Staff photo by Sarah Reingewirtz
FRIDAY NIGHT’S RESULTS
San Dimas 56, San Gabriel 14 — Early mistakes lead to three Saints’ TDs as San Dimas, getting three TDs from Jake Payton, led 28-0 after the first quarter and 49-0 at halftime. Joe Mayorga had two receiving TDs for the Matadors, who slipped to 1-2.
Azusa 14, Maranatha 13 — The Minutemen fall to 0-3 after giving up a late score to lose to the Aztecs at Citrus College. Next up is rival La Salle, which is 3-0.
Rancho Cucamonga 54, Muir 14 — Can we say Muir overscheduled? The Mustangs end the nonleague slate with their third consecutive blow-out loss. But I’ve got a feeling if they psyche is damaged, this is a team that will again be in the running for the Pacific League title.
Cathedral 35, Pasadena 21 — Brandon Cox accounted for 218 yards and two scores, but the Bulldogs couldn’t contain the Phantoms. Pasadena travels to Salesian next week.
La Salle 50, Village Christian 6 — Look who’s 3-0? The Lancers look like the area’s most-improved team after getting four TDs from Israel Lacy. Next up is rival Maranatha.
Monrovia 52, Arcadia 17 — The Wilcats forced five interceptions and cruised past the Apaches, who are 0-3 after losing 29-7 to Rio Hondo Prep, 49-10 to St. Francis and now 52-17 to Monrovia. The Wildcats get a big measuring stick next week when they travel to San Dimas, which has outscored the opposition, 143-57.
Gabrielino 44, Keppel 0 — How about those Eagles? Elijah Peters threw for 186 yards and three TDs as Gabrielino improved to 3-0, and with next week’s opponent — Contreras, losing big, is 4-0 around the corner?
Alhambra 23, Temple City 0 — Sebastian Espinosa returned a fumble for a touchdown, quarterback Armando Amaya threw for a touchdown and Jessie Campos kicked three field goals as the Moors broke through with a win. Temple City has yet to score this season.
Rio Hondo Prep 35, San Diego Parker 19 — Nate Tayco scored two TDs as the Kares rebounded from last week’s loss to Mission Prep with an easy win.
South Torrance 33, Rosemead 27 — The Panthers start 0-2 despite getting 93 receiving yards from Steven San Miguel.
San Marino 27, Crescenta Valley 7 — The Titans improve to 2-0 with a win over the Falcons. It could be the first of many for San Marino, which should be undefeated going into their battle vs. Monrovia later this season.
Hoover 33, S. Pasadena 28 — The Tigers fall to 1-1.
Glendale 21, La Canada 3 — Sparta falls back a peg after last week’s win.
SAN DIMAS-SAN GABRIEL PHOTO GALLERY
SAINTS OVERWHELM MATS, 56-14
By Steve Ramirez, SGVN
twitter.com/srammy8
SAN DIMAS – San Dimas High School football coach Bill Zernickow didn’t believe there was any revenge factor when the Saints hosted San Gabriel on Friday night.
It just felt that way.
Jake Payton rushed for 90 yards and three touchdowns and San Dimas, which lost to the Matadors in the CIF-Southern Section Mid-Valley Division semifinals last season, rolled up 292 yards rushing en route to a 56-14 victory over visiting San Gabriel in a nonleague game.
The Saints (3-0), who also got two touchdowns each from Fausto Martinez and Andrew Espinoza, led 49-0 at halftime. San Dimas forced four turnovers and blocked a punt.
San Gabriel, which got 111 total yards and two receiving touchdowns from running back Joseph Mayorga in the second half, slipped to 1-2.
“This is a preseason game like any other (nonleague) game,” said Zernickow, whose Saints have outscored the opposition 143-57 during their first three games. “I would be a lot more fired up if it was a playoff game.”
San Dimas, which scored on its first six possessions, needed less than a quarter to put it to rest and took a 21-0 lead during the first four minutes.
But San Gabriel, which failed to stop South Pasadena in a 49-40 loss last week, was its own worst enemy in committing consecutive mistakes to fuel San Dimas’ quick start.
Quarterback Marqus Valenzuela fumbled inside the 10 after being sacked by the the Saints’ Justin Bugh to give San Dimas a first-and-goal at the 5.
Payton scored two plays later from the 2 for a 7-0 lead with the game just over a minute old. The Saints followed a blocked punt and a short punt to go up by three scores following a 21-yard pass from Josh Avila to Andrew Espinoza at 9:14 and a 1-yard run by Fausto Martinez at 8:00.
San Dimas needed just 49 yards to go up by three touchdowns.
“It seems like the last three times we’ve played these guys, we’ve come out real slow to start,” San Gabriel coach Jude Oliva said. “I think we were a little wide-eyed today. I’m not going to lie. You give opportunities to a great team like this, they are going to capitalize.
“When you’re down 21, that’s a deep hole to a team like (San Dimas).”
It went from bad to worse for the Matadors, who were held to 60 yards in the first half.
San Gabriel, after Payton scored on a 17-yard run for a 28-0 lead, drove inside the San Dimas 20. But on fourth and 10, Valenzuela scrambled for a first down inside the 10 before fumbling it away.
Espinoza and Payton followed with runs of 18 and 16 yards before Martinez scored from the 1 for a 35-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the half.
Mayorga broke the shutout with a 33-yard reception from Valenzuela late in the third before catching a 16-yard pass to account for the 56-14 score.
