Above: Chase Rettig is ready to lead La Salle against Maranatha on Friday.
Week 1 descends upon us and getting the nudge for “Game of the Week” is the highly-anticipated La Salle-Maranatha game that’ll pit two of the best quarterbacks in the area.
There is a lot of intrigue for a few reasons, the obvious being two top quarterbacks on display. But this is a matchup that has been building up over the years. The Lancers and Minutement have not played each other since 1997. Think of Maranatha as the long lost son, bouncing from campus to campus throughout Pasadena. The Minutemen now are proud to call their campus on St. John their home. The campus is beautiful and the field is breathtaking.
Sure, La Salle lost last week but that was a very close game. Rettig completed 18 of 37 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns in the Lancers’ tough, 21-18, loss to Village Christian.
“I just hope we finish with one more point than them at the end of the game,” joked Maranatha coach Joel Murphy.
And if you haven’t gotten a clue yet, I’m covering this game.
Contrary to popular belief, I’ve never been a fan of covering a football team back-to-back, which is why I’m not going to St. Francis, though the matchup is intriguing as well. Besides that, it’s a 7:30 p.m. start and there is more to my job than just covering a game. I need to get back to the office to knock out my story, update the scores/blog and make sure all our correspondents get their stuff in by deadline. With a full slate of games scheduled, Friday night will be the whole dog and pony show, meaning I’m better off covering a 7 p.m. game rather than 7:30 p.m.
Game of the Week B : Arcadia at St. Francis, 7:30 p.m.
Golper vs. Riley? C’mon! I heard through the grapevine that the Golden Knights are going to have three guys on Golper when he’s running the ball and they’ll try to isolate him at linebacker. St. Francis is going to make the rest of the Apaches beat them so this is a game Garrett Tuck, Brian Rambeu and others will have to step up and help carry some of the load off of Golper.
Game of the Week C: Oaks Christian at Muir, 7 p.m.
I know I predicted Muir to lose last week against Diamond Ranch. I didn’t think they had it in them and there was all this talk about this Spirlin kid at D-Ranch. The Mustangs proved me wrong, but I don’t think they can do it again, not against a very talented Oaks Christian team. For the record, I doubt Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky and Will Smith will make the trip to da hood. Where would they park their Bentleys? But seriously, Oaks Christian will prove to be too much and they’ll run away with this game. Sorry, Stang Fan.
So this is what it came down to:
Arcadia at St. Francis? – Great game, nice matchups but a 7:30 start would put me behind.
Oaks Christian at Muir? – I hear what you’re saying loud and clear. But it’s more likely that Oaks Christian will hand it to the Mustangs. Sure, there’s also the potential of an upset but I’m going with what’s more likely …
… and it’s more likely the La Salle at Maranatha game will be closer since they’re evenly matched and will put on display two great quarterbacks.
Coming in Friday’s newspaper: a feature on St. Francis’ linemen and a tradition that started four years ago.
Friday’s Game of the Week: La Salle at Maranatha
Friday’s Video Highlight Game of the Week: Duarte at Monrovia (Be sure to check back Saturday morning for the highlights)
Thursday Night Live (7 p.m.): Northview vs. Los Altos at Covina District Field. Be sure to visit our Web site at 7 p.m. tonight to watch the action.
Back by popular demand is the Star-News’ Football Scoreboard.
Click here for quarter-by-quarter updates!
Tonight’s Games
South Pasadena at San Gabriel, 7 p.m. — Melendez (San Gabriel); Lair (San Gabriel)
La Canada vs. Crescenta Valley at Glendale, 7 p.m. — Melendez (C. Valley); Lair (C. Valley)
