Photos by Conrad Hunziker III (@anamorph.sports.photos on Instagram) & game info & stats from Shaun Kelly
Football:
Talk about your 180’s.
Pasadena opened week four of the 2024 season having lost 14 consecutive games.
That dated back to the final contest of the 2022 season.
In 2023, the Bulldogs had a lousy season.
And that’s being generous.
PHS went 0-10, scored just 34 points all season, and they were shut out seven times in 10 games.
Fast forward to 2024.
The Bulldogs started this season with consecutive losses to Cantwell Sacred Heart, San Dimas and Roosevelt by a combined margin of 119-14.
Two of the three losses were via shutout.
It appeared that another nightmare season was on the horizon.
Their first two wins of 2024 were narrow Pacific League victories over Glendale (21-14) and Hoover (23-20 in 3 OT).
The Nitros and Tornados finished the season with identical 1-9 records.
Then, after a pair of league losses to Burbank (33-21) and Crescenta Valley (28-6), Pasadena would finish 2024 on a four-game win streak.
And they won six of their last seven games, as well as a third-place finish in the Pacific League.
To give some perspective on the hole that PHS dug itself out of, consider the fact that it wasn’t until a 37-0 semifinal round victory over Lynwood last week until the Bulldogs were over the .500 mark for the first time all season.
Whatever it was that Coach Ron Jones, his staff and their players did to go from zero to hero must be applauded loudly.
On Saturday night, PHS officially finished that 180-degree turn as a program.
They scored with 3:20 to play to defeat visiting Gahr, 21-17, and in the process, earning the program a CIF-SS Division 13 championship.
According to sources, it’s the programs first CIF-SS football title in 91 years.
Josiah Rucker rushed for 102 yards, and it was his 34-yard TD run with 200 seconds to play that ended up being the game-winning score.
Andrew Johnson’s pick with just over two minutes to play sealed the historic 2024 run for the Bulldogs.
Ironically enough, as Glendora fell, 17-7, in the D-6 title game to Murrieta Mesa some 14 miles away, a pair of Tartans transfers made monster contributions in Pasadena’s win.
Dutch Burbidge and Christopher Solis-Lumar hooked up for a pair of TD connections.
Burbidge hit Solis Lumar on a 38-yard scoring strike in the first quarter.
In the third quarter, it was a 14-yard TD connection on a 4th-and-5 play, and a 2-point run by Burbidge that gave PHS a 15-14 lead.
The Pasadena sophomore completed 9-of-13 for 115 yards and the two scores.
Solis Lumar, a senior, totaled five receptions for 81 yards.
Up next: PHS will find out shortly if they’ve earned a spot in the CIF-State playoffs.
To view part 1 of Conrad Hunziker III’s photo gallery, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
To view part 2 of Conrad Hunziker III’s photo gallery, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Records: Gahr (8-6); Pasadena (8-6)
Pasadena’s Path to a CIF-SS Division 13 Championship:
11/8: PHS 23, Santa Rosa Academy 15
11/15: PHS 22, San Marino 16
11/22: PHS 37, Lynwood 0
11/30: PHS 21, Gahr 17
All 14 Championship Game Scores:
Friday’s CIF-SS Championship Game Scores:
D-1: Mater Dei 31, St. John Bosco 24
D-3 Edison 35, Simi Valley 21
D-5: Palos Verdes 23, La Serna 7
D-7: Rio Hondo Prep 43, Warren 16
D-8: St. Pius 38, Serrano 19
D-11: Portola 31, El Rancho 14
D-12: Palmdale 45, Carter 42
Saturday’s Scores:
D-2: Newbury Park 31, Murrieta Valley 28
D-4: Pacifica 27, St. Bonaventure 20
D-6: Murrieta Mesa 17, Glendora 7
D-9: Highland 14, LB Wilson 13
D-10: Silverado 30, St. Anthony 14
D-13: Pasadena 21, Gahr 17
D-14: Pioneer 13, San Gabriel 6
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