Contributors are Paul D. Fitzgerald, Bruce Millstein, Chad Runnels, and Tony Ponce.

Photos by Tony Ponce and Hannah Kinyon.

JR. GREMLIN FLAG

La Cañada Gladiators v. Rosemead Rebels

(Teams do not keep Score)

No Report Received.

Gremlins

La Cañada 8, Rosemead Rebels 0

As the season nears its climax the La Cañada Gladiator Gremlins found themselves in a must win situation on Saturday and defeated the Rosemead Rebels 8-0 at Jess Gonzales Field in Rosemead.  The Gladiators are now in second place in the Arroyo league, one game behind the 6-1 Bell Gardens Lancers as they head into the final game of the regular season.

In a hard-hitting ground and pound game, La Cañada’s defense was outstanding. Joseph De La Cruz, Moises Guiragossian, Jacob Calnon and Nevada Miller racked up 5 tackles each to wrack up the Gladiators third shutout of the season. The Gladiators defensive line, led by Izziah Alzaga, Frank Higginbotham, Hudson Stimmler, Guiragossian, Scott Smith, and Calnon, bolstered by linebackers Thomas Sorensen, Corey Cheung, De La Cruz and Miller, along with safeties Niko Anderson and Shawn Irwin held the Rebels to only 50 offensive yards on the day, and forced 4 fumbles.

The first quarter was hard fought with both teams testing one another’s mettle. Rosemead’s only serious offensive threat – a 36-yard rush- was thwarted when the rugged Joseph De La Cruz chased down the Rebel runner from behind and prevented what appeared to be an almost certain touchdown. Late in the second quarter La Cañada got on the board with the only touchdown they would need, after Jacob Calnon completed a halfback pass to Corey Cheung for a 45-yard touchdown.

The second half saw the Gladiators’ stout defense severely tighten down, allowing the Rebels only 16 offensive yards. Both teams exchanged possession of the ball without any change in the score, until late in the half when La Cañada pushed Rosemead back to their one-yard line and LC’s Izziah Alzaga dropped the Rebel’s running back in the backfield for a safety. Rosemead’s last offensive stance was stymied by LC’s fourth forced fumble of the game.

In a game where two well-matched teams competed for a spot in the playoffs, La Cañada came away with the victory. Calnon, who rushed for 76 yards on the day, did a good job punting the ball for La Cañada, averaging 25-yards a punt and keeping the Rebels from starting with good field position. La Cañada’s offensive line led by Luke Cullen, Delgado, Stimmler, Byer and Sorensen, along with tight ends Miller, Smith and Maddox Smith, and Gladiators Jaymes Hale, David O’Connor, Harrison Schloessman, Matthew Kurkdjian, and Sebastian Pascuzzo are all to be commended for a competitive effort.

The Gladiators season wraps up on Sunday November 1st as they play Hacienda Heights in a must-win game in order to secure a spot in the post-season playoffs.

Pee Wee

La Cañada 30, Rosemead Rebels 0

On Sunday afternoon in Rosemead, the La Cañada Gladiators Pee Wee team improved their record to 7-0 by defeating the Rosemead Rebels 30-0. With one week left to go in the regular season the Gladiators are in first place in the Arroyo League.

Gladiator Micah Pasten recovered Rosemead’s on-side kick on the Gladiator forty-five yard line.  On the first play from scrimmage Daylon Beasley took a hand-off fifty five yards down the right sidelines for an electrifying touchdown.  Pasten kicked the extra points and the Gladiators had an early 8-0 lead.  Rosemead was unable to move and punted to La Cañada which took over on their own thirty five yard line. Patrick Weinmann took a Sam Faulkner pass for fifty five yards down to the Rosemead twenty, but, the Gladiators were unable to convert and Rosemead took over inside their own twenty to end the first quarter.

