Two Pasadena football programs face road tests Friday, Sept. 18, in Week 4 nonleague play.
John Muir (2-2) travels to Newbury Park, and La Salle (3-1) heads to Woodland Hills Taft. Both games kick off at 7 p.m., according to the Pasadena Star-News.
Muir at Newbury Park
The Mustangs enter on a high after demolishing Bishop Montgomery 54-0 on Sept. 11. The Mustangs opened the season with losses to Bonita and Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon before beating St. Pius X-St. Matthias 50-18 in Week 3.
Coach Matt Villasenor's squad opened the year ranked No. 6 in the Pasadena Star-News preseason SGV Top 10 but has since slid to No. 11 in the SGV Top 30 published Sept. 14.
Newbury Park presents a stiff test. The Panthers rolled to a 50-0 win over Thousand Oaks on Sept. 11, scoring all 50 points in the first half, according to the Ventura County Star. That was the largest shutout in the history of the Conejo Valley rivalry.
La Salle at Woodland Hills Taft
La Salle went 3-7 last season. The Lancers already have three wins through four weeks, and their offense has been explosive: a 60-52 shootout win over Cantwell Sacred Heart to open the year, a 39-12 rout of Arcadia on Sept. 4 and a 41-0 shutout of St. Genevieve on Sept. 11.
Running back Denzel Carter has powered the attack. He ran for 254 yards and four touchdowns in the opener and added 134 yards and two scores against Arcadia. Quarterback Jakari Bacot completed 14 of 25 passes for 214 yards and three total touchdowns in that Arcadia win, according to the Pasadena Star-News.
"I'm really excited to be here … I know we're going to do great things. I know we're going to go on a big run," Carter said after the Sept. 4 win over Arcadia. "I feel like we're going to surprise a lot of people."
The Lancers' lone loss came in Week 1, a 27-19 defeat to San Marino. After the Arcadia win, coach Mark Serve credited the program's growing support, saying the right families are coming to La Salle and the administration has backed the team. La Salle sits at No. 19 in the SGV Top 30.
Taft (3-1) has been productive on offense, beating Poly 37-16, Los Angeles 57-0 and Channel Islands 42-12, per MaxPreps. The Toreadors' lone loss was a 59-14 blowout against Nordhoff on Aug. 28.
La Salle has already matched last season's win total with six games still left in the regular season.
