Photos by Jeff Serpa & Tim Lunney
Football:
If we rewound the calendar 13 weeks, a lot of people might be surprised at where we find ourselves in the second weekend of November.
And no, it has nothing to do with an electoral tsunami on November 3rd.
Rio Hondo Prep, the three-time CIF-SS (D-9, D-7 & D-5) reigning champions, entered the 2026 season having graduated 18 seniors, most of whom were stars on both sides of the ball.
The most popular preseason thought seemed to be that Rio Hondo Prep was most likely facing a rebuilding mode.
However, don’t tell that to Mark Carson, his staff or their players.
Here we are on November 14th, and of the 22 football programs this site covers, West Covina (D-9) and Rio Hondo Prep (D-8) are the only teams still standing for next week’s semifinal round.
While games are never won by statistical advantages or polls, it almost seems insane that according to the state rankings by MaxPreps, Rio Hondo Prep is now considered the favorite to win a fourth consecutive CIF title.
They currently sit at No. 204, which is at least 115 spots higher than the other three D-8 semifinalists from Rancho Verde (319), Segerstrom (338) and Rancho Verde (344).
Rio Hondo Prep scored 40 or more points just once in the regular season.
And through the first half of the D-8 playoffs, the Kares have victories over Harvard Westlake and El Rancho by scores of 42-14 and 41-14, respectively.
Last night, RHP dominated El Rancho almost from the jump and the outcome was never in doubt.
They led 21-0 and 41-7 against a very well-coached (Adrian Medrano) and talented program from Pico Rivera.
RHP had a 302-152 advantage in rushing.
That directly led to the Kares having a 33-15 edge in the time of possession battle.
Matt Montez carried the ball 24 times for 180 yards to anchor the Kares ground game.
That included TD runs of 54 and 9 yards to give RHP a 14-0 lead.
Christian Lee gained 42 yards on five carries.
Troy Seto scored on TD runs of 5 and 1 yards, and finished with 28 rushing yards on six carries.
Elias Har had a 2-yard TD run and a 10-yard TD catch from Donald Scheffler.
Braydon Morrison led the ERHS ground game with 66 yards on 11 carries, and Peru Nolasco gained 42 yards on nine carries.
Adrian Lopez completed 8-of-21 for 107 yards.
Lopez tossed a 21-yard TD to Nathan Carlos in the second quarter and a 37-yard scoring strike to Ray Madrid III with 5:38 to play in the game.
Landon Scott, Elias Har, Isaac Guzman and Aiden Delgadillo all picked Lopez in the win.
Seto tied El Rancho’s Jaxson Mora, Elias Gasca and Madrid for a game-high seven tackles.
Carlo Castaneda and Noah Flores totaled six tackles apiece, while August Kellers had five tackles.
Up next: The Kares travel to Santa Ana to battle top-seeded Segerstrom on Friday at 7.
The Jaguars (7-5) edged their hosts from Fillmore, 17-12, in their semifinal round showdown.
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Box Score:
ERHS: 0-7-0-7-(14)
RHP: 14-7-14-6-(41)
Scoring:
R: Matt Montez 54 run (Kevin Lara kick)
R: Matt Montez 9 run (Kevin Lara kick)
R: Troy Seto 5 run (Kevin Lara kick)
E: Nathan Carlos 21 pass from Adrian Lopez (Ace Anaya kick)
R: Elias Har 2 run (Kevin Lara kick)
R: Elias Har 10 pass from Donald Scheffler (Kevin Lara kick)
R: Troy Seto 1 run (kick failed)
E: Ray Madrid III 37 pass from Adrian Lopez (Ace Anaya kick)
Records: El Rancho (9-3); Rio Hondo Prep (9-3)
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CIF-SS D-8 Quarterfinal Scores:
Segerstrom 17, Fillmore 12
Rio Hondo Prep 41, El Rancho 14
Santiago Corona 52, Santa Monica 21
Rancho Verde 20, Bellflower 13
D-8 Semifinal Schedule:
RHP at Segerstrom
Santiago Corona at Rancho Verde
Photos by Jeff Serpa & Tim Lunney Football: If we rewound the calendar 13 weeks, a lot of people might be surprised at where we find ourselves in the second weekend of November. And no, it has nothing to do with an electoral tsunami on November 3rd. Rio Hondo Prep, the three-time CIF-SS (D-9, D-7 […]
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