By Tim Peterson
South Pasadena won the league last year going 5-0. La Canada and Monrovia were in the mix throughout the season until the Tigers emerged as champs. All three will be right in the hunt again. Here’s a look at the Rio Hondo.
Projected order of finish:
La Canada: Last Year 8-3 (3-2, 3rd in Rio Hondo) Head Coach Dave Avramovich
The Spartans could finish first or they could finish second or even third for that matter. They have the players, they have a solid coaching staff and they have been on the cusp of a Rio Hondo League title for a couple of years now.
Head Coach Dave Avramovich mentioned several key players returning for this year.
Offense: QB-Joe Bell Jr. RB -Dash Paper Sr. WR-Jakob Kim Sr. WR- Brandon Mohoghegh Sr. OL – Sam Chai Sr. OL Jacob Kim Sr. OL -Danny Mota Sr. TE-Reed Nassir Sr.
Defense: LB- Bryson Bond Sr. LB Jackson Radabaugh Sr. DL -Martin Betancourt Sr. DL- Logan Wong Sr. S -Ross Piken Jr. CB-Louis Drobis Jr. Note: Nassir, LB, and Mohoghegh, CB will play both ways.
This could be the year that the Spartans break through.
“We have the biggest program participation numbers since we’ve been here. We have over 100 kids playing football. The program has come a long way since we had a total of 31 players in 2021”, Avramovich said.
Monrovia: Last Year: 8-3 (4-1, 2nd in Rio Hondo) Head Coach Jose Casagran
Monrovia has some key skill guys returning. Quarterback Jesse Saucedo threw for 2,358 yards and 23 touchdowns a year ago and he’s back under center. Troy Grise who can run the ball, catch it and play defense also returns. Grise had 567 yards rushing and 621 yards receiving. Oh and he also racked up 51 total tackles. Byron Bell will be another asset on offense for the Wildcats. Last year he had 798 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. Dominic Lino will play tight end and linebacker. All four players were first team all Rio Hondo last year. Brandon Farjardo and Robert Romero will man the offensive and defensive lines.
Kaleb Ellison, 59 total tackles, and linebacker Lucas Martinez, 123 tackles, are a couple of names to remember on defense. Both were instrumental on last season’s playoff team.
The Cats should be good for a playoff spot. If they can get past South Pasadena, who they lost to last season, or La Canada they’ll have a good shot at league title.
Monrovia opens the season at home against Brentwood in Week Zero on Friday night August 22.
South Pasadena: Last Year 10-3 (5-0, 1st in Rio Hondo) Head Coach Jeff Chi
The Tigers had a dream season last year. They swept the Rio Hondo with a perfect 5-0 record and won their first league title since 1976. Quarterback Andrew Nott is back after throwing for 1,046 yards and nine touchdowns last year. Trey Freking and his 1,427 yards and 15 touchdowns returns as well as he will lineup behind Nott at running back.
Rick Matsuda had 66 total tackles last year at linebacker and is a standout defensively. Noah Keller had 36 total tackles as he stopped the run and pressured the quarterback as the defensive end.
The Tigers have the talent and an experienced head coach in Jeff Chi. They may not run the league table again but they’ll be right in the mix and ready to eat.
San Marino: Last Year 6-6 (2-3, 4th in Rio Hondo) Head Coach Richard Nila
San Marino lost several key players to graduation and will try to fill the void with younger players stepping in. Parker Wilson, who had over 400 yards receiving, will step in at quarterback. Wilson will have a couple of nice targets in Chase Mena (564 yards and 10 touchdowns last year) and Hunter Piccinini (484 and 7).
Mena is a two-way player and had 31 total tackles last season. Drew Wilson will anchor the defensive line where he had 54 tackles last year. Morning will be a big part of the defense as well. Last year he totaled over 100 tackles.
The Titans finished 2-3 in league last year and with significant losses it may be hard to top that. However they may still have enough to sneak into the post season.
Temple City: Last Year 6-4 (1-4, 5th in Rio Hondo) Head Coach Riley Saxon
Last year Temple City had a winning record overall going 6-4 but the problem was all four of the losses came in Rio Hondo League play. It didn’t help that star receiver Judah Douglas got hurt in the third game against Alhambra and was out for the season. The Rams still went 4-4 without Douglas but with the league losses it just wasn’t enough.
Temple City has quarterback Jake Leones returning after a strong season in 2024. The Rams also have a solid offensive line to protect him. They can win games -we’ve seen that. If they can win a couple more league games they have a shot.
Key players.
Offense: QB -Jake Leones Sr. RB- Diego Rowe Sr. WR -Christian Villegas Sr. WR – Tristan Powell Jr. WR -Antonio Velasquez So. OL – Azien Ramirez Sr. OL -Nathan Martinez Sr. OL -Tyler Womack Sr.
Defense: DL – Jonathan Gutierrez Jr. DL -Ethan Xu Jr. LB Jacob DeHaro Sr.
Note: Martinez and Womack will play both offensive and defensive line. Powell and Velasquez will also be on both sides of the ball at receiver and defensive back.
Temple City kicks off the season Thursday night August 21 at home against Whittier.
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What happened with Blair’s big comeback to 11 man football? Better luck next season.
Hard to argue with Tim’s prediction about the order of league finish. I like LC’s experience, but they have a consistent recent history of losing the games that would have given them a league title. Monrovia & South Pas return some good players and will have a say in the final standings. The RHL games may have a more intense feel to them this last year of the league. They are down to 2 auto qualifiers for CIF since Poly left and Blair is not fielding a 11 man football team this season.