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Aug 1, 2024
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
ARTESIA PIONEERS
8-5 overall last season, 2-1 in the 605 League, second place, lost to Bell Gardens High 40-16 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 14 semifinals
15-30 overall last five seasons
Head coach: Connor Crook (second season, 8-5)
Lost 12 seniors out of 43 players from 2023 opening day roster
Last time missed the playoffs: 2022
2024 schedule
Aug. 23 @ Long Beach Cabrillo (2-8 overall last season)
Aug. 30 @ Mark Keppel (0-10)
Sept. 6 Bolsa Grande (6-5)
Sept. 13 Ocean View (6-6)
Sept. 20 Mountain View (6-4)
Sept. 27 @ Estancia (6-5)
Oct. 4 Channel Islands (0-10)
Oct. 11 BYE
Oct. 17 @ John Glenn (6-4)
Oct. 24 Pioneer (2-8)
Oct. 31 @ Cerritos (9-6)
There weren’t too many surprises for Artesia High’s Connor Crook when he became the program’s third head coach in as many seasons following nearly 12 full seasons of two head coaches. Crook guided the Pioneers to their second most victories since 2005 and advanced to the CIF-Southern Section Division 14 semifinals. So, was last season everything he expected it would be?
“Yes and no,” said Crook. “Because whenever you take over a program or whenever you try to start something new, there’s always going to be rough patches at first. But I think as we went through the summer last year right before the season, we were kind of thinking we had a good shot of doing something special.”
He added that the Pioneers were able to compete in every game they were in and was happy for the seniors, who left a legacy for the ones on this season’s squad, and the future. Artesia has made the playoffs four times in the past five full seasons, getting to the semifinals once and the Division 12 championship game in 2018. Before that, the program had not reached the playoffs in nine straight seasons.
On the positive side, Crook said he saw the program get back to the way it was before Covid, citing Artesia had struggled a bit following the brief 2021 spring football season. He continued by saying the players learned how to win last season and they knew what being in close games and playing in big games were like.
A bonus for Crook and the program is the fact that the Pioneers graduated a dozen players, and they have a lot of experience coming back, most of whom are now seniors, making the red and black a serious contender to win their second 605 League title.
OFFENSE
For the most part, scoring really had not been an issue for the Pioneers and last season was no exception as they put up 383 points, including at least 41 points in the first three games.
Senior quarterback Charlie Lopez is the heart and soul of the offense, completing 29 of 69 passes for 376 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions last season. But he was dangerous on the ground, rushing 161 times for 1,789 yards and scoring 23 touchdowns. Although a quarterback, he is just one component of what figures to be one of the most dangerous rushing attacks in this area of southeast Los Angeles County.
“He’s improved a lot; he’s one of the guys that we’ve relied on and looked at to set an example for the rest of the kids on the team because the quarterback is supposed to be the field general,” said Crook. “He was that for us last season. I think he’s going to have another good year; I really do. I think not only himself, but our offense on a whole, we’ve improved. So, I think we’re going to be able to do more things than we did last year, which is good.”
Junior Joey Peck, who was on the freshman/sophomore team last season, will be the backup. Crook says he might be the most improved player Artesia has had so far.
The backfield is as solid as one can be with senior running back Julius Padilla (94 carries, 750 yards, nine touchdowns) and junior running back Josue Flores (132 carries, 749 yards, eight touchdowns) leading the way. Padilla was injured towards the end of the semifinal loss to Bell Gardens and has been rehabbing most of the offseason. Now, he’s bigger and stronger and of the four team captains the Pioneers had last season, he’s the only one returning. Crook believes there’s a possibility the Pioneers could have a trio of 1,000-yard rushers. But with Lopez expected to throw more than he did last year, that may be tougher than said.
“It’s definitely possible,” he said. “I like to think that we run the ball very well here. Our offensive line has done a fantastic job, and our offensive line coach is fantastic, too. I’ve always said the offensive line was probably the best part of our offense last season, which can be lost in the shuffle when you have all these guys running for so many yards. Those guys are going to be good again and in turn, that could lead to a few 1,000 yard rushers.”
Other running backs in the mix will be senior Oscar Canchola and junior Joe Thomas while the receiving department will be handled by seniors Ahkil Sampson (16 receptions, 162 yards, one touchdown) and Trey Tei, junior Elijah Johnson and sophomore Robert Garcia, who gained 62 yards on 19 carries as a running back last season.
