Pasadena 49, Hoover 19: The final score indicates a blowout from the Pasadena High School football team, but the game within the game is where the Bulldogs came up on the wrong end. Brandon Cox threw for three touchdowns, Cleo Bates ran for two and Emmanuel Harris and CJ Collins each scored on special teams, leading Pasadena to a 49-19 win over Hoover in Pacific League play Thursday night. The biggest challenge Pasadena (5-3, 4-1) coach Randy Horton faced heading into this week’s game was for the Bulldogs to overlook the Tornadoes (0-8, 0-5). But that’s exactly what Pasadena did in a sloppy game that yielded three fumbles (one lost), defensive breakdowns and drive-extending penalties. Certainly this wasn’t the impression the Bulldogs wanted to give with Arcadia looming ahead next week before finishing the season against Muir at the Rose Bowl.

South Pasadena 29, Blair 3: One rolling punt is all it took. Blair High School’s Sheddrick Walker wisely let the South Pasadena kick roll to what he hoped would be into the end zone. But the Tigers made a diving grab to down the ball at the 1. It was all the difference in the world. South Pasadena, holding a 7-3 lead, took advantage of the field position to score two quick touchdowns en route to a 29-3 Rio Hondo League victory on a cold Thursday night at Muir. “We got the ball down there in their territory and punched it in,” South Pasadena coach Martin Konrad said. “It kind of got the momentum going.” Both teams moved the ball on their opening drives, but the Tigers went three-and-out on their second series. The punt was downed at the 1, much to the chagrin of the Blair coaching staff, who thought the defender had rolled with the ball into the end zone.