Name : Noah Penunuri & Nate Curtis
School : Rio Hondo Prep
Sport : Football
Grade : Junior (Penunuri) & Senior (Curtis)
Position : ATH
Pictured L-R: Nate Penunuri & Nate Curtis
Boys Athletes of the Week:
Noah Penunuri and Nate Curtis, the 2023 Football Players of the Year for this site, are up to their old tricks in 2024.
During much of the regular season, the Kares blew opponents out, and that meant Penunuri and Curtis saw limited touches, so that everyone in a Rio Hondo Prep uniform could get some playing time.
RHP (8-1) had a 414-155 advantage over their nine regular-season opponents.
And their smallest margin of victory was a 24-0 win at King’s Academy in Sunnyvale.
Now, in money time, Penunuri and Curtis will get the Lion’s share of the carries, as RHP is just one win away from a second consecutive CIF-SS title.
Thus far, the Kares have defeated Ramona (10-0 at the time), ML King (8-3) and West Torrance (10-2) by a combined margin of 105-28.
The Penunuri-Curtis traveling show has played a large role in each of the three wins, including a pair of road victories.
Last night, at Kare Park, Noah and Nate’s success on the ground allowed RHP to enjoy a 34-14 advantage in the time of possession battle.
Rio Hondo Prep out-rushed WTHS by a margin of 454-52.
Of those 454, Penunuri and Curtis combined for 323.
And that included five TDs.
Penunuri had 27 carries for 187 yards.
He scored on TD runs of 1 and 60 yards.
For his part, Curtis, gained 137 yards on 13 carries.
He found the end zone on scoring runs of 3, 4 and 31 yards.
Curtis also had a team-high six tackles.
Up next: RHP will host Warren in next week’s D-7 final.
The Bears cruised to a comfortable 41-17 victory over Yucaipa.