Brandon Kim hauled in an eight-yard pass from quarterback Nick Pope.
Drew Wright’s 50-yard interception return for a touchdown with 4:50 remaining sealed the victory for the Sea Hawks. Ryan Spiwak led the offense carrying the ball 16 times for 69 yards and one touchdown. He added three receptions for 24 yards.
“It feels great to get that first win,” Pope said. “We knew we had to come out with intensity and we did. They’re a tough team and it took 110 percent every play and that’s what we try to do. We need to bring the same intensity against Serra, play as a team and I think we’ll do just fine.”
While Pope showed more optimism toward this week’s game, Simon breathed a sigh of relief after the team’s first win.
“Playing North is always a tough game,” Simon said. “We play them in the summer in passing tournament and they win some, we win some. I was concerned about getting our butt handed to us if we didn’t play well. I thought they had a team that could certainly play with us but without their number one (running back Ryan McDaniel) that made a big difference.”
J.R. Tavai shakes off a Loyola defender in Mira Costa’s season opener. Tavai had a game-high 62 yards rushing for the Mustangs. Photo
Serra began its quest for back-to-back CIF titles with a 34-7 win at Notre Dame. Despite a number of turnovers, the Cavaliers’ athleticism took over for its big-play offense.
Quarterback Conner Preston (6-1, 205) connected on 10-of-18 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns while running back Shaq Richard (5-10, 183) rushed for 134 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.
Wide receivers George Farmer (6-2, 210) and Marqise Lee (6-1, 185) electrified the crowd. Farmer had a 75-yard reception for a touchdown and returned a punt 51 yards for another score. Lee made the most of three receptions, amassing 150 yards including touchdown catch-and-runs of 64 and 77 yards.
The Cavaliers defense is led by Jason Gibson (6-3, 218) and David Moala (6-2, 285)
Trying to avenge last year’s 28-18 opening-game loss to Loyola, Mira Costa was defeated 10-7 Friday by the visiting Cubs in the first game for both teams.
Mira Costa held a 5-0 lead before Loyola scored the game’s lone touchdown in the second quarter after a blocked punt.
Playing on a broken foot, J.R. Oshima blocked a punt that went out of the end zone for a first-quarter safety before Brendan Sofen kicked a 37-yard field goal in the second period.
In the fourth quarter, Loyola capitalized on a fumble recovery with a 26-yard field goal and later took a safety instead of punting out of its own end zone.
Mira Costa’s defense limited Loyola to only 93 yards total offense. Cub quarterback Jerry Neuheisel was held to eight completions in 20 attempts for 65 yards and running back Jared Baker, who averaged 145 yards per game in 2009, gained only 41 yards on 19 carries.
J.R. Tavai was the leading rusher for Mira Costa, gaining 62 yards on 14 carries. ER