Rosemead was unable to move the ball and punted on fourth down.  The punt was partially blocked, but then touched by a Gladiator, and subsequently recovered by a Rebel.  This resulted in Rosemead obtaining their initial first down of the game, but the Gladiator defense stepped up with some big plays.  Sebastian Deleon, Jake Fitzgerald and Demarcus Caruana all made tackles that resulted in lost yards for Rosemead.  Rosemead punted again and after the return, La Cañada had the ball back on Rosemead’s forty eight yard line.  Beasley took a hand-off thirty five yards up the middle down to the Rosemead ten, and scored on the very next play making the score 16-0 after the successful extra point by Pasten. Rosemead then took over on the fifty yard line and moved the ball to inside the Gladiator thirty yard line with a minute left in the first half.  Rosemead’s quarterback fumbled and Gladiator Jake Fitzgerald scooped up the ball and stumbled before regaining his balance for a sixty five yard touchdown with thirty seconds left before the first half.  Another successful Pasten conversion closed out the scoring in the first half as La Cañada went into the locker room with a 24-0 halftime lead.

The start of the third quarter gave the Rosemead Rebels the ball on the fifty yard line.   Gladiators Deleon and Fitzgerald provided a one two punch with two quarterback sacks causing the Rebels to give the ball back to the Gladiators.  The Gladiator offense attempted some passing plays, but that resulted in giving the ball back to Rosemead on their own forty five yard line.  Once again the Gladiator defense stepped up with a couple of quarterback sacks by Deleon and Weinmann causing the Rebels to punt.  La Cañada took over, and a nice pitch and catch from Pierce Clarkson to Laelen Wright for fifteen yards gave the Gladiators the ball inside the Rebels twenty yard line.  Unfortunately, that was all the Gladiator drive would yield as the Rebels took over to end the third quarter.

Rosemead took over on their own twenty to start the fourth quarter and moved the ball down the field all the way down to the Gladiators ten yard line.  However, once again, the Gladiator defense stepped up.  Deleon sacked the quarterback and the Rebels fourth down pass was incomplete giving the Gladiators the ball back on their own twenty.  Running back Andrew Sharman took a hand-off seventy-seven yards to the Rebels three yard line where Weinmann punched it in making the score 30-0.  Rosemead took over and was unable to move the ball as the game ended.

Gladiators Max Saucedo, Daniel De la Cruz, Andrew Manning, James Warner, Jonah Cisneros, Aiden Garcia, Jackson Reese, Luke Waters, Jake Okland, Michael Balian, Charles Stewart, Brandon Shepherd, Jonathan Martin and Leland Lieberg all contributed greatly to another Gladiator victory.

The La Cañada Gladiator Pee Wee team takes their undefeated record against the Hacienda Heights Cougars to close out the regular season next Sunday.  The following week the Gladiators start their playoff run towards a third straight championship.

Jr. Midgets

La Cañada Gladiators 42, Rosemead 6

The Gladiators Jr. Midget team travelled to Rosemead for a matchup against the Glendora Tartans. Glendora received the opening kickoff and struck first with a successful pass on the second play of their series. The Gladiator offense answered many times over and the defense never allowed them to see the end zone again as the Gladiators defeated the Tartans 42-6.

Zeal Shumate returned the kick-off to the Tartan 25 yard line with a strong run accompanied by the kick-return team that included Kyle Lewin, Mher Baranian, Lucas Ponce and Eugene Shin. The Gladiators pushed the ball in to the end zone quickly as Angel Ochoa took the snap from Duncan Sprengel and ran the ball in for a touchdown. Shumate added to the score by taking the ball in for a two-point conversion.

Aaron Garcia took control of the on-side kick that followed to give the Gladiator offense the ball again. The Gladiators fell short on the drive and turned the ball over on downs. The Tartans did not advance the ball at all against the defensive team that included Bryson Reeves, Sam Galeano, Chuck Meyer, Henry Whitford, Colby Rees, Maximus Grant and Chase Center.

The Gladiator offensive that included Chuck Meyer, Jack Modrzejewskii, Max Herman, Kilian Trulik, Ryan Villalobos and Jason Contreras fought a six play series to move the ball 15 yards culminating in Center scoring another Gladiator touchdown.

The Gladiator defense continued to be a force that could not be contained. While Ponce fought through a triple team Lucas Simblet, Grant and Center applied pressure to the quarterback and the forced throw was intercepted by Herman who was tackled within a few yards of the goal line while the first half expired.

The Gladiator offense continued their assault on the Tartan defense in the second half. Ochoa, Rees, Center, Adam Griffin, and Joshua Kibler fought hard for every yard in every play of each series. The defense was impenetrable and responsive to any adjustments made by the Tartan offense. The preparation now begins to meet up with the Pico Rivera Dons this coming Sunday.