JR. GREMLIN FLAG

La Cañada Gladiators v. Rosemead Rebels

(Teams do not keep Score)

The La Cañada Gladiator Jr. Gremlins put on an impressive display of toughness and effort, when they squared off against the Rosemead Rebels last Sunday at the Jess Gonzales Sports Complex in Rosemead.

The Gladiators never quit, as their defense made remarkable stops throughout the entire game. Sebastian Pascuzzo’s resilient play while diving for flags was exemplary of the Jr. Gremlin’s grit-fueled attitude. Jake Lee, Andrew Sibbrel, Maddox Freeman and Matthew Merrill were all vital to La Cañada’s hard-nosed defense. Aaron Matthews batted down a Rebel pass late in the first quarter, preventing Rosemead from scoring.

Offensively the Gladiators continue to grow, rushing hard and completing passes. Liam Pasten had two receptions from quarterback Maddox Freeman. Jackson Radabaugh, Andrew Ortiz, Luke Danni, Carter Freeman, Gunner Herman, Joseph Padilla, Izacc-Alzaga-Servin, Abraham Saleah, Jaymes Hale-Dietlein, Alec Herberger and Flynn Millstein all played solid Gladiator football, accompanied with outstanding sportsmanship.

Next Sunday, the Gladiators will face the El Sereno Stallions on at La Cañada High School.

Gremlins

La Cañada 8, Rosemead Rebels 25

The Gremlins lost a hard fought battle to the physical Rosemead Rebels 25-8 at the Jess Gonzales Sports Complex on Saturday morning.  The score is not indicative of the game.  The Gladiators defense played well all day.  The defensive line of Kane Austin, Nevada Miller, Scottie Ernst, Josh Arnn, Isaiah Alzaga was disruptive all day.  Jacob Calnon at nose tackle played outstanding.  Line backers Brooklyn Pasten, Austin Nimri and Scottie Smith filled all the gaps and collectively led the team in tackles.  Trailing 6-0, the offense was able to sustain a drive behind the blocking of the offensive line led by William Rappard, Josh Byer and Will Broberg.  Nathan Wendt caught a great pass from Jacob Calnon, but it was the hard inside running of Corey Cheung, Jake Arrellano, and Brooklyn Pasten that set up Nate Hustable’s 45 yard touchdown run.  The two point kick was perfectly executed.

Next week, the Gladiators host the El Sereno Stallions at Cañada I School on Sunday, October 5.

Jr. Pee Wee

La Cañada 38 Rosemead Rebels 0

The La Cañada Gladiator Junior Pee Wee improved to 2-0 this season with a 38-0 victory over the Rosemead Rebels at the just Gonzales Sports Complex on Saturday morning. In their first two games of the season the Gladiators have scored a total of 76 points while allowing no touchdowns by either of their opponents.

In the first quarter, the Gladiators came out of the gates with a 47 yard touchdown drive led by quarterback Sam Faulkner. Daylon Beasley was on the receiving end of a 25 yard touchdown pass, and Pierce Clarkson ran for a 50 yard touchdown to add to the lead early in the 1^st quarter.

Once again the La Cañada defense held the Rebels in check all game. The Gladiators dominated the first half with its core defense leading the way. Brandon Shepherd, Jonah Cisneros, Jake Fitzgerald, Andrew Sharman, CJ Corlett,  Daylon Beasley, Max Saucedo, PJ Weinmann, Matthew Watson, Mycha Pasten, Miguel Sanchez, Luca Cuneo, Jake Okland, Noah Maddox, Chris Marfisi, Charlie Stewart, Caden Smith, Aiden Garcia, Carson Center, Laelan Wright and Daniel De La Cruz have not allowed 1 touchdown this season thus far and went into half up 25-0.

The second half the Gladiator’s blew the game open with a 5 yard TD by Matthew Watson. On the next offensive series, Faulkner handed it to Beasley who scored on a 20 yard score.  The Gladiators pulled away with one more touchdown run by Brendan Shepard. The team ran for over 100 yards for the 2nd straight game.

La Cañada Jr Pee Wees host the El Sereno Stallions this Sunday at La Cañada High School.

Pee Wee

La Cañada 0 Walnut Cowboys 33

The Gladiator Pee Wee team was shelled by the Walnut Cowboys on Sunday, 33-0 at Walnut High School. The Gladiators are now 1-1 on the season.

The final score does not indicate the closeness of the contest for much of the way, as both teams played a bruising, defense-dominated first half.  The Gladiators took the opening kick-off and drove deep into Cowboy terrain before turning the ball over on downs at the Walnut 14-yard line.  Chase Center and Zeal Shumate led the rushing attack, with Aaron Garcia keeping the drive going at one point by carving out a meaty five yard run on fourth and two.  The drive consumed nearly six minutes of the first quarter and set a tone of hard hitting that carried through the day.

The Cowboys responded with a similar drive, breaking third down tackles and converting against an aggressive Gladiator front seven for consecutive first downs.  The Cowboys then broke through on a first and ten from midfield with a long touchdown run and conversion for a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Gladiators responded with the drive inside the Cowboy 20 before the drive stalled and Walnut took over on downs with just eight minutes left in the half.  On their next possession, the Gladiators stood tall.  A defensive front rotation that featured the hard charging Max Herman, Lucas Ponce, Mher Baranian, Keith Luper, Max Grant, and Samuel Galeano stopped the Cowboy ground game cold, while a swarming backfield featuring the speedy Louie Delacruz and Jacob Martinez frustrated the passing game.

