SOUTH PASADENA — In its final nonleague football game of the season, Hoover High had a chance to go into a bye week leading into Pacific League play with a winning record.
Standing in its way was South Pasadena, which the Tornadoes beat in the final minutes last season. But this year, the Tigers had home field advantage on their side.
Hoover stayed with the Tigers through halftime, but the relentless running attack of South Pasadena took its toll and the Tornadoes fell, 21-7, in a game played in the bright sunshine of Friday afternoon in order to finish before the beginning of Yom Kippur at sunset.
“Our defensive scheme was good,” Hoover first-year Coach Matt Andersen said. “[We] just [need to] contain players. It’s simple to me, but obviously we didn’t do it today. They busted a lot of those sweeps on us. We practiced against that offense all week, so I don’t know why it gave us so many problems.”