By Adam Monte
(South Pasadena)—After the controversy that ended South Pasadena’s 2014 season, the Tigers were playing with a chip on their shoulder and for what some assume might be the last automatic playoff spot for the Rio Hondo League.
South Pasadena settled its business with the Spartans from last year, and showed it wants to be that playoff team with a 36-0 victory on Friday night at home.
The Tigers were led by senior quarterback Michael Pardita, who finished the night with 230 passing yards and four touchdowns.
“He’s been here for three years but this year we really released him a bit to let him throw the ball,” said SP HC C.B. Richards. “He’s been working really hard and his leadership is really great. I’m really proud of him.”
Pardita’s number one target for the night was senior wide receiver Max Luck who finished the game hauling in 7-catches for 115 yards and all four passing touchdowns from his quarterback.
Leading the Tigers on the ground was Jalen Ross, who finished the night with 5 carries for 68 yards and a score. Ross also caught five passes for 100 yards.
The South Pas defense forced three Spartan turnovers. Linebacker Jackson Totleben recovered a Spartan fumble while Ross and Kenneth Linares each added interceptions.
Leading the way for the Spartans offensively was running back Ryan Breneman with 85 yards on 20 carries. LC struggled through the air. Quarterback Tyler Rubendall was held to three completions on 11 attempts for only 34 yards.
At 6-0 South Pasadena’s is off to its best start since the 2004 season but Coach Richards simply wants his kids to play week by week.
“It feels good,” said Richards. “But we look at it as if we’re 1-0, everyone in the league was 0-0 tonight. We basically treated this game like a playoff game the whole week.”
Tigers will play Blair next week while the Spartans will look to rebound at their homecoming against Temple City
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