The offense got the ball back with 3:33 left in the first half and again launched a hard driving foray towards the Walnut south goal post.  The offensive line of Kilian Trulik, Adam Griffin, Luke Waters, Ryan Villalobos, Duncan Sprengal, Nathan Martinez, Jacob Zabala, and little big man, Luc Campanella had the Cowboys on their boot heels.  The drive to equalize featured two fourth down conversions, two well-placed timeouts, and two no huddle rushes before the clock ran out on the Cowboy two-yard line.  The Gladiators had come very close, and the half time score was a very close 7-0.

In the third quarter, Dezin Delgatty continued his strong defensive end play from the previous week by setting up camp in the Cowboy backfield, but again the big play bit the Gladiators like a rattlesnake, and the Cowboys converted a long pass for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead.  They then closed the third quarter with a 55-yard touchdown run for a 19-0 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the hard hitting began to take its toll on both teams, but the already undermanned Gladiators were hit hardest and they were stampeded for another long run early in the quarter.

To their credit though, the Gladiators fought to the end, with a fierce and determined Colby Rees taking the quarterback helm and driving the boys relentlessly forward against a wave of blue and white shirts.  They also pulled off a last minute goal line stand to hold the Cowboy total at 33 points.

The Gladiators next turn to October and a Sunday home contest against El Sereno, where they will be looking to rebound.

Jr. Midgets

La Cañada 19 Rosemead Rebels 14

No Report Received.

Midget

La Cañada 28 Charter Oak Chargers 8

On Saturday, the Midgets confronted the Charter Oh Chargers at the Jess Gonzalez Sports Complex in Rosemead. A superb effort by the Gladiator defense, combined with inefficient offensive output, resulted in a lopsided 28-8 Gladiator victory. The Midgets are now 1-1 on the season.

The first quarter was a defensive battle between the Gladiators and the Chargers.  A great special teams play was made by punter Dylan Wright evading oncoming rushers and getting off the punt despite the pursuit of the Charger defense.  Once again the Gladiator defense led by Daniel Cho, Beau Hobbie and Ricardo Pena held the Charger offense to minimal yardage.  Another Wright punt in the first quarter was fumbled by the Chargers and recovered by Jahlique Stephens for the first turnover of the game. Gladiator quarterback Tommy Mix then connected with Artis Candler who made a leaping catch at the Charger 9 yard line for a Gladiator first down.  The speedy Stephens ran the ball around the outside for a touchdown to put the Gladiators in the lead 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the defensive battle continued between the Chargers and the Gladiators.    The offensive line of Jason Watson, William Stewart, Jack Stellwagen, Luis Menacho and Daniel Cho battled in the trenches with the stubborn Charger defense.  The Gladiator receiving corps of Da’Vion Rutherford, Michael Leyva and Carson Okland was not able to find their way into the end zone as the Charger defense was all over Gladiator quarterback Tommy Mix with a barrage of hits that ultimately knocked Mix out of the game. The Charger passing attack was thwarted by the defensive back play of Okland, Stephens and Tyron Clark who shut down the Charger receivers. At halftime, the Gladiators held a narrow 6-0 lead.

The Gladiator coaching staff must have had inspiring words for the Gladiators during the break as they came out of half time with a full head of steam.   Artis Candler returned the opening kickoff putting the Gladiators in good field position.  Tyron Clark took over at quarterback in the third quarter to lead the Gladiators. On the opening drive, Stephens took the ball around left end following the lead block of Leyva sprinting his way 45 yards into the end zone for a touchdown.  The 2 point conversion was successful as Clark connected with Rutherford on the short pass to put the Gladiators up 14-0. Rutherford who also doubles as the Gladiator kicker, booted the kickoff at was recovered downfield by an alert Hobbie for a turnover.   Quarterback Clark threw a 40 yard bomb to Candler for another Gladiator touchdown.  Clark also carried in the 2 point conversion to make the score 22-0.  Cole Beadles, Carson Giles and Charlie Daves provided much needed support on the interior line in the ongoing battle to control the line of scrimmage.

In the final period, Lawrence Palmer sacked the quarterback and the defensive line of Ruben Munoz and Stellwagen also pressured the Charger quarterback forcing yet another turnover when Dylan Wright picked off a Charger pass.  Cho continued his stout defense along with Hobbie and Pena.  Following the Chargers first TD of the game, the Charger defense continued to play tough football trying to pin the Gladiators deep in their own territory.  Stephens doused any perceived momentum swing with an exciting 40 yard run putting the Gladiators back in Charger territory.  Hobbie broke free and sprinted 40 yards for another Gladiator touchdown making the score 28-8.  Okland intercepted a Charger pass deep in Gladiator territory making a very athletic play to force another turnover by the Gladiators.  Okland’s interception marked the end of any threat from Charter Oak, the defending Midget Champions.

Next up for the Gladiators will be the Covina Vikings on Sunday, October 5, at La Cañada High School.

Please call (818) 248-1800 if you have any questions.

Thanks

Kevin Lacey