Below are scores for last weekend’s contests of the La Cañada Gladiators.

JR. GREMLIN FLAG
(Teams do not keep Score)

GREMLINS
La Cañada 19, Temple City Rams 0

JR. PEE WEE
La Cañada 0,
Temple City Rams 33
PEE WEE
La Cañada 6,
Temple City Rams 19

Jr. Midgets
La Cañada 36,
Hacienda Heights 0

MIDGET
La Cañada 37,
Whittier Redskins 0

JR. GREMLIN FLAG

(Teams do not keep Score)

(Report submitted by Ted Amorosi)

The La Canada Gladiators Jr. Gremlin Flag Team opened its season on Sunday morning against the Temple City Rams at Temple City High School.

Things started off well for the Gladiators as they score on their third play from scrimmage on a 42-yard reverse to Michael Martin.  Leading the ground attack for the Gladiators were Teddy Amorosi, Easton Caneva , Corrie Cheung , and Michael Martin.  Also contributing were Moises Guiragossian, Julian Alday and Michael Okland.  Opening up holes up front were Charles Khanlarian, Johnny Alejo, Braden McGuinness and Jason Wszelaki.

The Gladiator defense played well, led by Michael Martin whose interception was followed quickly by a touchdown run by Amorosi.  Also leading the defense was Mo Guiragossian with 6 tackles, Amorosi, Johnny Alejo, Caneva, and Luke Nelson .  William Rappard, Cole Nava, Julian Alday and Diego Rouanet contributed as well.

The Gladiators look forward next week to host the Pasadena Panthers at 8:30 am at La Canada High School.

GREMLINS

LA CANADA 19, TEMPLE CITY RAMS 0

(Report Submitted by Paul Lopez)

On Sunday afternoon, the Gremlin Division for the La Canada Gladiators began their season with a dominating 19-0 victory on the road at Temple City High School against the Temple City Rams. The Gladiators are now 1-0 on the season.

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The defense set the tone right away with sacks by Dylan Luper and Matthew Watson. Christopher Marfisi intercepted a pass to put the ball in the sure hands of quarterback Lucas Lenhoff at the Ram 45 yard line.

Once the Gladiators had the ball, there was no stopping the power running game of fullback Chase Center. Center took a fullback blast for 40 yards down to the Ram 5-yard line. A few plays later, Daylon Beasley was able to walk in for the first score of the game to put the Gladiators up 6-0. [What happened on conversion? I am assuming was no good.] Offensive linemen Charlie Stewart, Aaron Garcia, Dylan Luper, Efrem Rivera, Adam Griffin and Matthew Watson opened up huge holes and controlled the line of scrimmage all game.

In the second quarter, Center again broke a long run, taking the ball down to the 8 yard line. Two plays later, Center hit pay dirt when he barreled his way for a 1 yard touchdown run. Lenhoff threaded the needle for the one point conversion with a perfect pass to Center. To give the Gladiators a 13-0 lead at halftime.

The third quarter also belonged to the Gladiators. The quick feet of Beasley left the defense behind as he ran for a 50 yard touchdown run to put the Gladiators up 19-0. Wide Receivers, Mycah Pasten, Caden Owen, Dexter Matthews and Caden Smith had awesome downfield blocks to spring the long runs by the Gladiators.

The Gladiator defense was not to be outdone. Defensive standouts Joseph Kazarian, Jonah Cisneros and Colby Rees played an intimidating game on defense. Rees recovered a fumble in the 4^th quarter that stopped the Rams only chance of scoring. Marcus Powe cemented the Gladiators shutout with a sack for a 6 yard loss on the last play of the game.

Fellow Gladiators who also contributed to the shutout victory were Matthew Ruf, Jacob Nies, Brandon Shepard, Andrew Sharman, Patrick Weinmann, Kane Austen, CJ Corlett, Jake Fitzgerald, Marcus Martin, Laelan Wright, Matty Lopez and Louie De La Cruz.

The Gladiator Gremlins look to staying undefeated next week, as they host the Pasadena Panthers at La Canada High School on September 23rd at 10:00 a.m.

JR. PEE WEE

LA CANADA 0, TEMPLE CITY RAMS 33

(Report by Paul Lopez)

On Sunday afternoon at Temple City High School, the Jr Pee Wee Division for the La Canada Gladiators began their season with tough 33-0 loss on the road against the Temple City Rams.

The Gladiators faced an uphill battle when quarterback Austin Heberger was injured early in the first half. Heberger took a hard hit to his helmet, bringing in the Clayton Byer. Byer did a great job filling in as the Gladiators signal caller, having spent the preseason at tight end.

The Gladiators tried to establish a running game, with strong runs by tailbacks, Maceo Della Catena and Johnny Vasily. Della Catena had a few scampers that moved the ball into Ram territory. The offensive line led by Kilian Trulick, Valentin Nunez, Triston Kekahuna, Wiley Roberts, Christopher Nava and Charles Meyer fought valiantly against the Rams attack.

In the second quarter, Michael Ruf had a key fumble recovery on a punt that helped change the battle on the field. Devin Matthews played a strong game on defense, batting down passes and holding his receiver to zero catches.

