The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The562’s coverage of St. Anthony athletics is sponsored by Jane & B.I. Mais, Class of 1948.
New St. Anthony head football coach Jeff Magdaleno was hired in late May, giving him a short window to get his team ready for the 2024 season. He’s made a lot of introductions during those three months, and while so much is new for the Saints this year, things will also look somewhat familiar.
A majority of the coaching staff remained with the Saints following Raul Lara’s departure to Mater Dei, helping ease the transition in a short time span.
“It’s been kind of a hectic time, because you’re trying to get in a whole offense, you’re trying to instill values, and there’s a lot of administrative work to be done,” Magdaleno said of the quick turnaround. “Fortunately, we’ve been able to keep the staff intact. Like (defensive coordinator) Rich Gonzalez was our interim, and he stayed, which kind of set the tone for us to be able to retain most of the staff that was here through spring, which we really needed in terms of continuity.”
Magdaleno will also have a trusted hand coaching the JV team and the running backs, his father, Tom Magdaleno. Jeff said they’d always talked about coaching together while he was in the college ranks, and they now have the opportunity to make it happen.
“It’s great, because he jumps right in,” Jeff said of his dad. “He’s got so much energy out here. He’s probably the elder statesman on the staff, but he has a lot of energy and the kids like it.”
Running back should also be a key position this season for the Saints, who are looking to play physical football despite an overall lack of depth. A number of players will be asked to play both sides of the ball this season, including senior Nate Martinez, who will be at running back and linebacker.
Martinez was part of a loaded backfield rotation a season ago, but will get more carries this season along with classmate Marco Camacho. During the offseason coaching transition, Martinez has been a valuable leader in keeping the Saints together.
“I’m excited to lead. I love all the players, we’re such a tight family, and it’s just an honor to lead all of them,” Martinez said of his new role. “I feel like we’re so close. Our young guys are really looking up to our older guys right now, and our older guys are really helping out those young guys, because we need everyone.”
The Saints have a QB battle going into the season, with sophomore Aidan Jones and junior Noah Furlow the top candidates for snaps. They’ll have a good group of veterans on the outside led by senior Jasiah Lolesio-Pua, who was a big-time playmaker for the Saints a season ago. He’ll also have seniors Jerrel Jones and Marco Tranfiguracion as pass-catchers, plus a junior group of Jack Furlow, Andres Mendoza and Xavier Sanchez.
The offensive line will be tested as several players will need to play both sides of the ball this season. Junior Kaiden Grant is an athletic and physical tackle who has college potential as he continues to develop his skills and get stronger. Matt Gonzalez is one of two seniors on the line and is a great athlete for an interior lineman.
Junior Logan Aranda moved from tight end to play tackle and be an edge rusher defensively, where the Saints are hoping to bring a high level of physicality. Coach Magdaleno knows that this team won’t just show up and win games with overwhelming talent or depth.
“We don’t have a lot of numbers, and we’re not a very big team, we’re not a very fast team, and we don’t have the four-star, five-star athlete that’s going to be an X-factor,” said Magdaleno. “We have to play as a team, and we have to execute our scheme on both sides of the ball, but our X-factor has to be physicality. That’s the thing that will keep us in games when we face a team that is more athletic or does have an X-factor type player.”
One guy who embodies that physical style of play is junior Jeremiah Taufi, who is part of a solid linebacking corps for the Saints defense. Taufi has slimmed down and gotten faster this offseason, and he’s ready to set the tone for the St. Anthony stop unit.
“I’m excited for this season. I feel like with this new coaching staff, we’ve got some real cohesiveness working with our team,” said Taufi. “We’re gonna bring the physicality, and that’s gonna replace everything that we’re missing, and I’m ready for this season. I believe coach Mags, he brought a good program with him, and he has a good dedication to this team, and I feel like we’re gonna make a run for it this year too, just like last year.”
The Saints were Del Rey League champions a season ago, going 9-3 with a playoff win in the CIF-SS Division 8 playoffs. They did lose some notable talent to graduation and transfers during the offseason, and are faced with a difficult schedule in 2024.
The Saints open with three straight home games, but they’ll all be tough, starting with Mount Miguel and five-star wide receiver Brandon Arrington. Then the Saints will welcome Lakewood over to Clark Field for game two.
St. Anthony has a four-game road trip in the middle of the season as they get into their league schedule, before wrapping up with three straight back at home.
Given the short turnaround for Magdaleno in the offseason, and low numbers on the roster, it would be easy to look at this season as a rebuild, but that’s not the approach he’s taking. He’s excited about the numbers coming up in the freshman class, and despite only having a dozen seniors on the roster, he’s committed to winning for them right away.
“For our seniors this is their last go. So if I come in and say, ‘We’re gonna rebuild this thing, and I don’t have a lot of expectations for this year,’ that’s not fair for them,” Magdaleno said. “We want to win for them. We want to win for all of us, but we want to win for them and make that senior year the greatest experience of their lives … we owe it to our seniors to go out and win now.”
Projected Starters:
Offense
QB: Noah Furlow (Jr.) / Aidan Jones (So.)
RB: Nate Martinez (Sr.) / Marco Camacho (Sr.)
TE: Marco Transfiguracion (Sr.)
WR: Jasiah Lolesio-Pua (Sr.) / Jack Furlow (Jr.) / Andres Mendoza (Jr.) / Xavier Sanchez (Jr.) / Jerrel Jones (Sr.)
OL: Kaiden Grant (Jr.) / Matt Gonzalez (Sr.) / Miles Garlichs (Jr.) / Lucas Duran (Jr.) / Logan Aranda (Sr.) / Ayden Griffith (Sr.) / Evan Stafford (Sr.) / Zack Doering (Jr.)
K: Andres Mendoza (Jr.)
Defense
DL: Logan Aranda (Sr.) / Kaiden Grant (Jr.) / Matt Gonzalez (Sr.) / Lucas Duran (Jr.)
LB: Jeremiah Taufi (Jr.) / Nate Martinez (Sr.) / Marco Camacho (Sr.)
DB: Evan Anglin (Jr.) / Jerrel Jones (Sr.) / Ruben Garcia (Jr.) / Nick Webster (Jr.)
P: Noah Furlow (Jr.)
2024 St. Anthony Saints Schedule:
8/23 – vs. Mount Miguel
8/29 – vs. Lakewood (Thursday)
9/6 – vs. Torrance
9/13 – at Summit
9/20 – at Brentwood
10/4 – at Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary
10/10 – at La Salle (Thursday)
10/18 – vs. Salesian
10/25 – vs. Harvard-Westlake
11/1 – vs. Crespi
