Hondo

ARCADIA ? For the past few seasons, the Flintridge Prep baseball team has been fully aware that Rio Hondo Prep likes to play small ball. With virtually all of the teams in the Prep League jockeying for playoff berths, small ball couldn?t have come at a worse time for the Rebels during their league contest against the host Kares on Saturday afternoon. Flintridge Prep saw Rio Hondo Prep?s Jason Sterris score the winning run when he swiped home plate with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to help the Kares post a 3-2 come-from-behind victory.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — For one elongated stretch, the Flintridge Prep boys' basketball team hardly looked like a league champion. Fortunately for the Rebels, they eventually remembered in a nick of time what it takes to defend their league supremacy. Flintridge Prep overcame a horrific first-quarter offensive display and then got 22 second-half points from Aaron Fried on Tuesday night to post a come-from-behind 55-54 home victory against Rio Hondo Prep in a Prep League opener for both squads.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — The numbers don’t come close to anything the members of the Flintridge Prep baseball team had imagined. Through 16 games this season, the Flintridge Prep pitching staff has yielded 139 runs. Granted, most of the starters are underclassmen and have a dearth of experience, so Flintridge Prep Coach Buzz Cook is trying to remain patient. “That’s a lot of runs to give up,” Cook said after Flintridge Prep suffered an 18-14 Prep League loss to visiting Rio Hondo Prep on Friday afternoon at the Glendale Sports Complex.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — From the first Rio Hondo Prep batter of the game she faced to the second, Flintridge Prep pitcher Denise Van Der Goot became a completely different pitcher — in approach and on the score sheet. “I think I started off the game a little unfocused,” Van Der Goot said. “After the first girl got a hit, I realized I had to buckle down.” After relinquishing a leadoff double to Kallie Bray to begin Thursday afternoon’s Prep League tilt, Van Der Goot buckled down to the tune of a 13-strikeout performance in which she did not allow another hit in propelling the host Rebels to a 4-0 win against the Kares.

TODAY GIRLS? SOCCER ?Mayfield vs. Flintridge Prep at Glendale Sports Complex, 3:15 p.m. ?Crescenta Valley at Burbank, 3:30 p.m. ?Glendale at Arcadia, 3:30 p.m. ? BOYS? SOCCER ?Burbank at Crescenta Valley, 3:30 p.m. ? BOYS? BASKETBALL ?Rio Hondo Prep at Flintridge Prep, 7:30 p.m. ?Renaissance Academy at Mission Prep, 7:30 p.m. ? GIRLS? BASKETBALL ?Rio Hondo Prep at Flintridge Prep, 6 p.m. ?

rebelsGLENDALE -- The Flintridge Prep football squad will take on chief rival Pasadena Poly in a key Prep League game at 7 tonight at La Cañada High. The Rebels (3-3, 1-1 in league) and the Panthers (3-3, 1-0) are in a virtual tie for second place in league behind Rio Hondo Prep (5-1, 2-0). Flintridge Prep fell to host Rio Hondo Prep, 30-22, on Oct. 21. Pasadena Poly earned a 44-21 victory against Webb on Oct. 22. Flintridge Prep got two kickoff returns for touchdowns from Alex Clayton against Rio Hondo Prep.

Charles Rich A circus-like atmosphere didn't surround the Flintridge Prep girls' volleyball team shortly after it completed a sweep inside a facility that resembled a circus tent. Flintridge Prep Coach Sean Beattie didn't read his team the riot act, but aired on the side of caution. The Rebels took less than an hour to defeat host Rio Hondo Prep, 25-9, 25-19, 25-23, in a Prep League match Thursday. -- BOX SCORE -- -- Flintridge Prep 25 25 25 Rio Hondo Prep 9 19 23 -- -- FLINTRIDGE PREP Fletcher 20 kills, 11 digs and 7 blocks, McCluggage 7 kills.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE ? Friday's Prep League game between the Flintridge Prep and Rio Hondo Prep baseball teams was set to be completed in the bottom of the fifth inning. Flintridge Prep had a nine-run lead and had runners at the corners with just one out, as it needed to score once more to walk away with a mercy-rule victory. The 10th run never came. Two innings later, the Rebels needed a strikeout from relief pitcher Matt Stein to escape with a 9-8 victory at the Glendale Sports Complex.

sportsBasketball: Rebel girls' squad forces Rio Hondo Prep to commit 35 turnovers and shoot 26.3% from field in 52-37 win.ARCADIA -- There wasn't much more Kenny Fisher could have asked from his defense Friday. In its Prep League opener, the Flintridge Prep girls' basketball team forced 35 turnovers and limited host Rio Hondo Prep to just 26.3% shooting from the field. But even in such a dominating performance, the Rebel head coach still saw plenty of room for improvement, which explains why Flintridge Prep was only a 52-37 winner.

Mirjam Swanson GLENDALE -- The following are previews of today's football games featuring local schools. Rio Hondo Prep vs. Flintridge Prep at Friedman Field, 7 p.m.: There are three other games happening today, yes. Three others that figure to be entertaining, and definitely worth checking out. But this one between the Rebels and the Kares is easily the most intriguing of the lot. This one will make history....

