The562’s coverage of St. Anthony athletics is sponsored by Jane & B.I. Mais, Class of 1948.
There’s no time to mourn the past for the St. Anthony football program.
After falling in the championship game of a deep CIF-SS Division 10 playoff run last year, second-year coach Jeff Magdaleno retains a core part of his roster with the addition of some key new pieces.
“When you have to grind like we do, those opportunities don’t come very often,” Magdaleno said of the championship appearance. “It definitly feuls us to want to get back there again. The expectation is a little higher now and we’re really putting in the work to get back there and avenge that loss.”
One of those core returners is quarterback Aidan Jones, who was thrust into a tough start for St. Anthony as just a sophomore last year when the Saints opened the season 0-4. The junior made major strides over the season en route to a championship appearance, strides that have led the entire team to buy in.
“I think last year I was able to get all of the nerves out of the way,” Jones said. “Just coming in here knowing that I’ve had those reps before and knowing that I have the keys—I’m ready to just take off from there.”
“He’s a coach on the field,” Magdaleno said of Jones. “He’s got the keys to the car and he has full control. He’s going to be able to control the pace and we will go as far as he takes us.”
Outside of quarterback, the Saints will rotate players through different positions and feature a number of two-way athletes, which Magdaleno says is part of coaching at a small private school. Three-year senior Jeremiah Taufi will be key at linebacker and running back, where he’ll look to bring physicality on both sides of the ball.
The senior established himself as a leader for the Saints and was voted a unanimous captain as just a junior last year. Magdaleno had praise for Taufi’s ability and willingness to play anywhere on the field, and recalled a game last season when he insisted on playing center after their starter went down.
“Every team we played knew he was the best player on the field no matter where he was,” Magdaleno said of Taufi last season. “Bringing that back, not only does he have confidence but he plays one step ahead of everyone else. He’s a coach on the field, and he’s a film rat that game plans like a coach.”
Taufi was key to the Saints’ championship run and says it still stings to think about how close they came to winning a gold plaque. He hopes to earn some college offers in his senior campaign but isn’t stressing over what this year holds.
“I’m just taking it step by step,” he said of this season. “My biggest goal is just to have fun. At the end of the day coming off of the field I just want to have fun. That’s my biggest priority this year—just having fun and not leaving any regrets.”
Preston Hochman will serve as the primary running back in the Saints’ offense while Andres Mendoza will bring key experience to a fairly young group of pass-catchers. Jack Furlow is another senior receiver with some experience on the outside. The Saints will also lean on a pair of young receivers in sophomore Marcos Mendoza and freshman Juice Smith.
Magdaleno is still arranging his offensive line into their most fitting positions, but he’s confident he’s found the right starting five. Kaiden Grant, Miles Garlichs, and Lucas Duran are three returning starters who have familiarity with the offense. Zackary Doering will also be on the line alongside junior Romario Pena.
The Saints will use a number of different personnel packages and have several tight-ends who will also line up wide and act as an H-back. Juniors Evan Martinez and Dion Myers will both be versatile tight ends for the Saints. 6-foot-2, 210-pound Bosco transfer Elijah Cooper will also find his way into a key role after completing a mandatory sit-out period.
“When you put their size and athleticism together, especially at St. Anthony when you get into our league, it becomes very valuable pieces,” Magdaleno said of his tight-end room. “We’re going to use them in a bunch of different ways.”
On defense, St. Anthony will have two very different builds at the two cornerback positions, with Myers bringing physicality in his 6-foot-1 frame, playing opposite Smith who will bring key speed. The Saints will have most of their defensive experience on the back end with returning senior safeties Evan Anglin and Nick Webster.
“They’re two returning starters on a defense that was very good last year,” Magdaleno said of Anglin and Webster. “Their growth through last year was huge. They were younger guys who were growing up through the year and ended up having really good seasons. Now they’re bringing back that maturity and experience.
Alongside Taufi, senior Ruben Garcia and Braylon White will fill in at the other two linebacker positions. The Saints will have a number of two-way linemen on the defensive line including seniors Grant, Doering, and Duran. Pena will also be on the defensive line alongside Cooper.
“We’re very athletic and we’re also very strong,” Magdaleno said of the D-Line. “We just have some guys that go hard all the time, and sometimes that’s all you need on the defense line. We do have a lot of two-way guys though so it comes into subbing as much as you can and subbing as much as you can.”
The Saints’ schedule opens up with three tough opponents in Lakewood (Aug. 29) and Torrance (Sept. 5) and Summit (Sept. 12) in consecutive weeks—three opponents they faced in their first four games last season. The Saints will face a pair of similarly-built private schools to close out their non-league schedule with Valley Christian (Sept. 18) and Rio Hondo Prep (Sept. 26).
St. Anthony went 4-1 last year to finish in second place in the Del Ray League — part of a 10-2 run over their final 12 games. The Saints poured on 164 points across their five league games and will open their league schedule against Crespi (Aug. 3). They took their only league loss to Salesian last year with their rematch set for Oct. 24.
“Every year it can be different,” Magdaleno said of the Del Ray League. “I think we have a chance to be very competitive in the league like last year, but every year the dynamic of the year can shift a bit from one team to the next.”
St. Anthony Football Schedule:
8/29 – at Lakewood
9/5 – at Torrance
9/12 vs. Summit
9/18 – vs. Valley Christian
9/26 – at Rio Hondo Prep
10/3 – at Crespi
10/10 – vs. CSHM*
10/17 – vs. La Salle*
10/24 – at Salesian*
10/31 – at Harvard-Westlake*
*= league game
Projected Starters:
Offense
QB: Aidan Jones (Jr.)
RB: Preston Hochman (Sr.) / Jeremiah Taufi (Sr.)
WR: Andres Mendoza (Sr.) / Jack Furlow (Sr.) / Marcos Mendoza (So.) / Juice Smith (Fr.)
TE: Evan Martinez (Jr.) / Dion Myers (Jr.) / Elijah Cooper (Jr.)
OL: Kaiden Grant (Sr.) / Miles Garlichs (Sr.) / Lucas Duran (Sr.) / Zackary Doering (Sr.) / Romario Pena (Jr.)
Defense
DB: Dion Myers (Jr.) / Juice Smith (Fr.) / Evan Anglin (Sr.) / Nick Webster (Sr.)
LB: Jeremiah Taufi (Sr.) / Ruben Garcia (Sr.) / Braylon White
DL: Kaiden Grant (Sr.) / Romario Pena (Jr.) / Elijah Cooper (Jr.) / Zackary Doering (Sr.) / Lucas Duran (Sr.)
