Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 20, 2012

16

SPORTS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 20, 2012 

ST. RITA GIRLS VOLLEYBALL WINS DESPITE HOT TEMPERATURES

 Withered by the heat, St. Rita still managed to prevail on Wednesday in two games over the 
surprisingly tough St. Luke Lions of Temple City. The see-saw battle played out at St. Luke, 
where the mercury topped 101 in the shade and was even hotter on the blacktop. 

The starting lineup included Chelle Encinas, Natalie O’Brien, Sarah Perret, Cathy Johnson, 
Kathleen Brady, Brenna Stutenroth, Caitlin Mispagel and Abby McKiernan.

In the two 
games prior, the 
lady Raiders 
first won against 
Holy Family 
on their home 
court, then lost 
to St. Phillips. 
St. Rita is 
currently tied 
with Arcadia’s 
Holy Angels 
for third in the 
league and will 
face them in 
the last game of 
the season on 
Tuesday. 

St. Rita Varsity Football Update

TWO BIG WINS MOVE RAIDERS INTO SOLE 
POSSESSION OF SECOND PLACE IN LEAGUE

Sierra Madre, CA, After beginning the season on a high note, taking third place in the tough St. Paul 
Football Tournament, the Raiders had a two game slump. They’ve recaptured the magic, however, in 
the last two weeks in games against Assumption and Holy Angels.

The Raiders currently stand 8-4 overall, and 4 -1 in the league. Although they eventually fell to South 
Pasadena’s powerful Holy Family team last week, they were tied 6-6 in the fourth quarter. The hosting 
Knights, who are the defending CYO champions, ended up claiming a 14-6 win in that game. Two 
days later, however, the Raiders, with an inspired defense, defeated one-loss Assumption of Pasadena 
in a 12-0 victory. That was followed up by a 20-0 victory over Holy Angels of Arcadia -- another team 
with only one loss in the league.

All four of the Raiders’ losses have come to teams who are undefeated in their respective leagues. They 
lost to Holy Family twice, once in league and once in the St Paul semifinals. In that game, Holy Family 
scored with 7 seconds remaining to win 15-14. They also lost in the St Rita Tournament semifinals by 
a 22-20 score to St Bede of La Canada. The worst loss they suffered was 22-0 to St Louise of Covina.

The Raiders have also had two wins against perennial powerhouses. First, they defeated a blistering-
fast St. Jerome team from Westchester and then up-ended Orange County’s powerful St. Hedwig 
in the third-place game of the St. Paul Tournament. Easy wins over Immaculate Conception and 
Annunciation of Arcadia and St. Felicitas of San Marino round out the Raiders’ season so far. 

Still to come are league games with playoff contenders St. Philip of Pasadena and St. Elizabeth of 
Altadena. Both are strong teams with some outstanding players. Newcomer St. Andrew of Pasadena 
and long-time league member St. Luke of Temple City comprise the remainder of the schedule before 
playoffs.

The defense has been led by eighth graders Liam Blackwell, Steve Froio, Johnny Clarizio, Wyatt 
Cimino, Tommy Radle and Harrison MacDonald. Seventh grader Blake Howard completes the first 
seven. Sean Espinosa and Nick Zuniga have also filled in well for the defense.

St. Rita School, located at 322 N. Baldwin Ave. in Sierra Madre, is a Catholic parish school with an 
award-winning sports program. They are academically ranked fourth in the Los Angeles Diocese, 
with a focus on faith, stewardship and academic excellence. 


Cathy Johnson in game against Holy Family. Photos by Diane Johnson


Abby McKiernan returns serve at St. Luke game.