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October 1, 2025
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
Even though the Mid-Cities League opener is Friday, a lot will be on the line when Gahr High hosts Bellflower High in the HMG-Community News Game of the Week. Gahr has struggled through the first five games trying to find an identity while Bellflower has proven so far it is vastly improved from last season when the Buccaneers were out of their element competing in the Gateway League.
Gahr (2-3) defeated Valencia High 33-14 last Friday, marking the second time the Gladiators scored 33 points, whereas they combined to score 13 points in their three losses.
Senior quarterback Roman Acosta was 10 of 17 for 206 yards and a touchdown while gaining 102 yards on 11 carries and two more touchdowns as Gahr led 14-7 heading into the fourth quarter. Sophomore De’Mir Cunningham led the Gladiators with 107 yards on 20 touches and a pair of touchdowns while senior Alexander Gutierrez caught four passes for 102 yards.
Bellflower (4-1) bounced back from its 29-point loss to Rio Hondo Prep on Sept. 19 with a 16-14 win over Arrowhead Christian High last Friday on the road. The Buccaneers scored on touchdown runs from Amir Neal and Zahir Brown in the first quarter and added two points early in the second quarter to build a 16-7 lead. Brown and Neal had a combined 239 rushing yards heading into the game while five other ball carries had rushed for 203 yards in the first four games.
The Buccaneers outscored their first three opponents 90-34 and after going 0-10 last season under former John Glenn High head coach Vince Lobendahn with half those contests being in the Gateway League, they return to the Mid-Cities League where they went a combined 18-7, 7-1 the previous two seasons.
The teams were tri-champions, along with Norwalk High, in the Mid-Cities League in 2022 and have split six meetings dating back to 2003, but Bellflower has won the past two encounters by scores of 44-21 in 2023 and 40-20 in 2022. Gahr’s rush defense will be put to the test because the Buccaneers gained 419 yards on the ground in the 2022 meeting in which Gahr held a 14-6 lead after the first quarter before allowing 38 points in the second quarter. The next season, Bellflower rushed for 383 yards, and the game was tied 6-6 at the half. Gahr’s last win over Bellflower came in 2021, a 34-16 contest.
Prediction: Bellflower 28, Gahr 14
In other football action, three area teams will play their final non-league contests before the 605 League kicks into gear.
Rowland High (5-0) @ Artesia High (3-3)-For the third straight week, Artesia faces a team that has yet to lose in 2025. Two weeks ago, the Pioneers fell to San Gabriel High 34-22 as sophomore running back Justin Pettus rushed for 121 yards and scored once. Last week, in a 28-21 win over Estancia High, Pettus gained 163 yards on 20 carries and scored two rushing touchdowns and returned a kickoff 97 yards for the eventual game-winner a minute into the second half.
Now, Artesia has the tough task of slowing down a Rowland team that has allowed 50 points in half a season and has scored over 40 points three times. The Raiders edged Diamond Bar High 22-21 last Friday, setting a season-high in points allowed in a game. Rowland trailed 15-0 at the half and 15-8 entering the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Jose Valadez was 10 of 14 for 138 yards with a touchdown and C.J. Carrillo gained 81 yards on a dozen carries and scored twice. While Valadez and Damien Arrieta have combined to pass for 419 yards and five touchdowns, the strength of the offense lies with its ground game. Carrillo has 450 yards and six touchdowns while Bryce Johnson has gained 286 yards and scored four touchdowns.
Defensively, Frankie Trujillo has four and half of the team’s seven sacks and this is believed to be the first meeting between the schools,
Prediction: Rowland 35, Artesia 17
West Torrance High (2-3) @ Cerritos High (4-2)-This game was played on Oct. 2. Cerritos wants to go into its bye week with some momentum as the Dons have won two straight games and four of their last five. They are coming off an emphatic 53-17 win over Hacienda Heights Wilson High in which senior La’Brenten Wilson scored three rushing touchdowns, caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Justin Sagun and returned a punt 80 yards for a fifth touchdown.
Sagun has thrown for 585 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions while he, Wilson and senior running back Jayden Bagaygay have combined for 1,044 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Cerritos has scored over 30 points in four of the last five games as it will try to avenge last season’s 41-21 loss to the Warriors.
West Torrance dropped a 34-31 contest to South Torrance High last Friday and has not lost two games in a row or won two straight games this season. quarterback Dominic Golia threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Blake Ely for a 7-0 lead and a 65-yard punt return from Mohamad Fdawi increased the score to 17-7 late in the first half.
This will be the last home game for Cerritos until the last game of the regular season on Oct. 30 against Glenn.
Prediction: Cerritos 31, West Torrance 21
Arroyo High (1-4) @ Glenn (2-4)-Two straight losses to begin the season were followed by two straight wins. But Glenn has now lost back to back games again including a 34-7 contest to Irvine-based University High last Friday. The lone score from the Eagles came on a 100-yard interception return from senior defensive back Okoro Lee late in the first half to make it 14-7. That has been the only touchdown for Glenn in the current two-game skid.
Arroyo is also on a two-game losing streak, falling to South El Monte High 35-28 in overtime last Friday in Mission Valley League action. Arroyo had a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter before South El Monte tied the game late in the third quarter. The Knights would take a one-touchdown lead, but South El Monte sent the game into overtime with a touchdown in the final seconds.
Quarterback Angel Casillas completed 10 of 18 passes for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Eagles and has 461 yards and nine touchdowns, but four interceptions this season while Romeo Arevalo rushed for 127 yards on 18 carries and scored twice. He leads Arroyo with 247 yards and four touchdowns while Casillas is the second leading rusher with 113 yards.