Protecting the plethora of skill players will be junior left tackle Maximus Garcia, who was the right guard last season, senior left guard Deangelo Tucker, who was at left tackle last season, junior center Nehemiah Levu, senior right guard Marcos Rojas, who hasn’t played since he was a freshman, and senior right tackle King Johnson, who was the center last season.
“Whenever you have three or more guys returning on your offensive line, you have something to be excited about,” said Crook. “I do like our line this year; I think we have a chance to do some damage.”
DEFENSE
The Pioneers held five of their first six opponents to under 20 points and since then, did not allow anyone to score more than 28 points until their semifinal loss. Crook admitted his defense is not easy, that they don’t run a typical high school defense. With that said, he praised his players for learning a new defensive system in a short amount of time from when Crook was hired as the head coach.
“I was proud of those guys of learning the best they can and asking questions,” said Crook. “We had a very inquisitive defense last year. They wanted to get things right and they wanted to line up correctly and they ran around and played hard. I was impressed with our defense last year for the most part.”
The main three on the line will consist of Maximus Garcia (54 tackles, four sacks), Johnson and Levu (46 tackles, one sack), though Crook added that he will rotate other players all the time. Canchola (20 tackles, two interceptions) will be one cornerback with Thomas utilizing the other corner position with Johnson, Eduardo Ordaz (29 tackles, one interception) and Tei in the mix for the safety positions. The inside linebackers are slated to be Robert Garcia and Tucker (26 tackles) while Sampson (25 tackles) and sophomore Gio Martinez will be on the outside. Padilla, who had 46 tackles is also expected to be in the mix.
SCHEDULE
Artesia’s schedule this season should be comparable to that of last season. The combined record of its 2023 opponents from the 2022 season was 45-71, and this season, it’s 45-66 with three repeat opponents. On paper, the Pioneers shouldn’t have problems with Long Beach Cabrillo High and Mark Keppel High. But the next four will be a measuring stick as three of them went to the playoffs.
Bolsa Grande High lost to Ocean View High 35-28 in the first round of the Division 14 playoffs last season. Ocean View then lost to Bell Gardens 28-21 in the quarterfinals while Estancia High lost to Baldwin Park High 23-14 in the first round of the Division 13 playoffs.
“I’m kind of telling the kids I’m trying to break it up into three goals for the season,” said Crook. “Because you practice all spring and summer, you want to go out and you want to win the opener. We’ve been thinking about and talking about Cabrillo just because that’s what we’re preparing for. You want to win the opener; you want to win league and then you want to win CIF. We’re expecting to go out and do well [against Cabrillo] but we’re not taking Cabrillo lightly either. I think records can be deceiving at times.”
Artesia fell to Bolsa Grande 49-42 in the third game last season, then got past Ocean View the next week by three points, but the Pioneers were blanked by Estancia 43-0 in 2021. Once again missing from Artesia’s schedule is ABC Unified School District rival Gahr High, whom it hasn’t played since.2017.
“I’ll tell the kids this, too, because I think there can be a misconception about when you look at divisions or when you look at ‘this team is down here and this team is up there’,” said Crook. “It’s hard to win at any level, and when you’re playing against teams that won last year and teams that are used to winning, they know what it takes. So, those aren’t going to be easy games. If you go 6-4 during the season, you’re a winning team, and it’s hard to win at any level. I don’t care if you’re Division 1 or Division 14.”
The last game of the season figures to be for the league title and who finishes in second place. Artesia has lost four straight to Cerritos High, the longest such streak against the Dons on the 2000s but has dominated John Glenn High, winning four straight and 10 of the last 12 meetings.
HOMECOMING
Artesia was shutout by Viewpoint High 12-0 in last season’s homecoming game, the second straight season it failed to record a point in its homecoming game. The Pioneers hope to snap a three-game losing streak on homecoming night and four out of the last five when they host Mountain View High, believed to be a first-time opponent. The last time the Pioneers won a non-league, homecoming game came in 2005 when they sneaked past Gahr 28-24.
FINAL COMMENT
“I’m just excited about the season; I’m ready to get going again,” said Crook. “I think we took a step up from last year. Naturally, we’re going into a second year of [the culture] of our program and I think we have a great group of coaches on varsity and on the [freshmen] staff. I’m just excited about this year.”
