Pictured L-R: Nate Curtis, Ronnie Lott & Ivan Tkach
Football:
What a potentially great weekend that is in-store for the Rio Hondo Prep football program.
The Kares left Arcadia and made the 362-mile drive north to Sunnyvale, and they’ll spend the next three nights in Northern California.
On Friday, Rio Hondo Prep expects to bounce back from their first loss of the season (28-21 at Torrance) when they battle King’s Academy.
The Knights (1-3) enter tonight on a two-game losing streak, and they’ve been outscored, 92-77.
For what it’s worth, Calpreps projects RHP to secure a 40-21 victory, and they give the Kares an 88-percent chance of prevailing.
Through their first six games, Rio Hondo Prep has outscored its opponents by a combined margin of 294-114.
On Thursday night, RHP got the thrill of a lifetime for any football player or coach.
Not only did their former teammate and current Cal linebacker, Ryan McCulloch, speak to the Kares at their hotel, so did one of the greatest players in NFL history, Ronnie Lott.
Lott, 65, went to USC, and he’s a friend of RHP assistant coach, Rocky Seto.
During his remarkable 14-year NFL career, Lott won Super Bowls for the San Francisco 49ers in 1982, 1985, 1989 and 1990.
He also played one year each for the Los Angeles Raiders (1991-92) and the New York Jets (1993-94).
After collecting 1,146 career tackles, 63 interceptions, including five pick-sixes, recovering 17 fumbles and tallying 8.5 sacks, the 1981 Rookie of the Year runner-up (to Lawrence Taylor) was inducted into the 2000 National Football League’s Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
If that isn’t cool enough, RHP will be in attendance to watch McCulloch, who is tied for eighth in tackles for the Bears, take on eighth-ranked Miami of Florida on Saturday night in Berkeley.
The Hurricanes (5-0) enter the game as 11-point favorites.
It’s scheduled to air on ESPN at 7:30.
Quotable:
RHP coach, Mark Carson: “It was an incredible night for our young men that they won’t soon forget. We can’t thank Ronnie and Ryan enough for taking the time to visit with us. They shared both words of wisdom and inspiration. Ronnie’s final exhortation to the team – “exhaust every moment.”
2024 Rio Hondo Prep Schedule & Results:
8/24: RHP 55, Francis Parker 28
8/31: RHP 65, Poly 19
9/7: RHP 56, Maranatha 14
9/13: RHP 53, Marquez 19
9/20: RHP 44, Bellflower 6
9/27: Torrance 28, RHP 21
10/4: RHP at King’s Academy
10/11: Bye Week
10/18: Viewpoint at RHP
10/25: Brentwood at RHP
11/1: No Game Scheduled
RHP Stat Leaders:
Quarterbacks:
Yanick Diaz: 19-of-32 for 408 yards, 8 TD’s & 2 INT’s
Landry Johnson: 7-of-9 for 95 yards, 3 TD’s & O INT’s
Running Backs:
Noah Penunuri: 25-for-363 & 7 TD’s
Caeden Holcomb: 24-for-278 & 5 TD’s
Nate Curtis: 18-for-245 & 3 TD’s
Nathaniel Shine: 15-for-218 & 4 TD’s
Receivers:
Nate Curtis: 7-for-149 & 3 TD’s
Noah Penunuri: 5-for-103 & 2 TD’s
Calogero Chico: 2-for-65 & 2 TD’s
Tyler Dang: 4-for-62 & 1 TD
Rainn Pollock: 2-for-45 & 1 TD
Tackles:
Caeden Holcomb: 22
Christian Lee: 20
Andy Xu: 18
Josh Curtis: 14
Ivan Tkach: 14
Adrian Mendoza: 13
Noah Penunuri: 12
Zach Burl: 11
Rainn Pollock: 10
Nathaniel Shine: 10
Sacks:
Josh Curtis: 1
Calogero Chico: 1
Nathaniel Shine: 1
Caeden Holcomb: 1
Zach Burl: 1
Interceptions:
Rainn Pollock: 3
Elijah Gavia: 1
Andy Xu: 1
Josh Curtis: 1
Nate Curtis: 1
Elias Har: 1
Photos by Carlo Montalbo (@Carlo.Monalbo on Instagram) Boys Basketball: Glendora got one more game in before Christmas. And they made the most of it. The Tartans cruised to a 91-58 nonleague victory over Hesperia. GHS had a 48-25 lead at the half. Sebastian Demano scored a game-high 21 points. Demano also had five rebounds, nine […]
Photos by Alex Veliz Girls Basketball: La Salle improved to 12-1 after Saturday’s 40-28 victory over Westlake at the La Salle Winter Showcase. The Lancers led 22-12 at the half, and 32-17 after three quarters. Casey Higgins led La Salle with 10 points. Aislin Tamez Torres had nine points, and Emily Fong contributed eight points […]
Photos by Alex Veliz Girls Basketball La Salle won its eighth consecutive game on Friday. The Lancers cruised to a 75-45 victory over Schurr at the La Salle Winter Showcase. LSHS had a 38-17 lead at the break, and the outcome was never in doubt. Casey Higgins scored a game-high 21 points. Emily Fong chipped […]
Boys Basketball: Etiwanda picked up victory No. 10 of the 2024-25 season on Friday. The Eagles outlasted their visitors from Vista Murrieta, 69-57, behind 18 points from AJ Orji. Orji scored 15 of the 18 in the second half. Ayden Hamilton chipped in with 14 points and Sloane Harris had 11. Cisco Munoz scored a […]
Boys Basketball: Bonita dug itself a 15-point hole at the half in Thursday’s Palomares League opener at Diamond Bar. The Bearcats outscored the Brahmas 49-41, but DBHS would hold on for a 73-66 victory. Bonita had a 10-9 advantage in 3-pointers made. Tyler West led Diamond Bar with 20 points and Jedison Chow had 16 […]
Photos by Carlo Montalbo (@Carlo.Montalbo on Instagram) Boys Basketball: Something had to give when Glendora and Ayala met up Thursday night in Chino Hills. The Bulldogs had won five in a row and 10 of their last 11 games. And the visiting Tartans entered the Palomares League opener for both programs on an eight-game win […]
Wrestling: So far, so good. Bonita has opened the Palomares League portion of its schedule with a pair of blowouts. Last week, the Bearcats secured a 64-18 victory at Diamond Bar. And last night, BHS won 12-of-14 matches, and they cruised to a 65-11 victory. Bonita is now 6-1 overall, and 2-0 in league matches. […]
Photos by Carlo Montalbo (@Carlo.Montalbo on Instagram) Girls Basketball: Glendora had one of its poorest shooting efforts of the year. But when push came to shove, the Tartans pulled away in the second half and they secured a 44-33 victory at Ayala in the Palomares League opener for both programs. GHS and AHS combined for […]
Girls Basketball: Another Prep League basketball for Flintridge Prep. And another blowout. The Wolves led by 27 points after the first eight minutes, and they cruised to a 71-13 victory at Westridge. So far, Prep has league wins over Mayfield, Chadwick and Westridge by a combined margin of 225-52. Olivia Childs led the way with […]
