HomeSportsTitans Seal Second Place, Playoff Berth

Titans Seal Second Place, Playoff Berth

Senior quarterback Connor Short’s balanced passing and running has jumpstarted the offense. Daryl Chan photo

In what has been a season of strange twists and turns for San Marino High School’’s varsity football team, the events of last Friday may have set a new standard—and the Titans weren’t even directly involved. A water pipe apparently broke under the field at Temple City High School’s Bob Hitchcock Stadium, turning the last remaining natural grass surface into a quagmire and forcing the Rams to relocate their Rio Hondo League contest to South Pasadena for an unprecedented Monday night affair on October 28. And while it is pure conjecture, Temple City’s loss of what is arguably the league’s most substantial home field advantage just might have tilted the outcome in the Tigers’ direction as South Pasadena defeated the Rams by a score of 21-14, thus guaranteeing San Marino a spot in the CIF playoffs as the Rio Hondo League’s second place finisher.

“South Pasadena’s win on Monday night gave [San Marino] the advantage in all of the possible tie breaking scenarios,” San Marino High School Athletic Director David Irie told The Tribune.

Which renders Friday’s regular season finale in the friendly confines of Titan Stadium against the Rams basically meaningless, but San Marino is looking to resume its winning ways after consecutive rivalry victories over South Pasadena and La Cañada and a bye week.

“We had some excellent momentum and I wished we had a game last week,” said Titan head Coach Justin Mesa. “But having a week off was nice. The kids have been going straight through since July 24 and it was nice to get a couple days off.”

While Temple City’s Mud Bowl ordeal and the Rams’ resulting short week may benefit the Titans, Mesa said that this week’s opponent revealed a different defensive alignment in Monday night’s game, giving San Marino’s coaches a short window to prepare.

“We entered the bye week not wanting to over-prepare, and now that we have seen this new wrinkle from Monday night we had to get to work on it with just a couple less days, but that’s the way it goes,” Mesa said.

Mesa also said that the team is preparing “just like any other week” although the players are aware that they have already clinched a playoff spot.

“There is nothing different,” Mesa said. “We have a game to play and we have to win this game. This is just like any other week.”
But the Rams are hardly any other team. Mesa said that 240-lb. defensive tackle Wolfgang Volk, who wears license plate #77, will present a challenge to San Marino’s offensive line, which will be down a man Friday night.

“He is a tough kid,” Mesa said.

The first-year Titan coach acknowledged his own tough kids, who have persevered through a year of doubt, transition and change—and a 1-6 start—to finish in second place and qualify for an automatic playoff bid.

“This is how we approached the season,” said Mesa. “We said that things really mattered when league play started. I have a good feeling because we were able to persevere. We got a late start, there was a huge culture change and a very long adjustment period, a lot longer than a typical turnover period. We needed to learn how to win and I give a lot of credit to the guys for sticking with this thing.”

Not one to single out individual players, Mesa nevertheless credited seniors Seth Canul and Seth Matzumoto for their leadership during the transition.

“Seth Canul is the vocal guy who pulls everyone together and Seth Matzumoto is the quiet type,” Mesa said. “But they are both very effective.”

And still very crucial.

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