MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

South Pasadena — The South Pasadena Tigers went into halftime down 6-0 against visiting Arcadia Friday night at Ray Solari Stadium but then rattled off 21 straight points led by both Trey Freking and David Ortega, who combined for 230 yards and three touchdowns in their 21-6 Week One win. 

“It feels really good after what had happened against Schur,” Said Freking postgame. “I just want to thank my linemen for really stepping it up in the second half by giving me a lot of holes to run through.”

This was the first game for Eric Elias as the head coach at Arcadia.

The first half hamstrung both offenses to start the contest. The two units committed unforced errors and dealt with miscommunication, as neither team was able to produce any points in the contest. 

The lone touchdown came at the 7:58 mark in the second quarter when the Apache defensive line broke through and sacked Cameron Parked, who coughed up the ball on their 25-yard line. Defensive end Max Yang scooped up the ball and walked into the end zone. The point after the attempt snap was bobbled, resulting in the score at 6-0. 

From that point, Arcadia and South Pasadena traded punts that took them into the locker room after the first 24 minutes. 

“In the first half, we were making a lot of mental errors. It was not so much that we were physically doing the wrong thing, but mentally we weren’t picking up our assignments,” said Freking when talking about the Tiger’s first-half struggles. “A flame got ignited, and we did not want the same thing that happened to us last week, so we flipped the switch mentally, got our assignments, and turned it on in the second half.” 

The Tigers took their first possession of the second half and went right to work establishing the ground game between Freking and Ortega, who ultimately scored the game’s first offensive touchdown from 20 yards out. 

The Apaches tried to answer back on their ensuing possession. They showed signs of life behind quarterback Jacobi Law and Aaron Morinaga, but the offense stalled after gaining 15 yards and was forced to punt again. 

The duo of Freking and Ortega took turns carrying the ball for South Pasadena as the two helped the offense march down the field for their second touchdown of the night. On second and goal from the 1-yard line, Ortega took the handoff and punched in his second touchdown, giving the Tigers a 14-6 lead after the point-after attempt. 

Freaking then put the nail in the coffin for the Tigers when he punched in his touchdown of the night on their next series when he bulldozed his way into the end zone with 4:27 left in the final quarter. 

Arcadia’s offense tried to use the hurry-up offense on their final drive of the night, but the Tiger defense stuffed Morinaga when he received the handoff and forced Law into incomplete passes. 

South Pasadena ended the night with the victory formation, sealing the 21-6 win. 

The Tigers’ win evens their record at 1-1, and they will look to make it back-to-back wins when they host Crescenta Valley next Friday night. Arcadia’s start to the season is 0-1, and they will look to bounce back next Friday when they travel to Arroyo.