This is the first meeting between Arroyo and Glenn in at least 28 seasons.
Prediction: Glenn 28, Arroyo 21
GATEWAY LEAGUE
La Mirada High (2-3) @ Warren High (0-5)-The season began on the right foot for La Mirada as it won the first two games by a combined score of 58-37 over South Gate High and Troy High. Since then, the Matadores have dropped the next three, scoring 29 points in the process including a 35-10 defeat to La Habra High on Sept. 19. In that contest, junior quarterback Isaac Cuevas completed 14 of 22 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown to freshman wide receiver Kaiden Wardlow in the second quarter. The Highlanders outgained the Matadores 452-183, but after taking a week off, La Mirada is ready to begin Gateway League action against the team it fell to in the final game last season.
The strength of the Matadores comes from their rushing game where junior Ismael Garcia leads the team with 426 yards on 82 carries and four touchdowns while junior Josiah Fregoso is second with 239 yards on 45 touches and a pair of touchdowns. Wardlow is the top receiver with 18 catches, 187 yards and three touchdowns.
This has not been the Warren that most of us have been accustomed to as the Bears have not scored more than 14 points in any game. On Sept. 19, they fell to Culver City High 24-14 and the week before, La Mirada dropped a 13-10 decision to Orange Vista High while the margin of deficits in the first three games have been by 12, 18 and 35 points.
It’s all about passing for Warren as Jordan Malikin has completed 95 passes for 1,110 yards and five touchdowns but has also thrown seven interceptions. His favorite targets have been Julian Padin (27 receptions, 373 yards, one touchdown), Jeremiah Boyette (24 receptions, 394 yards, two touchdowns) and Dylan Thompson (17 receptions, 232 yards, two touchdowns).
The Bears defeated the Matadores 37-8 in 2022, 40-6 in 2023 and 38-35 last season in the only meetings between the programs.
Prediction: La Mirada 28, Warren 17
IRONWOOD LEAGUE
Valley Christian High (3-2) @ Capistrano Valley Christian High (2-3)-Valley Christian has not played since defeating St. Anthony High 28-13 in Sept. 18. Now, the race for one of the top three automatic spots in the Ironwood League begins on Friday against a team the Defenders defeated 33-13 last season in the first meeting between the programs.
V.C. has reached 40 points twice and over 40 points two other times while allowing less than 25 points in each of the last three games.
Junior quarterback Graham Lunzer eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark against St. Anthony and midway through the season, has 10 touchdowns opposite one interception. He is also the only player with over 100 rushing yards (162 on 53 carries and seven touchdowns). Senior Oliver Boateng is the leader of a deep receiving department and has caught 23 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns followed by senior Cole Hefner (17 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown) and senior Sean Bouma (13 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown). Hefner also has two and a half sacks while Bouma has three interceptions and Boateng one interception.
Capistrano Valley Christian got past St. Margaret’s High 21-16 on Sept. 19 as quarterback Drake Bothwell was true on 14 of 19 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown while Luke Vincent rushed for 133 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown and Diego Magee returned a fumble for a score.
Prediction: V.C. 35, Capistrano Valley Christian 21
MID-CITIES LEAGUE
Lynwood High (2-3) @ Norwalk (5-0)-After not playing last Friday, the quest for an undefeated season and Norwalk’s first outright league title since 2013 begins Friday in the Mid-Cities League opener. All you need to know about the Lancers is a pair of senior running backs who are on the verge of reaching the 1,000-yard mark. Diego Cerritos leads Norwalk with 800 yards on 118 carries and 13 touchdowns while Daron Walker has gained 777 yards on 87 touches and has found the endzone nine times.
Norwalk has scored no fewer than 21 points, but the defense has yielded over 25 points three times.
Lynwood also had last week off to reflect a lot on its 36-0 loss to La Quinta High two weeks ago, which ended a two-game winning streak. In the first four games of the season, quarterback Jordan Sewell has thrown for 441 yards and a pair of touchdowns while being picked off four times while the leading rusher through the first four games is Tristan Ormond with 211 yards and five touchdowns.
Norwalk and Lynwood have faced each other twice with the Lancers winning both times, 51-0 in 2022 and 33-15 last season.
Prediction: Norwalk 42, Lynwood 14
Last week’s predictions: 1-3
Season to date: 20-15
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Artesia swept Pioneer High this past Tuesday to improve to 7-8 overall, 3-3 in the 605 League. The Pioneers are seeking just their fourth playoff appearance in at least 28 seasons, having advanced to the postseason in 2010, 2021 and 2023. They will travel to Oxford Academy on Friday and host last place John Glenn on Tuesday.
Cerritos swept Glenn 25-8, 25-12, 25-10 this past Tuesday to improve to 15-4, 6-0 and set up a critical match at Whitney High on Friday for the top spot in the 605 League. The Dons will then entertain Oxford Academy on Tuesday while Whitney was swept by Oxford Academy this past Tuesday to fall to 17-11, 4-2 as the Wildcats will host Pioneer on Tuesday.
After not getting a win in the Gateway League last season, Gahr is on its way to capturing the Mid-Cities League crown. The Gladiators swept Lynwood 25-15, 25-12, 25-9 this past Tuesday to see their mark move to 19-9, 6-0. Gahr visited Bellflower on Oct. 2 and will entertain Pacifica High on Friday and Paramount High on Tuesday to end the regular season.
Valley Christian is on the verge of its first Olympic League title since 2016, and the Defenders can claim at least a share of that with a home win against Whittier Christian High on Oct. 2. V.C. is 21-2, 5-0 having swept league nemesis Village Christian High on the road this past Tuesday. The Defenders will travel to Heritage Christian High on Thursday.
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