La Canada Gladiators, Week 7

Gremlin

Gladiators 0

Pasadena Panthers 13

(No Report Submitted.)

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Jr. Pee Wee

La Cañada 8

Pasadena Panthers 13

Under cloudy skies and intermittent sprinkles, the 5-1 Gladiators took on the undefeated Panthers of Pasadena at La Cañada High School in a battle to decide first place in the Arroyo Division. Although the Gladiators played well, and dominated the first half, the Panthers scored twice on broken plays in the second half to remain undefeated and take the Arroyo crown.

The first quarter was a defense-dominated quarter ending in a 0-0 tie. Running back Jack Philo continued to improve and led the Gladiators’ ground attack, which gobbled up yardage. The Gladiators continued their relentless drives however,only to be frustrated in the red zone. The offensive line continued to open holes and provide protection for cool and accurate Kyle Cheung. Ross Niederhaus, Matt Erickson, Alex Espinosa, Sean Bloks, Trent Bauer, Christopher Basso, Matthew Perasso, William Borelli, Mason Gilmour, Thomas Lund, Gunnar Trowbridge and Sam Brown continued to create holes for a talented, tenacious running back corp. Those backs included Nick McConnell, Joey McClure, Philo, Tavi Tavizon and Johnny Stephens.

The second quarter saw the Gladiators open the scoring on a fourth and goal when McConnell drove through would-be tacklers into the end zone. McConnell then added the two-point conversion to put the Gladiators up 8-0. McConnell’s score was set up with two key pass receptions. McClure grabbed a 10-yard reception, and Neiderhaus, who has emerged as Cheung’s favorite target, caught a 12-yard pass.

Four times the Gladiators were in the red zone in the first half, but their ability to score only once would come back to haunt them in the second half.

For much of the game, the Gladiator defense was impenetrable, led by ever-intense Skylar Payne. Andrew Dehne, Christopher Harb, Joey Robertson, Stu Stupakis, Colin Ducharme, Austin Willis, Matthew Gilmour, John Monroe, Charlie Bednar and Dominic Aguilar all made contributions in shutting down the explosive Panther attack. One of the key plays in the second quarter was a great interception by Tavi Tavizon.