The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by former LBUSD superintendent Chris Steinhauser.
The Jordan Panthers found themselves on the wrong end of Friday the 13th, as they dropped their home opener to La Mirada 29-7 at Compton College.
“Preparation and execution are the two biggest things in football…When we talk about preparation, it is the basics and fundamentals. The preparation and execution in practice will translate over to [games],” explained interim head coach Eric Richardson.
J-Town jumped off to a hot start, with senior linebacker Damian Marquez getting a huge sack to force the Matadores off script. The Panthers sniffed out the screen the next play, forcing La Mirada to punt.
Senior wide receiver Da’mari Taylor snagged the punt off the hop from his own 30, and then dashed up the Panther sideline, until he got tackled from behind at the Matadores’ five yard line.
Senior wide receiver Bryan Simmons capped the drive, after a quick tip drill from his own teammate Taylor, for the score. The Panthers took their first and only lead of the night, 7-0, with 7:41 left in the first quarter.
La Mirada marched down the field with the running back tandem of Josh Gonzalez and Jordan Lauago. J-Town almost forced a stop on fourth and goal at their four yard line, but Lauago took the direct snap and barreled his way into the end zone. The Matadores converted on the two point conversion, and they were up 8-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Jordan’s offense would find a groove in the beginning of the second quarter, but penalties, mental miscues, and lost fumble would cost them momentum. The Matadores capitalized, as Lauguo would go in for his second score of the night. La Mirada was up 15-7 with eight minutes left in the half. Both offenses would stall, and the half ended 15-7.
Injuries plagued the Panthers, and players found themselves in unfamiliar positions trying to get any spark going, like senior Lucas Tofa, who got some energy carrying the rock for J-Town. However, a false start on fourth and two at midfield forced Jordan to punt.
“Tonight we had a bunch of starters drop off, so we had guys kinda plugging and playing… Everyone has got to be versatile at this point, like tonight we had six guys go down, so we need guys to be versatile, learn, and plug into positions,” commented Richardson on the unfortunate injury bug Jordan caught.
The Matadores’ run game would grind down the Panther defense and clock. Lauago would soon again find the end zone, and La Mirada took a 22-7 lead with 5:12 left in the third. Panthers found some life with a muffed punt recovery at the midfield. The offense almost found the red zone, but an interception by La Mirada’s Brennan Sullivan ended the momentum and third quarter.
Lauago and La Mirada scored one more time with 9:53 left in the game to make it 29-7. Jordan kept fighting for every inch on offense, once again knocking on the endzone late in the game. However, another interception by La Mirada’s Ian Choiselat with under a minute left sealed the game. La Mirada won 29-7.
Despite the loss, Jordan players and staff found a moral victory when players started speaking to the team about how they needed to come together and hold each other accountable for the remainder of the season. Richardson and the Jordan staff commented how proud they were how the players carried themselves and were growing as young men, being leaders amongst themselves.
Jordan heads down to Vets next Friday to open Moore League play against Long Beach Poly. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
