Football: South Pasadena, San Marino ready to end playoff drought? The time has come, hasn’t it?

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Despite a slow start to the season, many still consider Monrovia (4-3, 2-0) the team to beat in the Rio Hondo League, leaving others to dub any kind of league race as “the race for second place.”

South Pasadena (5-2, 2-0) and San Marino (5-2, 2-0) clearly are the two teams vying for the second guaranteed playoff spot into the Mid-Valley Division playoffs. That there’s a race at all goes to show the giant strides made at both San Marino and South Pasadena. The last time the Titans made the playoffs was under D.R. Moreland in 2009 when they reached the second round.

It’s been much longer for the Tigers. They lost to Serra of Gardena in 2003, so when South Pasadena got off to a strong start this season, some wondered if the Tigers finally were ready to compete for a playoff spot, and so far they’ve shown they’re definitely in the hunt.

“We put the pressure on ourselves,” said South Pasadena coach Martin Konrad earlier this season. “That’s the one thing these guys have to adjust to, expectations. You win games and people start expecting things about you and you have to be able to handle the pressure.”

The Titans host Monrovia this week, a tall task in itself, while the Tigers take on Blair on Thursday. Regardless of the outcome, next week no doubt will have great significance because not only are South Pasadena and San Marino rivals, but the game could have playoff implications on the line.

  • 6power

    In 08 the Titans were smacked by Paraclete in the 1st round, in 09 I believe it was under Mooney, not Moreland – and the Titans were ousted by Azusa.

  • FootballGuy

    Let’s assume that each team loses to Monrovia and each beat Blair. If San Marino beats South Pasadena and La Canada wins out, guess what. It is coin flip time.

  • DS

    SP has always had good kids and some great players with inferior Head coaching.
    Now they have a team that has won League at the JV level against the same seniors they will be playing in the next 3 weeks. That includes MCcarthy and co. They know what it is to win they know what it is to have expectations and with a great bend but don’t break defense with SHettleroe,Magill, Han, Harvey,Farnsworth and crew this SP team is up for the task.

  • titan sports fan

    6 power – mooney was OC and moreland was DC and head coach in 09

    The coin flip scenario would be tough to swallow for two teams since whoever is third doesnt have a spot locked down as an at large team…. frankly if either sm or sp handles there business they are in and the other is at the mercy of cif. Before we bring LC into the picture they need to handle there game with an improving TC team that by all means is hungry for a W

  • 6power

    titan sports fan

    thanks fo the correction…though many at the time saw Mooney as the one steering the team.

    Though he probably had blue/white chonies on, MM was in the TC crows nest in 08 when Paraclete came to North Field. With Backus banned from the premises Loya and the gang likely hoped the Mooney eye could help TC pull off a miracle. It looked possible in the first half when the Clete coughed up the football a couple times, and Drew Tinsley kicked an amazing 43 yard field goal for TC.
    Unfortunately we started the 3rd with an untimely pick – and the Spirits began a relentless ground attack on the Rams, with a big returning O-line and textbook double teams, wearing our D line down and owning the 4th quarter entirely. The following week the Spirits romped on the Mead and Tra Sumler in semi-freezing temps at Knight High School..a win that should have went to Koffler’s boys, a bad ass group of Panthers who let a huge opportunity pass them by. Instead the Clete, Coach Dahlia and their legions of loyal fans celebrated another CIF crown. One lesson learned:
    Paraclete had a scouting team/film crew and game prep second to none…film exchange yes, but they already had a shopping cart full of their own quality self produced film – and had a 7-10 man crew on hand when we played Azusa at Citrus College the week prior. They were scouting Monrovia since passing league.

  • Pete Eckhart

    As long as we are mentioning him, Mooney was an Ass

  • Titan Sports Fan

    No worries 6 power

    Paraclete took it to us in 08! it was a rough one certainly one of my least favorite away games i witnessed

    In many regards I can understand why some would think mooney was running the show. I just want to make sure Moreland gets his just due. In that 09 season SM hadnt given up more than 14 pts in a game till the first round of playoffs against rosemead. On the season they averaged giving up 12 pts a game including playoffs thats an impressive defense that had all of Morelands finger prints all over it. They were in position to beat Monrovia but people forget we missed our first PAT and thus had to go for 2 pt conversion with roughly a minute left in the game which we did not convert ….SM shot themselves in the foot that day. Held the vaunted Bueno led Cats offense to 14 pts.

  • 6power

    I was at that game and also the Rosemead game that year when Benny Hung ran for 200 some yards on Rosemead