St. Anthony kicks off a challenging nonleague schedule on the road Friday evening at San Pedro, their second year of a two-year contract. The Pirates defeated the Saints 42-0 last year and went on to win the LA City Section championship, which they’re favorites to win once again this year.
The Saints, meanwhile, are running out their youngest team in several years with head coach Raul Lara projecting that 12-15 starting spots will be filled with sophomores who are new to the varsity field.
“We’re very young but we do have talent, we just don’t have experience to go with it yet,” said Lara.
Lara’s theory with the tough nonleague schedule that also features Mayfair and Dominguez is that his Saints will improve rapidly with challenging opponents—his teams over the years have been known for getting dramatically better from the start of the year to the end.
Senior Alexander Cobbs will be one of the more physically imposing players on the field and St. Anthony’s chances of success on the scoreboard hinge in part on their ability to feature him at defensive end and at receiver/tight end. QB Adrian Perez will also have a chance to prove himself against the Pirates this evening.
The Saints will face Mayfair at St. Pius X next week for their second game.
