Rio Hondo hopes to ride the momentum of a section title to a victory in this week's Regional Bowl matchup with San Diego power Santa Fe Christian.
Photo by Vince Pugliese
The SoCal Division Regional Championship Bowl features two teams that know how to make adjustments.
Rio Hondo Prep (Arcadia) (12-1) won its second-straight Southern Section Northeast Division title with a
28-21 victory over Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo) last Friday.
That same night,
Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) (10-3) won the San Diego Division V title by
defeating Parker (San Diego), 31-15.
That sets up Friday's game at 7:30 p.m. at Del Norte High School in San Diego, with the winner advancing to play either
Central Catholic (Modesto) or
McClymonds (Oakland) in the Division IV title game next weekend at the Home Depot Center in Carson.
Rio Hondo's 14th victory in its 21st section title game since 1972 was a matter of revenge, as top-seeded Mission Prep had handed the Kares their only loss (47-14) in Arcadia earlier this season. After rushing for only 80 yards in the loss, Rio Hondo made the necessary adjustments, pounding the ground for 219 rushing yards in last week's section title game. Junior
Nate Tayco led the way with 171 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
"They just killed us the first time we played them, and tonight we were determined to do our thing," Rio Hondo head coach Ken Drain
told the Pasadena Star-News after the win. "It's all about improving every week, and that's what we did. We came back tonight and played a great game against a very, very, very good Mission Prep team."
Senior quarterback
Colby Rivera only attempted eight passes, completing five for 131 yards, including a 50-yard strike to senior
Jake Holguin. After allowing 21 points in the first half, the Kares defense buckled down, shutting out Mission Prep in the second half.
Nate Tayco, Rio Hondo Prep
Photo by Vince Pugliese
The Kares will look to establish the run early behind Tayco (29 TDs this season) and rely on the efficiency of Rivera (19 TDs, 5 INTs) to get their potent offense (40.8 points per game) going.
One thing's for sure: the Kares will continue to work hard in the days leading up to their showdown with Santa Fe Christian.
"I don't know what it says
(about the program). We just come out here and work hard at it," Drain told the Star-News. "If you
have kids who really want to work and really want to play, things go
well for you."
Santa Fe Christian had a somewhat rockier road to last week's section title win against Parker. The Eagles lost three of their first five games before rattling off eight straight victories by an average margin of 25.5 points.
Santa Fe Christian suffered a heartbreaking loss in last year's section championship game, missing a potential game-tying 41-yard field goal in the waning seconds.
"There was no way we were going to walk off the field for a second time without a victory," Eagles senior quarterback Hunter Vaccaro told the North County Times after the win. "We were going to finish tonight."
Vaccaro did his part, rushing for 87 yards and three touchdowns. Fellow senior Conor Keith added 110 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Hunter Vaccaro, Santa Fe Christian
Photo by Steven Silva
On the season the Eagles average more than 290 yards rushing, compared to just more than 65 yards passing, and Vaccaro is tied with Miro for the team lead with 14 rushing touchdowns.
Parker coach John Morrison put it best when he told the Times, "We couldn’t stop their run. They do what they do and they do it very well."
With Rio Hondo's Nate Tayco and Santa Fe Christian's prolific running attack, the Regional Playoff Bowl will likely be decided on the ground.
In the Freeman Rankings, Rio Hondo Prep is ranked No. 210 in the state and Santa Fe Christian is No. 222.
