Alemany

LA CRESCENTA - What a way to start its season. After losing the first two games of its season and not even holding a lead in either one, the Crescenta Valley High girls' volleyball team staged an improbable comeback against visiting Alemany on Tuesday. After two forgettable games, the Falcons made less mistakes, scrambled on defense and controlled the offense, leading to a 21-25, 17-25, 25-15, 25-19, 15-13 victory. "My team got it," Falcon Coach Jen Ku Lee said. "I just have to find a way to dig it out of them every game.

GIRLS' SOCCER Flintridge Sacred Heart 2, Alemany 1 : Senior Hailey James and junior Laura Thompson scored goals to propel the Tologs to their Mission League road win on Wednesday. Savannah Viola and Hannah Armendariz had assists for the Tologs (12-1-3, 4-1-1 in league). GIRLS' BASKETBALL Holy Family 41, San Gabriel Mission 26 : Charise Talaro finished with 13 points and Tabitha Ruiz added 11 on Tuesday to lead the Gaels to their first Horizon League win. Holy Family improved to 4-10, 1-3 in league.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - The St. Francis High boys' basketball team's bid to knock off a second Mission League heavyweight in a span of three days never got out of the first quarter on Friday night. Overmatched by Alemany's offensive firepower to begin with, the Golden Knights stood little chance when the Warriors' defense took over the game early en route to a 76-45 victory. Alemany, the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section 3-A, filled passing lanes, picked pockets and forced eight turnovers in the first quarter.

In one of their biggest wins in team history, Flintridge Sacred Heart beat Alemany last Thursday, 4-3, to take a commanding lead in the Mission league. Tolog Jessica Ferri put up a fantastic effort, both in hitting and pitching. Ferri pitched all seven innings, ceding eight hits, but only one earned run. On the offensive side, Ferri went 3-for-3 with a huge home run and three RBIs. In the last four years, Alemany has absolutely dominated the Mission league and been league champs in all four years.

PASADENA — With all of his years playing and coaching baseball, St. Francis Coach Brian Esquival couldn’t have imagined what he would see unfold on Tuesday night. That’s because Esquival had never seen it occur before. And it delivered arguably the biggest break of the season at a time when the Golden Knights needed it the most. Nick Gentili scored from third on a balk in the bottom of the seventh inning after Alemany pitcher Edgar Montes dropped the ball while in motion to give St. Francis an improbable 7-6 Mission League victory at Jackie Robinson Field.

GLENDALE — The following are previews of the area’s upcoming high school football games.   To the tune of a 7-1 record, St. Francis High football Coach Jim Bonds and his Golden Knights have all along held strong to the party line of one game at a time. Alas, the Golden Knights currently find themselves preparing to face defending Mission League champion Alemany on the road Friday night at 7:30 p.m. With a share of the league title on the line and a fierce and much-ballyhooed rival awaiting, however, nothing has changed with the Golden Knights’ approach, or at least that’s what Bonds is trying to convey anyhow.

Erik Boal LOS ANGELES -- It was a rematch more than 10 months in the making, but unforunately for Melissa Siracuse, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy girls' swim team and the entire Mission League, the long-awaited 200-yard individual medley showdown never materialized Thursday. In what was supposed to be the first meeting between Siracuse and defending league champion Leah Tourtellotte -- who defeated the Tolog senior by almost seven seconds at last year's league final -- since May, wound up being another easy victory for Siracuse, who defeated Tourtellotte's former teammate, Giannina Orozco, by almost 14 seconds.

LOS ANGELES — As close and hard-fought as it was, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy swimming team’s 90-86 defeat at the hands of defending Mission League champion Alemany at Loyola High on Thursday was a loss the Tologs could live with. “I’m thrilled [with the meet],” said first-year Tologs Coach Steve Bergen, whose team would have likely had a lead instead of a deficit entering the final event were it not for a disqualification in an earlier relay.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — This time, the proper dimensions from the rubber in the circle to home plate were deemed correct. This time, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy softball team had no such luck topping Alemany and the Tologs’ bid to win a Mission League championship took a serious hit. Flintridge Sacred Heart mustered just one hit Monday afternoon in a 1-0 league loss to Alemany at the Glendale Sports Complex. The game was played because Alemany (19-7, 8-1 in league)

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Competing in the difficult Mission League will be tough enough. Now the St. Francis High basketball team must be creative, while without the services of its top player for at least the next two weeks. St. Francis began the league portion of its schedule Wednesday night with a 49-43 home loss to Alemany. The Golden Knights (3-9) played well in spurts, but didn't have standout senior forward Braden Shaw to be a difference maker. Shaw suffered a sprained left ankle Saturday during St. Francis' 57-53 loss to St. Bonaventure in a consolation game of the Village Christian Tournament.

