In seasons past, from cross-town rival Crescenta Valley High to Burroughs to Pasadena and Arcadia, the St. Francis football nonleague schedule has been littered with Pacific League opposition.
Only Arcadia remains standing now, however, as the Apaches will once again serve as the Golden Knights' first-week opponent. In addition, there is the glaring exodus of Crescenta Valley, meaning the long standing "Battle for Foothill Blvd." is no longer, as the Falcons opted to fill their schedule with another opponent.
"It was a good community game playing CV week two, because you knew it was gonna be a big crowd and it was a game [the players] could get pumped up for," Bonds said. "To lose that game was tough."
In all, St. Francis takes on three new nonleague opponents in Righetti, La Mirada and Monrovia in the lead up to the always-arduous Mission League.
"It's a lot of change to the schedule," said Bonds, whose team is coming off a season in which it went 9-3, advancing to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Western Division playoffs after going 3-2 and taking third in the Mission League.