Jr. Gremlin (Flag)

No Official Score

No report Received.

Gremlin

La Canada 13 Pico Rivera Dons 0

First quarter action comes quick as Aaron Garcia forcefully tackles the Dons runner.  Mitchell Frus, Ronald Shin and Emmet Hurley make sure that the Dons offense can’t get very far.

The Dons are forces to punt after Thomas McConnell tackles quarterback. Shin catches the punt and on the next play McConnell runs it for a touchdown.  Hurley then quickly carries it in for the extra point.

After the kickoff by Marcus Powe, Colby Rees and Austin Heberger combine forces to pressure and stop the offense. Michael Lund deflects the pass forcing a turnover. The Gladiators get the ball.

Zachary Northrup and Chuck Meyer prepare to move the ball forward.  They assist in blocking and

McConnell gets the pitch to move the ball 15 yards down the field.

After a Gladiator fumble the Dons get the ball but Matthew Buntich, Chris Nava, and Valentin Nunez pound the Dons offense to force a turnover on downs. The half comes to a close with the Gladiators leading the Dons 7-0.

In the third quarter Michael Ruf and Preston Ryan apply their defensive skills to stop the Dons from running the ball. The Gladiators force a turnover on downs and McConnell quickly carries the ball down the entire field for a touchdown.  The extra point is turned away but the Gladiator lead 13-0.

Dylan Luper teams up with Lucas Ponce, Devin Matthews, Dylan McGoldrick to stop any progress that the Dons’ hope to make for the remainder of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter Adam Griffin, continuing as center, efficiently snaps the ball and applies some key blocks.  The offensive and defensive skills of Brandon Shepherd, Efrem Rivera, Cully Rouleau and Max Saucedo help the Gladiators end the season with the 13-0 victory.

Jr. Pee Wee

La Canada: 42 Hacienda Heights Cougars 12

The Jr Pee Wee Friendship Game between the La Canada Gladiators and the Hacienda Heights Cougars matched two teams with season ending identical records. Each team had 4 wins and 3 losses. La Canada missed the playoffs by the slimmest of margins which included a 1 point loss to the East LA Bobcats and a 4 point loss to the Rosemead Rebels by having a game winning touchdown pass (with 12 seconds left in the game) called back due to a La Canada penalty. Having gotten so close to the playoffs, the Gladiators came prepared to play and wanted to prove that they were a playoff caliber team. They did just that by shellacking the Cougar football team 42 to 12.

The Gladiator offense was all fired up and ready to go. On their first possession of the game Joseph Reyes hit Kia Aguila for a 20 yard gain. Elijah Washington finished off the drive with a 25 yard scoring run. La Canada had quickly set the tone with a 6 point lead. The Gladiators offensive machine consisted of a cohesive front line including Evan Estrada, Clayton Esparza, William Henderson, Ashton Baron, Michael Eagan, Griffin Dilbeck, Blake Northrop and Marcelino Martinez. The multitalented scoring threat consisted of players, Joseph Reyes, Tyler Shakibai, Elijah Washington, Harrison Woo, Kai Aguila, Angel Martinez, Chris Simonian, Miles Haxton, and Jacob Buntich

The Cougars first series on offense met the full force of the Gladiator defensive unit. Put a fork in em – 4 and out. Angel Martinez led the way with a solo tackle while Chris Simonian led the pack of hungry tacklers who knocked the Cougars for a loss. All year the standout defense for the Gladiators consisted of the front line wall including Will Stewart, Mitchell Espinosa, Ian Goodstein, Jack Rothgeb, Michael Egan, Garrett Hamilton, David Getzen, Derek Albanese, and Jacob Buntich. All year the defensive secondary players made great open field tackles, blocked passes and made interceptions. This squad of roaming marauders included Joseph Reyes, Elijah Washington, Evan Estrada, Jake George, Gaige Kier, Angel Martinez, Cade Vanneman, Chris Wood and Carson Okland.

Angel Martinez started the next offensive series with an 8 yard carry. Reyes then served up one his infamous spirals and connected with Jacob Buntich for a 40 yard touchdown pass. The kick by Wood was Good, tacking on 2 points making the score Gladiators 14 Cougars 0.

Next, the Gladiator defense pushed the Cougars back 10 yards in 3 plays. On fourth down, Harrison Woo made a great defensive play by jumping high in the air and slapping the ball away from the receiver. Gladiator ball. The Gladiators were marching down the field as the first quarter ended 14-0.

On just the second play of the second quarter, Reyes put the ball on the numbers of Harrison Woo who did the rest by streaking into the end zone. Wood again split the uprights for a 22 zip score.

