By Rich Whittington
(South Pasadena) – The Pasadena Poly Panthers opened their 2021 Rio Hondo League campaign with a victory Friday evening, defeating the rival San Marino Titans, 27-19, in the friendly confines of South Pasadena’s Tiger Stadium…Poly’s “home away from home” during the football season.
The contest started off slowly, with no scoring in the first quarter. However, this was not indicative of the offensive fireworks that were yet to come.
Poly scored the first points of the evening, as Colin Mathews connected with running back Alex Xie for an 18-yard touchdown. Sam Howell added the PAT, making the score 7-0, with 5:33 remaining in the game’s opening half. San Marino answered back, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the period. The first coming when Niko Mavridis connected with Andrew Hornberger for a 15-yard catch and run. The PAT attempt was unsuccessful, making the score 7-6, Poly, with 3:40 remaining before the break.
The “Mavridis to Hornberger” scoring combination would strike again in the period, adding a 16-yard TD toss with 18 seconds left on the clock. A successful Brady Beck extra point made the score 13-7, San Marino, as the half came to a close.
The second half was all Poly. Specifically, it was all Jason Mayo. The Senior running back had a hand, or a foot, in every point that Poly scored during the remainder of the game. Mayo’s first trip to the scoring world came when Mathews found him for a 10-yard TD completion with 5:45 remaining in quarter number three. The extra point was unsuccessful, making the score 13-13, as the period came to a close.
Mayo opened the scoring in the game’s final period, finding pay dirt on a 9-yard TD blast. Jason would also successfully convert the 2-Point conversion, making the score 21-13, with 11:55 remaining in regulation. Mayo added another score, a 14-yard touchdown scamper, making the score 27-13, with 8:58 remaining in the contest. San Marino added another score, when Ryder Yoshitake scored on a 10-yard run. This made the score 27-19, as the game came to a close.
The game also featured a fair share of defensive highlights. Poly’s Matthias Olson intercepted a pass from Mivridis. Not to be outdone, Poly’s Mathews also corralled an errant Mivridis offering. Also logging a turnover for the Panthers was defensive end ack Adkins, who recovered a San Marino fumble. Representing San Marino in this category was Brendan Gill, who recorded a sack of Mathews.
Poly’s next contest is scheduled for next Friday night when the Panthers will travel to Monrovia to play the Wildcats. San Marino’s next game, also next Friday night is a home affair against the Temple City Rams. Kickoff for both battles is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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