Prep League

PASADENA — A loss to their chief league rival didn’t leave the members of the Flintridge Prep baseball team in a quandary. In fact, had someone told Flintridge Prep Coach Buzz Cook earlier that his squad would split a pair of games this week with Pasadena Poly, Cook would have taken it without hesitation. At least Flintridge Prep has been competitive with Pasadena Poly, something that hasn’t been the case in recent seasons. Flintridge Prep played well, but fell short when it suffered a 7-4 Prep League loss to host Pasadena Poly on Thursday afternoon.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — When intercity rivals Flintridge Prep and Pasadena Poly clash, it never fails to generate intense emotions, regardless of the sport. For Flintridge Prep boys' volleyball Coach Sean Beattie, the challenge has been getting his players to ratchet down that intensity and not let it take them out of their game plan. Tuesday's installment of the rivalry saw the Rebels play their game from start to finish, taking control early in the match and staying sharp throughout to pull off a 25-9, 25-20, 25-17 Prep League win. "It's a school rivalry and it's always been that way, but I try to play that down as much as I can," Beattie said.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Scoring, or even attempting a shot, was a secondary consideration for the Rio Hondo Prep girls' basketball team every time it gained a possession Tuesday evening. For most of their Prep League game at Flintridge Prep, the Kares' primary challenge was simply holding onto the ball in the face of a swarming, physical Rebels defense that ripped away a total of 26 steals en route to a 61-28 victory. Flintridge Prep junior shooting guard Courtney Robinson, who scored a game-high 20 points, had eight steals as one of four Rebels to record at least four steals in the game.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — By the time the Flintridge Prep girls' basketball team allowed Mayfield to get on the scoreboard, the rout was well under way. The Cubs' first basket came at the 2:12 mark of the first quarter. At that point, the Rebels had already staked a 14-point advantage. The lead only continued to increase, as the Rebels walked away with a convincing 68-23 home win in a Prep League matchup on Tuesday. "We played defense extremely well," said Rebels junior guard Courtney Robinson, who finished with a game-high seven steals.

PASADENA — On Tuesday afternoon, Flintridge Prep’s boys’ water polo team began its Prep League season. After its 14-8 loss to archrival Pasadena Poly, it was clear that the Rebels’ league journey began exactly where the road to the title will go through. “Right now, they’re the team to beat in the Prep League,” Rebels Coach Josh Moser said. The Panthers, ranked third in the latest CIF Southern Section Division VI poll, led throughout Tuesday’s match — both teams’ league opener.

GLENDALE ? Joel Bryant carried the load and then some, a special teams snafu proved costly and, ultimately, the Flintridge Prep football team propelled itself into the CIF Northeast Division playoffs, albeit a spot lower than it would?ve liked. Bryant rushed for 50 yards and two touchdowns in eight carries, as the Rebels defeated Chadwick, 6-3, but lost to Webb, 7-6, after a costly missed point-after touchdown attempt to clinch third place in the Prep League and an automatic trip to the postseason.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Aside from a couple of defensive misplays that led to two decisive goals, Flintridge Prep girls’ soccer Coach Sean Beattie had few complaints following his team’s 3-2 Prep League loss to visiting Chadwick at the Glendale Sports Complex on Friday afternoon. “I told the girls the reason I was proud was because they never stopped,” Beattie said of his team, which trailed the Dolphins, 3-1, at halftime. “A two-goal deficit to a team as good as Chadwick is sometimes real tough to come back from, and a lot of teams can sense that and drop their play.

GLENDALE ? Though the Flintridge Prep boys? volleyball team fell short in its quest to win a CIF championship, a quintet of its players once again proved to be among the best the Prep League has to offer. Flintridge Prep advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs after taking second in the Prep League. Having Dylan Walker, Reed Bradley, Gavin Thomson, Peter Denton and Edmund Chow on board proved that each could offer something to help the Rebels finish in the upper half of the league standings.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE ? Pitted against the only other team yet to notch a Prep League win, the Flintridge Prep girls' volleyball team took full advantage of an opportunity to jump start its sluggish season. On Tuesday afternoon, the win-starved Rebels, winless in their first three Prep League matches, throttled the Webb Gauls, 25-19, 25-9, 25-22. "The team played much better today," said Rebels Coach Sean Beattie. "We've lost three [matches] in five games and that just tells you that we're two or three points away in three of those matches from being 4-2. "That's the conversation we had after our last [match]

GLENDALE — It had been nine years since the Flintridge Prep girls’ soccer team’s last league title, a drought that ended this year when the Rebels went 8-2 to capture a share of the Prep League championship along with Chadwick. Another achievement of even greater rarity in Rebels lore accompanied the league title win — the naming of Prep junior forward Brooke Elby as Prep League tri-Most Valuable Player, as voted on by the league’s coaches. “It’s huge,” Rebels Coach Esteban Chavez said of Elby’s MVP honor.