LA CANADA - The St. Francis High volleyball team won its first match of the young season in Friday night's home tilt with visiting Village Christian. The Golden Knights graduated five seniors from last year's squad, played without senior outside hitter Charles McCarthy in their season opener with Temple City and didn't see a balanced attack on offense against Alemany. It was in the team's home opener that everything came together in a 25-8, 21-25, 25-17, 25-16 win over the Crusaders.

GIRLS' SOCCER Flintridge Sacred Heart 2, Alemany 1 : Senior Hailey James and junior Laura Thompson scored goals to propel the Tologs to their Mission League road win on Wednesday. Savannah Viola and Hannah Armendariz had assists for the Tologs (12-1-3, 4-1-1 in league). GIRLS' BASKETBALL Holy Family 41, San Gabriel Mission 26 : Charise Talaro finished with 13 points and Tabitha Ruiz added 11 on Tuesday to lead the Gaels to their first Horizon League win. Holy Family improved to 4-10, 1-3 in league.

LA CANADA - After a rough beginning to the season, things now appear to be clicking at the right time for the St. Francis High soccer team. The Golden Knights have recently received timely scoring and standout defensive efforts to help move them into the upper half of the Mission League following a sluggish start. One of the players who has been responsible for St. Francis' surge has been junior forward Frankie Veiga. During the past several matches, Veiga's showcased his ability to score and boost St. Francis' confidence.

LA CANADA - With his team in need of a scoring surge, the St. Francis High basketball team found Markar Agakanian to be the perfect target. Agakanian proved he could shoulder the scoring load and help the Golden Knights get back into the thick of things in the arduous Mission League. Doing it against the defending CIF Division III state champion made it all that much more impressive and rewarding for the sophomore guard. Agakanian collected eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter to help host St. Francis record a 48-46 league victory against Alemany on Wednesday night.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - With an already hectic schedule consisting of academics and running for the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy cross-country team, Maddie Peterson has enough time to squeeze in playing on the school's volleyball team. It's helped her become more organized, along with becoming a better all-around volleyball player on a team looking to turn the corner and get back to the playoffs after missing out last season. Peterson showed that she's got plenty of energy left to handle her responsibilities on the court, as she notched 12 kills to help Flintridge Sacred Heart register a 25-17, 25-15, 22-25, 25-13 home win against Alemany on Thursday night in a Mission League opener for both teams.

ENCINO - For most of the year, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and St. Francis High cross-country teams train on hilly terrain, as both campuses are tucked away in the hills of La Cañada Flintridge. The Tologs and Golden Knights found themselves on unfamiliar ground when they opened their Mission League seasons Thursday at Woodley Park in Los Angeles, which is a much flatter course than they're accustomed to. “This is a new course for us so we're trying to adjust to that,” said Sacred Heart senior Gabby Fitzpatrick.

LA CRESCENTA - What a way to start its season. After losing the first two games of its season and not even holding a lead in either one, the Crescenta Valley High girls' volleyball team staged an improbable comeback against visiting Alemany on Tuesday. After two forgettable games, the Falcons made less mistakes, scrambled on defense and controlled the offense, leading to a 21-25, 17-25, 25-15, 25-19, 15-13 victory. "My team got it," Falcon Coach Jen Ku Lee said. "I just have to find a way to dig it out of them every game.

LOS ANGELES - With just four events remaining in Tuesday's Mission League double-dual meet, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy swimming team's grip on the league championship was loosening. Defending-champion Alemany, which entered the meet at Loyola High as the last undefeated squad in league besides the Tologs, had closed a double-digit lead down to five points after Sacred Heart was shut out of the top two spots in the 500-yard freestyle. No one had seen the Tologs' best yet, it turned out, as Sacred Heart swept the final four events to quickly remove all doubt about who now holds the crown.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - After outlasting Crespi High in a five-game Mission League thriller on Tuesday night, the St. Francis volleyball team looked as if it might be in for another long night when the opening game of its league tilt with visiting Alemany proved to be difficult to put away. As it turned out, the hardest part was behind the Golden Knights once they withstood the Warriors' rally down the stretch of the first game. St. Francis closed the match out with authority, only allowing Alemany to put together a run of more than two points once over the rest of its 25-20, 25-9, 25-15 sweep.