Matadores secure first victory of season in a rout

With the start of Suburban League play came La Mirada’s first victory of the season Friday in a 49-14 rout of Bellflower at home.
The Matadores improved to 1-4 after a nonleague schedule that included a pair of Pac-5 Division opponents (Tesoro and Servite) and the Southwest Division’s top-ranked team as well (La Habra). They should move to 2-0 in league play next week against John Glenn and retain at least a share of first place.
Schurr also secured its first victory of the season, knocking off Cal 17-15 at home. Pioneer suffered just its second loss of the season, 42-7 to Montebello, but will be without the services of quarterback Jonathan Jimenez and running back Christian Red for the rest of the season. Jimenez had season-ending foot surgery Thursday after being injured against Mountain View, and Red suffered a broken right leg on the opening kickoff of Friday’s game.

1. La Habra (4-1): Defeated Gahr 43-14
2. La Serna (3-2): Lost to Norco 37-21
3. Santa Fe (3-1): Bye
4. La Mirada (1-4): Defeated Bellflower 49-14
5. Whittier Christian (3-2): Lost to Salisian 54-24
6. El Rancho (2-3): Lost to Troy 36-34
7. Cal (1-3): Lost to Schurr 17-15
8. Montebello (2-3): Defeated Pioneer 42-7
9. Whittier (2-2): Bye
10. Pioneer (3-2): Lost to Montebello 42-7

Other scores from Friday
Bishop Amat 49, St. Paul 10
Cathedral 42, Cantwell-Sacred Heart 13

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Cardinal Classic gets underway Friday at Whittier, La Serna gyms

The gyms at Whittier High and La Serna will be the venue for this weekend’s Cardinal Classic girls volleyball tournament, now in its 26th year.
The 28-team event opens with pool play Friday, where each team will play three times. On Saturday, the teams that advanced from pool play will meet in a double-elimination playoff round. The Gold Division final will be played at 5 p.m. Saturday at Whittier High. Last season, La Serna topped Los Altos in the final, and both are in the field this year as well.
Whittier opens play Friday against Rancho Alamitos, San Marino and John Glenn.

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La Habra will rebound from first loss this week

A week removed from its first loss of the year, La Habra will make its final nonleague tuneup against Gahr on Friday night.
The Gladiators like to throw the ball on nearly every down, but the Highlanders’ relentless defensive front will make that very difficult, and they’ll enter Freeway League competiton at Fullerton on Oct. 11 with just one blemish on their record.
With its nonleague schedule finally done, La Mirada will open Suburban League play with a victory over visiting Bellflower, and Whittier Christian will edge Salesian.
Here’s a look at all my picks for the week.

La Habra (3-1) at Gahr (1-3) – La Habra
La Serna (3-1) at Norco (1-2) – La Serna
Bellflower (2-2) at La Mirada (0-4) – La Mirada
Whittier Christian (3-1) at Salesian (2-2) – Whittier Christian
Cal (1-2) at Schurr (0-3) – Cal
El Rancho (2-2) vs. Troy (3-0) at Fullerton High – Troy
Pioneer (3-1) at Montebello (1-3) – Montebello
Cantwell-Sacred Heart (0-3) at Cathedral (4-0) – Cathedral
Bishop Amat (3-1) at St. Paul (0-4) – Bishop Amat

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Area’s leading passer, rusher to meet Friday

Leading an offense that has scored 100 points in the last two weeks, Pioneer quarterback Jonathan Jimenez ranks first among all area players in attempts, completions, passing yards and passing TDs after four weeks.
The Titans are 3-1 so far and this week will visit Montebello, which features sophomore Isaac Mendibles, the Whittier area’s top rusher. He scored a pair of thrilling touchdowns in last week’s heartbreaking loss to El Rancho.
With his 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame, Whittier Christian junior Noah Evans is the area’s leading receiver by nearly 100 yards.He’ll get the chance to add to his total on Friday at Salesian.

SEASON LEADERS
PASSING
Jonathan Jimenez, Pioneer, 96 of 155, 1,153 yards, 14 TDs
Frankie Palmer, La Serna, 50 for 84, 736 yards, 4 TDs
Ryan Esslinger, Whittier Chr., 67 of 108, 724 yards, 4 TDs
Ryan Araujo, El Rancho, 54 for 96, 707 yards, 1 TD
Matthew Valencia, Cantwell-Sacred Heart, 52 for 109, 572 yards, 2 TDs
Kevin Dillman, La Mirada, 55 for 87, 538 yards, 2 TDs
Carlos China, Montebello, 27 of 56, 461 yards, 4 TDs

RUSHING
Isaac Mendibles, Montebello, 629 yards, 5 TDs
Adam Carrasco, La Mirada, 438 yards, 4 TDs
David Fischer, Whittier Chr., 407 yards, 4 TDs
Aaron Escareno, El Rancho, 373 yards, 6 TDs
Jean Lue Dauphiney, Cantwell-Sacred Heart, 365 yards, 2 TDs
Frankie Palmer, La Serna, 300 yards, 2 TDs
Bryce Oliver, La Serna, 248 yards, 5 TDs
Ryan Araujo, El Rancho, 242 yards, 6 TDs
Kevin Ramos, La Serna, 238 yards, 2 TDs
Christian Red, Pioneer, 198 yards
Ryan Esslinger, Whittier Christian, 181 yards, 2 TDs

RECEIVING
Noah Evans, Whittier Chr., 26 rec., 424 yards, 3 TDs
Matthew Rodriguez, Pioneer, 21 rec., 329 yards
Matthew Rosales, La Serna, 15 rec., 325 yards
Edgar Martinez, Montebello, 8 rec., 282 yards, 2 TDs
Dallis Todd, La Mirada, 21 rec., 280 yards, 2 TDs
Julio Reynoso, Pioneer, 23 rec., 278 yards
Julian Espitia, Pioneer, 19 rec., 274 yards, 3 TDs
Chase Busse, Cantwell-Sacred Heart, 21 rec., 251 yards, 2 TDs
Andy Garibay, Pioneer, 22 rec., 229 yards
Javier Carillo, El Rancho, 20 rec., 209 yards
Max Mora, Cantwell-Sacred Heart, 16 rec., 192 yards, TD

Stats taken from MaxPreps.com

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Highlanders climb in CIF poll despite first loss of season

Despite losing its first game of the season last week, La Habra High’s football team moved from No. 2 in the CIF-SS Southwest Division poll to a tie for first this week.
The Highlanders fell to 3-1 with a 46-21 loss to Mission Viejo, one of the state’s top-ranked teams. Edison, ranked No. 1 by itself last week, also lost for the first time, 31-14 to Servite. Perhaps feeling La Habra played tougher competition – Mission Viejo is second in the Pac-5 Division, Servite is fifth – the ranking committee gave it a share of the No. 1 spot.
Santa Fe (3-1) fell from No. 2 to No. 6 this week in the Southeast Division after its 56-7 loss to Corona Santiago. La Serna (3-1) moved from No. 5 to No. 4 in the Southeast following its 38-35 victory over Westlake. La Mirada dropped in the Southeast poll for the fourth consecutive week, from eighth to 10th, following its 49-20 loss to St. Francis. The Matadores (0-4) are the only winless team ranked in the Top 10 of any division.
Also moving up despite a loss was Whittier Christian in the Northwest Division, from sixth to fifth. The Heralds fell to 3-1 last week with a 44-14 loss to St. Margaret’s, the top-ranked team in the East Valley Division.

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