The Cougars put together a nice drive of 50 yards to make the score 22 to 6. The Gladiators immediately answered their opponents with a 3 play, 54 yard scoring drive of their own which was capped off by a 50 yard strike from Reyes to Jacob Buntich. Washington scampered in for the extra point making the score 29 to 6 at halftime.

The third quarter saw the Cougars claw their way down the field for the score, putting a small dent in the Gladiators armor 29-12. The Cougar defense did a good job in the quarter and held the Gladiator offense at bay. With the third quarter winding down, Reyes made a great defensive play intercepting an errant pass, giving the ball to the offensive unit at the La Canada 35 yard line. To start the fourth quarter, on fourth down, Reyes aired it out for receiver Kai Aguila who caught the ball in mid stride. Kai turned on the afterburners and outran two defensive players for the 67 yard score. The Gladiators were literally running away with the game 36 to 12

The final score was tacked on with another spectacular play which saw Reyes drop a perfect pass on the lightning fast Harrison Woo who outran the entire Cougar defense for an 80 yard touchdown. The Gladiator season has been earmarked by electrifying scores whether through the air or on the ground. The defense finished off the quarter, in typical fashion, by not allowing the opposition to score any points. To cap off the defensive day, Harrison Woo intercepted the Cougar quarterback on the last play. The final score – La Canada Jr Pee Wees 42, Hacienda Heights Jr Pee Wees 12. The Gladiators team wanted to make a point and did, 42 of them. Congratulations to each player for a great season.

As is traditional, after the game, the Gladiators line up for the mid field exchange of high fives. Then, as a united team, the Gladiator players come over to the stands, raise their helmets high and exclaim, “THANK YOU PARENTS!” Indeed, we all say, “Thank you Parents!” GIG

Pee Wee

La Canada 36 Hacienda Heights Cougars 6

No report Received

Jr Midget

La Canada 22 Azusa Raiders 20

(Quarter Final Playoff Game)

On Saturday afternoon at La Canada High School, the undefeated Jr. Midgets commenced their playoff run against the 6-1 Raiders from Azusa.  The Junior Midget Gladiator team found themselves in an unusual position an opponent for the first time all season to a strong and capable Azusa Raider team in the opening round of the 2011 playoffs at La Canada High School Saturday afternoon.  However, the Gladiators responded like champions as they overcame their first deficit of the season and notched a come from behind playoff victory.

The Azusa squad came ready to play as they took the opening kickoff to the Gladiator 4 yard line.  Three plays later Azusa scored to take the lead – something that no other team had done in seven games against the Gladiators.  The Gladiator defense came up “big” stopping the point after touchdown run attempt.  Tyler Hill and a host of Gladiators “stuffed” the play at the goal line, a play that would make a difference in the outcome of the game.  Drake Beasley and the Gladiators answered on the very next possession when Beasley raced into the end zone on a 44 yard run.  The PAT failed and the score remained deadlocked at 6.  Beasley finished with a game high 145 yards on 23 carries and 2 touchdowns.  Both teams would score again in the first quarter and convert on their 2 point conversions to knot the score up at 14-14.  Mario Martinez scored the Gladiator touchdown and Beasley converted the PAT.  During the second and third quarters, neither team could get anything going consistently as both squads struggled to move the ball against the opposing teams’ tough and staunch defenses.

With the score knotted at 14 and the Gladiators facing a crucial 2^nd down and long at the Azusa 32 yard line, Brett Gangi reeled off an important 14 yard run that set up Beasley’s second touchdown of the afternoon.  Beasley took the very next play 18 yards and converted the extremely important extra point to give the Gladiators an 8 point lead with a little over five and a half minutes to play.  The Raiders would not go quietly as they answered with a series of plays that put them in position to tie the game after a brilliant touchdown run.  As the Raiders lined up to attempt the game tying extra point, the snap sailed over the head of the Raider quarterback.  By the time the quarterback gained control of the errant snap, several Gladiators sacked him preserving the two point conversion.  Tyler Hill recovered the onside kick attempt and the Gladiators were able to run the remaining time off of the clock.

Head Coach, Jason Sarceda, stated after the game, “I am so proud of our team.  Each and every player did his job.  It was a great team win and it will take this type of effort moving forward to win a championship.”   “We have our work cut out for us against East Los Angeles, but our team will be prepared and ready!” added Sarceda.  The Gladiators advance to the semi-finals where they will play the East Los Angeles Bobcats at Bishop Amat High School this Saturday at 5 PM.

Midget

La Canada 32 Covina Vikings 8

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