Triston Kekahuna, Kilian Trulick, Jarid Ramos, Andres Ramirez, Anthony Lopez and Jayden Rhee helped hold down the defensive line for the Gladiators.

Anthony Vasquez, Mitchell Frus, Ryan Kim, Milad Lashgari, Talent Finn, Daniel Castaneda and Armand Mkrchyan also contributed in the season opener, providing tough plays at their individual positions.

The Gladiator Junior Pee Wee’s look to improving their record next Sunday, September 23^rd, as they host Pasadena Panthers at noon at La Canada High School.

PEE WEE

LA CANADA 6, TEMPLE CITY RAMS 19

(Report by Ken Putnam)

On Sunday afternoon at Temple City High School, the Gladiator Pee Wee team suffered a 19-6 setback against the Temple City Rams at Temple City High School.

Led by quarterbacks Daron Derderian and Diego Apolito the Pee Wee team of 22 active players played a hard game against a stronger Ram team. The Gladiators scored first on a 24-yard run by Elijah Washington, but were unable to convert the extra point.  At the end of the first quarter, the Gladiators were up 6-0.

Temple City came back in the second quarter with two touchdowns to take a 13-6 lead. Wahsington had another 85 yard run for an apparent touchdown, but the play was called back due to penalties.  The Gladiator offense could not get on track after that, especially after losing Derderin early in the third quarter.  Apolito played a great game, but was constantly under pressure by the tenacious Ram rush.

Moving up and down the grass turf field the offensive players Tyler Shakibai, Clayton Esparza, Gregory Dulcich, William Stewart, Colman Trulik, Artis Candler, Jason Watson, Jacob Buntich, Kai Aguila, Elijah Washington and Justin Morris.

The defense squad of Carson Okland, Evan Estrada, Mitchell Espinosa, Marcelino Martinez, Ryan Beegle, Aaron Wilson, Derek Albanese, Anthony Alvarado, Jason Watson, Chris Wood, Justin Morris and Jacob Buntich put a strong defense but were not able to hold the Rams who scored a final touchdown in the last period to seal the Ram victory.

Next Sunday at noon at La Canada High Schools, the Gladiators will host the always tough Pasadena Panthers.

Jr. Midgets

La Canada 36 Hacienda Heights 0

(Report submitted by Kristina Matthews)

The La Canada Gladiator Jr. Midget squad began the season with a convincing 36-0 victory over Hacienda Heights Cougars Saturday afternoon at Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights.  The Gladiators are now 1-0 on the season.

The offense took the field and controlled the game from the outset. Drake Barron returned the kickoff, and Michael Chan dominated through several consecutive runs. Chan, along with Barron, Steven Brown, and Tyler Hill worked to move the ball up field. Aided by the solid blocking of the offensive line including Brandt Lukas, Theo Chamberlain, Peter Simmeth, Riley Center, Gavin Chi, Jules Buenabenta, Jack Rappard, Hugo Wallington, and Zach Kejmar, Hill finished the drive with a touchdown run and Barron added the 2-point conversion to put the Gladiators up 8-0.

The Gladiators then unleashed their defense and demonstrated their skill by shutting down the Cougar offense. Several solid tackles, including a big one by Tyler Hill on the sidelines, and an fumble recovery by Michael Duo gave the Gladiators back possession of the ball.

As the Gladiator offense took over, quarterback Richie Schroeder shined with a solid 25 yard pass that connected with wide receiver Neil Lenhoff. Aided by the outstanding blocking efforts of the offensive line, Schroeder gained several yards on a quarterback-keeper. Chan completed the drive with a beautiful touchdown run, and he completed the hat trick by also running for the 2 point conversion to put the Gladiators up 16-0.

The Gladiator showcased their defensive core strengths and cover skills with a team effort consisting of Gavin Campbell, Chase Sanford, Daniel Diaz, Jake Schaffer, Jack Kazarian, Maxx Moreno, Gabriel Mathews, Barron and Schroeder. Bobby Gazmarian shined at his defensive end special assignment. The interior defensive line kept pressure on the Cougars quarterbacks throughout the game, exemplified by the exceptional defensive play of Daniel Diaz, Hugo Wallington, Jake Schaeffer, Jack Kazarian and Chase Sanford Other defensive highlights included big tackles by Hill, Gazmarian, Erickson, Campbell, Mathews and a huge quarterback sack by Jackson Totleben.

Another spectacular offensive play was a sweet pass from quarterback Brian Erickson to Lenhoff, who then ran the ball in for a 40-yard touchdown prior to the half. That score put the Gladiators up 22-0 at the break.

The second half brought many additional opportunities for the Gladiators to solidify themselves as a force to be reckoned with this season. Chan followed up in the second half with two more touchdowns behind superb blocking by our split-ends Andrew Van Ginkel and Kyle Ramirez. The La Canada team spirit was undeniable as they left the field and celebrated how they came together and made it happen. Final score: La Canada 36, Hacienda Heights, 0.

The Jr. Midgets are eagerly preparing to take on the always tough Pasadena Panthers this Sunday, Sept. 23^rd, at 4:00 p.m. at La Canada High School.