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News From Prep

Posted September 28, 2012

Rebels Mark a New Year with Strong Preseason and Nonleague Performances

Vince Mateus '01

Whether on the field, the court, the trail, or in the pool, the Rebels came back from summer break ready to win. Over the past 3 weeks, Prep’s athletes repeatedly trumpeted their return with a series of ambitious efforts and close competitions in preseason and nonleague play. While some teams have already begun League matches and others are just starting, every team honed their skills with early contests.

Boys’ Varsity Water Polo

The Rebels are blazing hot this year, averaging just over 1 game every 2 days and racking up wins for an impressive 8-4 record in just under 3 weeks of preseason play. Prep got things started by dispatching Arcadia High School and San Marino High School before heading into the Los Altos Conqueror Classic. In their first tournament game, the Rebels unseated #1 ranked Division I defending champions J Serra in a 9-8 overtime victory. Diego Delgado ’15 led the offense with 4 goals while goalie Brian Khin ’13 picked up 11 blocks. The Rebels followed with the Malibu Tournament, going 4-1 over three days with help from excellent defense and depth on the bench. Their final preseason game against Burbank High School was a close 13-12 victory where a stunning defense gave the Rebels 14 steals, and a vicious counter attack brought Prep back from a deficit, led by Alex Blaine ’14 with 4 goals and Delgado with 3. With a On 10-4 record overall, the Rebels face the Poly Panthers away on Saturday, September 29 at 2pm.

Coach Dan Hare has a lot of respect for Poly, saying, “Poly graduated two of the premier players in League and CIF, a field player and a goalie, so they retain a great team. We’re as prepared to play Poly ever in recent memory.”

The water polo team is 3 to 5 deep on the bench, and they’re becoming more defense oriented than ever before. We have a depth of offensive ability. Our younger guys are learning from a team that has been working together for 3 years.

Varsity Football Main

Varsity Football

Struggling with a string of losses over the past three years, the Rebels came into the new school year looking for a turnaround. On September 1, they went south to Carlsbad and played against the Army Navy Academy. Despite losing Stefan Smith ’14, Dylan Colliflower ’13, and Kurt Kozacik ’13 over the course of the match, the Rebels took the game into overtime where they endured a tough 30-32 loss. With the hard earned realization that victory was in reach, the Rebels fought courageously against Heritage Christian in North Hills one week later. Coping with sweltering temperatures, the Rebels lost no fewer than 4 players to heat exhaustion but still managed to keep pace with their opponents, losing 16-19. Rather than sap confidence, the two loss preseason start revealed Prep’s depth and endurance in the face of adversity, reinforcing the belief that victory lay ahead.

On September 15th, the Rebels’ hard work was rewarded with a 48-6 victory over Villanova Prep. Smith put in 2 rushing touchdowns, Kyle Hamane ’14 scored 1 rushing touchdown, and Clayton Weirick ’13, in his 2nd year as starting quarterback, threw a touchdown pass to Chadd Cosse ’13. Eric Fung ’14 and Cosse both made interceptions, with Cosse returning his for a touchdown. Moving up from JV for the game, Eric Kang ’15 forced a fumble that Thomas Turchan ’14 recovered and returned for a touchdown.

With spirits riding high, the Rebels faced off against Malibu High School on September 21st at Occidental College. For the first time in his 4 years as head coach, Antonio Harrison ’01 had to deal with the very welcome challenge of making himself heard over one of the largest home game crowds in recent memory. The Rebels leapt to an early 14-6 advantage in the first quarter, succeeding on one of two 2-point conversion attempts. In the 2nd quarter, Malibu kept up the pressure by intercepting a Rebels pass but Prep’s defense forced Malibu to go 4 and out, and punt the ball. The Rebels nearly scored at the end of the half but penalties and insufficient time kept the margin unchanged with Prep leading 22-14. In the end, Prep suffered another overtime loss, but not before Smith picked up 4 touchdowns, Hamane rushed 1 touchdown, and Weirick threw his 3rd touchdown pass. For their final preseason game, the Rebels play Sage Hill at Occidental College on Saturday, September 29 at 1pm.

Coach Antonio Harrison says, “This is the game to turn the mentality around and turn close losses into wins.” He notes that down the stretch cramps are forcing players out of the game and he’s adjusted by increasing conditioning workouts to keep the team mentally tough and avoid penalties. He is also bringing up 9 JV players to increase depth on the bench.

“I really enjoyed the fans last week,” Harrison notes. “It was the biggest home-team crowd we’ve seen in 4 years.” He hopes to see another big turnout on Saturday.

Cross Country Main

Varsity Cross Country

Boys

Racing at the Don Bosco Tech Invitational in Rosemead on September 8th, the Rebels claimed the first place finish among small schools and a third place finish overall. In the Seniors/Juniors race, Prep had 6 runners in the top 25, led by Alan Yoho ‘14, Aaron Sugimoto ’13, and Elias Ellison ’13 who placed 3rd (15:48), 4th (15:54), and 6th (16:04), respectively. In the Sophomore/Freshman race, Prep had 3 runners in the top 25, led by Nikhil Poole ’16 who finished 5th (17:16).

On the heels of this impressive performance, the Rebels emerged victorious from a League Meet on September 13th before moving on to the Dana Hills Invitational in Dana Point on September 22nd. In the Senior race, the Rebels finished 2nd as Sugimoto and Ellison again turned in strong times, finishing 4th (15:52.7) and 5th (15:55.8). In the Junior race, Prep took 4th place with Yoho finishing 3rd (15:48.8) and turning in Prep’s fastest time on the day. In the Freshman race, Prep placed 4th again as Poole and Jack Van Scoter ’16 turned in 3rd (17:09.1) and 8th (17:35.6) place finishes. This weekend, the Rebels head up north to race in Saturday’s Stanford Invitational where they’ll continue gaining endurance and experience as they head towards League Finals and CIF meets beginning at the end of October.

Girls

On September 8th, the Rebels raced to a 5th place finish at the Bronco Invitational in Pomona. Led by Kate Evans ’14 (19:50.3), 4 of Prep’s 7 runners were in the top 40 out of a field with 130 contestants. The Rebels proceeded to win their League meet on September 13th before racing in the Brentwood Invitational on September 22nd where nearly every runner improved from previous races to give Prep a 2nd place finish. On October 6, the Rebels head north to race at the Clovis Invitational in Fresno.

Girls’ Varsity Volleyball

The Rebels hit the ground running with back to back 3-0 wins over Holy Family High School on August 30th and Alhambra High School on September 6th. Coming out of the Poly Tournament over that weekend, the Rebels played 3 games in 5 days beginning with a tough 0-3 loss to Sierra Canyon on September 11th. Keeping their cool, Prep delivered a 3-0 victory at Ramona Convent two days later before falling to Chadwick the following day. On September 18th, Prep faced off against San Marino High School at home, fighting hard through the first game to a 25-27 loss and a 0-3 match loss. Dani Motte ’15 led the offense with 11 kills and 6 aces, with 10 more kills coming from Lauren Stiles ’16. Katherine Bogaard ’13 contributed an impressive 30 assists. Approaching the halfway mark in League play, the Rebels face the Poly Panthers away on Saturday, September 29 at 3pm.

“Poly is a big a team, and we have similar league records right now. However, Poly is a better team than their record shows. If we play to our ability, we should be able to compete. This is the best offensive team I’ve had in 8 years. I know we have the ability to compete with these teams. We just have to tighten up on the small mistakes,” says Coach Sean Beattie.