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Football St. Anthony

High School Football Preview: St. Anthony vs. La Salle

No team in Long Beach has turned their season around like St. Anthony football.

After starting 0-3 with first-year head coach Raul Lara at the helm, St. Anthony has won three in a row including a 43-27 victory over Marina last Friday.

“We just grind and emphasize to the kids what they need to work on,” said Lara. “They try really hard and we’re getting better each week.”

The Saints (3-3) host La Salle (0-4) in their Del Rey League opener tonight at St. Pius- St. Matthias Academy in Downey. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

St. Anthony has won two of the last three meetings with La Salle winning 31-7 in their last meeting on April 17.

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La Salle junior quarterback Richard Munoz has 1,050 passing yards and 12 touchdowns but has thrown seven interceptions. His favorite target is sophomore wide receiver Mauricio Pavon who leads the team in receptions (28), receiving yards (419), and receiving touchdowns (4).

Three of the four Lancers’ losses have been decided by eight points or less including a 30-28 loss to Arcadia on Sept. 16. They had a bye last week.

Look for St. Anthony to continue to feed senior running back Sone Aupiu, who has over 600 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in the last two weeks.

St. Anthony Saints Athletics on Twitter: “The turning point of Friday’s victory over Marina was this 85 yard touchdown run by #SAHS senior running back Sone Aupiu. This was his third score of the game. He finished with four touchdowns. pic.twitter.com/EkqhUfa8z7 / Twitter”

The turning point of Friday’s victory over Marina was this 85 yard touchdown run by #SAHS senior running back Sone Aupiu. This was his third score of the game. He finished with four touchdowns. pic.twitter.com/EkqhUfa8z7

Julian A. Lopez
Julian A. Lopez has been covering sports for five years. A Long Beach native, he graduated from Arizona State in 2016 with a BA in Journalism and spent the last three years as the sports reporter for the Modesto Bee.