Photos by Tim Lunney & game info from Harry Joe
Football:
Rio Hondo Prep, the defending CIF-SS Division 9 champs went 8-1 in the 2024 regular season.
The Kares only setback was a week-five (28-21) road loss at Torrance.
On Friday, RHP opened the D-7 playoffs in Riverside against the defending CIF (D-11) and CIF State (D-5) champions from Ramona.
Rio Hondo Prep scored two minutes and 24 seconds in, and they cruised to a 35-0 victory.
In fact, the boys from Arcadia scored on each of their first five possessions.
The Kares led 35-0 at the break, and the fourth quarter was played with a running clock.
Nate Curtis had a monster game.
The RHP senior carried the ball 11 times for 198 yards.
And that included TD runs of 71 and 7 yards.
Noah Penunuri scored on runs of 4, 5 and 12 yards.
Penunuri rushed for 45 yards on nine carries.
RHP had a 300-111 advantage in rushing yards.
Nathaniel Shine had 22 yards on three carries, and Caeden Holcomb carried the ball six times for 15 yards.
Elias Har and Holcomb led the Kares defense with seven tackles apiece.
Penunuri totaled six tackles, while Shine and Josh Curtis tallied five tackles apiece.
Calogero Chico contributed four tackles in the win.
Chico and Josh Curtis both picked passes for the RHP defense.
Yanick Diaz completed 3-of-6 for 35 yards, and Landry Johnson completed a 42-yard pass on his only attempt of the night.
Up next: For the second consecutive Friday, the Kares will travel to Riverside.
This time, RHP will battle ML King.
The Wolves (8-3) picked up a 24-0 victory at Vista del Lago.
In the MaxPreps state rankings, RHP (253) is one stop higher than ML King (254).
Ramona had 72 young men in football gear on Friday, and RHP has just 71 males in the entire school.
Quotable:
Rio Hondo Prep coach, Mark Carson: “We played almost a perfect half of football. It was fun to watch. Our kickoff coverage and defense set the tone early and I think it rattled Ramona. Nate Curtis was phenomenal leading the offense, which scored on our first five possessions.”
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Box Score:
RHP: 14-21-0-0-(35)
RHS: 0-0-0-0-(0)
Scoring:
R: Noah Penunuri 4 run (Marco Chan kick)
R: Nate Curtis 71 run (Marco Chan kick)
R: Nate Curtis 7 run (Marco Chan kick)
R: Noah Penunuri 5 run (Marco Chan kick)
R: Noah Penunuri 12 run (Marco Chan kick)
Records: Rio Hondo Prep (9-1); Ramona (10-1)
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