BASEBALL Flintridge Prep 8, Rio Hondo Prep 5: Cole Pilar had a two-run triple in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift the Rebels to a Prep League win at the Glendale Sports Complex on Wednesday. Pilar's hit gave the Rebels a 7-5 lead before Michael Weinstein followed with a run-scoring single. The Rebels improved to 8-5-1, 4-2 in league with the second win in as many days against Rio Hondo Prep. BOYS' VOLLEYBALL Burroughs 3, Hoover 0: The Tornadoes fell in a Pacific League road match on Wednesday afternoon, 25-12, 25-9, 25-10.

MONROVIA - Heading into Saturday afternoon's Rio Hondo League individual wrestling finals, there was no doubt that the Hoover High wrestling program was already enjoying its greatest season ever in its fledgling three-year existence. Yet, the Tornadoes had even more to celebrate at Monrovia High, as the squad advanced five wrestlers into divisional championship bouts, won two titles and qualified all 10 of their varsity wrestlers to the first round of the CIF Southern Section Individual playoffs.

GLENDALE - Five bouts into their Rio Hondo League wrestling match and the narrative looked somewhat familiar for the Hoover High wrestling team. The fledgling program in its third year of existence had fallen behind 23 points to visiting South Pasadena and appeared destined for a blowout. Well, the rout was a reality, but in a different way than in past years. The Tornadoes won nine of their final 11 matches and scored 42 of the last 45 points in launching a massive rally and defeating the Tigers, 42-26, on Thursday.

ARCADIA - This girls' volleyball season, Glendale High finished fifth in the Pacific League, denying it one of the league's four automatic playoff berths, but the CIF Southern Section saw fit to award the Nitros a spot in the Division IIA playoffs as an at-large entry. So, the Nitros, armed with their first winning record of this century, went into their wild-card match at the Truman B. Stivers Center against Rio Hondo Prep and got to within one point of advancing. But the host Kares scored the last five points of the final game to escape with the victory 25-18, 22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 16-14.

After the Glendale High girls' volleyball team recorded its first winning season since the 1990s, co-coach Jennifer Vo briefly mulled over if the program's latest body of work in the regular season would warrant possible playoff consideration. Glendale went 11-9 and 7-7 in the Pacific League for fifth place. While the top four teams from the Pacific League automatically qualify for the playoffs, Vo reviewed several key factors that she figured might work in the Nitros' favor in an effort to extend their season.

ARCADIA - For the first quarter of Friday night's game against Rio Hondo Prep, the members of the Flintridge Prep football team looked noticeably rejuvenated. Throughout most of the season, the Rebels have struggled in the opening quarter. That wasn't the case while matched against an opponent that's won two straight CIF Southern Section championships. Flintridge Prep scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns, but couldn't sustain the momentum the remainder of the way in a 63-22 Prep League road loss against powerhouse Rio Hondo Prep.

NEWHALL - By a vote of 23-5, Crescenta Valley High's bid to leave the Pacific League and join the Rio Hondo League was denied at Friday morning's CIF Southern Section Foothill Releaguing Chair Committee meeting at Hart High. On a day in which four separate proposals affecting the Pacific League were considered and a few more including the Rio Hondo League were voted upon, weeks of speculation gave way to the status quo as none of the 14 schools that comprise either league were directly impacted.

LA CAÑADA - Looking around the court, Mike Lii has seen something stand out concerning the Flintridge Prep boys' volleyball team. “We are a lot more focused and we try to keep each other in check,” said Lii, who recorded 31 assists Wednesday to help host Flintridge Prep record a 28-26, 25-20, 25-18 Prep League win against Rio Hondo Prep and inch closer to winning its first league title since 2010. “We might not have been that way all the time the last couple of years, but we know what we need to do to be successful right now.” The Rebels have enjoyed plenty of success since opening the season with three losses in a row and are ranked eighth in the latest CIF Southern Section Division IV poll.

GLENDALE - It had been nearly two weeks since the Flintridge Prep baseball team had taken the field. Might there be a cause for concern about physical rust or mental distractions impeding the team's progress? "That was a big worry for me," said Flintridge Coach Guillermo Gonzalez. "We didn't practice during spring break. They came out ready to play today. " After 13 days away from the diamond because of spring break and a canceled game, the Rebels dominated Rio Hondo Prep, 12-2, in a Prep League game Thursday at the Glendale Sports Complex.

MONROVIA - Hoover High's inaugural season in the Rio Hondo League was described as a roller-coaster ride by wrestling coach Mark Bitetti. The Tornadoes won their first league dual against St. Paul, but dropped the next four en route to finishing fifth in the six-team league as a team. Things started moving in the right direction again for Hoover at its first taste of the league's individual finals Saturday at Santa Fe Middle School in Monrovia. Three Hoover wrestlers - Arthur Ghukasyan, Sebastian Ghauliance and Gio Martinez - advanced to the championship round of their respective weight classes, but it was Martinez who brought home the Tornadoes first-ever individual league title by pinning St. Paul's Mark Millan 1:05 into the second period of the 220-pound match.