Until the fire struck the communities of La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta less than two weeks ago, the Falcons, who are ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Division Southeast Division preseason poll, were on the school’s field twice a day working on various offensive and defensive schemes. Crescenta Valley will begin its season at 7 p.m. Friday with an intersectional home contest against Verdugo Hills at Glendale High’s Moyse Field.
Ingraldi followed instructions given by defensive coordinator Paul Schilling to help him prepare for Verdugo Hills and Crescenta Valley’s other opponents.
“He talked about how we are going to have to expect more physical contact,” said Ingraldi, who saw some time at safety last season. “I played outside linebacker on the JV team, but there’s a lot more speed at varsity.
“At safety, you have the chance to see the whole play unfold. At linebacker, you have the guy coming at you right away.
“You can’t really hesitate. You have to be able to react fast.”
Crescenta Valley went 9-3 and 6-1 in the Pacific League for second place last season after missing out on the postseason in 2008. The Falcons advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by top-seeded and eventual-champion Charter Oak.
The ability to learn from that experience and move forward has helped Ingraldi.
“We see that we have to be more physical as a team,” Ingraldi said. Crescenta Valley second-year Coach Tony Zarrillo, the reigning All-Area Coach of the Year, will no doubt rely on Ingraldi to be a staple at linebacker for the next couple of months.
