EL MONTE — It’s not supposed to be this easy, but the Rio Hondo Prep football team just follows its own script and dances to its own beat.
It started again with Rio Hondo Prep senior running back Noah Penunuri, who has been so special over the last few years, nothing he does is a surprise anymore.
And that goes for the small-school Kares’ football team too, which continue to dominate above their weight class, showing no signs that the upper-division challenge is too big.
Rio Hondo Prep raced to a big lead, and then leaned on its defense and used the clock to perfection to knock off Troy, 28-0, in Friday’s CIF Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinals.
The Warriors never recovered from the Kares’ quick start.
“We didn’t see that coming. We thought it would be a four-quarter battle,” Rio Hondo Prep coach Mark Carson said. “I don’t think they were quite ready for our level of execution, and sure enough, they weren’t.”
Penunuri led the way, carrying the ball 25 times for 230 yards and four touchdowns. Penunuri ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter alone, staking the Kares to a 21-0 lead that left the Warriors wobbled and dazed.
This has become normal for Penunuri, who ran 262 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s first-round win at Thousand Oaks. Penunuri also pushed past 5,000 career yards at the school.
“It’s the name of the game, we’re going to run the ball down your throat and out-hit you,” Penunuri said. “They were tough, but we persevered and just out-hit them. We’re never satisfied, we’re always hungry.”
The Kares, who are chasing their third consecutive championship after winning Division 9 and Division 7 respectively, won their 1th straight CIF-SS playoff game as they continue their march toward the school’s 17th championship.
Rio Hondo Prep (12-0) will be the home team in next week’s semifinals against the winner between La Serna and Aliso Niguel.
“These guys, they just loved the challenge,” Carson said. “Winning Division 9, winning Division 7, there was some talk of dialing it back. But these guys said no coach, we want to see how far we can take it and see what we can do against these great programs.”
Troy, which dropped to 10-2, was led by running back Ethan Mundt, who finished with 67 yards. Quarterback Mason Mays completed 7 of 14 passes for 89 yards.
It just wasn’t enough, explained Warriors coach Michael Echaves, who had big praise for the Kares.
“They’re just so disciplined and good at what they do,” Echaves said of the Kares. “It took us a while to adjust to how they move offensively. We made some errors you just can’t do against a team like that. They’re a great program, I wish them nothing but the best.”
The Kares turned the rain into their own storm in the first quarter.
They took the opening drive and went 65 yards on six plays. Penunuri led the way with a 38-yard run to the Warriors’ 13. A few plays later, Penunuri punched it in from 5 yards for a 7-0 lead.
With Troy driving, the Kares’ Elias Har picked off Warriors quarterback Mason Mays and returned it 29 yards near midfield. A couple plays later, Penunuri cashed it in with a 30-yard touchdown run up the left side for a 14-0 lead.
Penunuri’s first-quarter onslaught continued after the Kares forced a three-and-out. Penunuri scored on their first play, going 58 yards for a touchdown and 21-0 lead.
“We got that great drive (to open the game) and made some early first downs and it kind of snowballed from there,” Carson said.
The Warriors blew a huge opportunity to get on the scoreboard in the first half. They used half the clock in the second quarter to get to the Kares’ 1-yard line. But they were pushed back on two running plays and fumbled the ball back to the 13. Quarterback Mason Mays’ fourth-down pass skipped off the turf, turning the ball back to the Kares.
The Kares simply used the rest of the clock to clog their way to midfield until time expired, taking a three-touchdown lead to half.
Penunuri punctuated the win with his fourth touchdown in the fourth quarter, scoring from 2 yards.
Related Articles
Photos: Rain soaks high school football teams during Friday’s quarterfinals CIF-SS boys water polo: Preview of OC’s championship matches Saturday High school football: Friday’s quarterfinals — previews, updates, scores Santa Margarita girls golf wins fourth straight CIF SoCal Regional title Video: Fryer and Albano make their predictions for football quarterfinalsHence then, the article about rio hondo prep football dominates troy to reach the d5 semifinals was published today ( ) and is available on The Orange County Register ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Rio Hondo Prep football dominates Troy to reach the D5 semifinals )
Also on site :