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 1949.
St. Anthony’s football team has faced a whirlwind of emotions this season, but they’re certainly getting hot at the right time. The Saints drew the first seed in the CIF-SS Division 10 playoffs and will host their first-round matchup on Friday against South Hills.
“We just need to take it one week at a time, prepare with the film you get, dissect it, scout it, and then execute to go 1-0 each week for a couple of them,” said Saints coach Jeff Magdaleno prior to the bracket release. “Sunday morning, some team is going to find out that they have to play the Saints, and we are coming. No matter where it is or what time, they have to play the Saints. We are ready, and we are firing on all cylinders.”
St. Anthony opened its season 0-4 in a brutal non-league schedule but have gone 5-1 since then. The Saints took their only league loss to Salesian in a low-scoring 10-7 game but beat Crespi last week to secure second place in the Del Ray League.
The Saints take on a South Hills team that’s used to bringing its best football on the road, as the Huskies finished 5-0 in away games this season for all of their wins. South Hills concluded its regular season with records of 5-5, 3-2, and finished third place in the Hacienda League.
St. Anthony is coming off a two-game win streak, including a grimy last-second 30-27 win against Crespi last week thanks to a game-winning Christian Martin field goal.
The Saints will need to feed senior Jasiah Lolesio-Pua if they want their best chances at a win, which they have in their last two games. Lolesio-Pua found the endzone against Crespi and collected four touchdowns a week earlier while hosting Harvard-Westlake. QB Aidan Jones will also look to spread the ball around to receivers Marco Transfiguracion and Andres Mendoza.
The Saints defense gave up 27 points last week, but just 17 points combined through the two previous games. They came up with two takeaways last week and will lean on junior leader Jeremiah Taufi.
Calpreps predicts a 28-21 ball game in favor of St. Anthony, and they’ve given the Saints a 65% chance of winning the playoff matchup. The team that comes out on top will go on to face the winner of Shadow Hills and El Segundo.
