A Charge To Keep

Rio Hondo Prep overcame some significant adversity early on in Saturday night's Division 3A Regional down in San Diego. The Kares were tied with the host Poway Titans 7-7 at Halftime and eventually pulled away for a 28-14 gritty victory to advance to the school's first State Championship Game in their illustrious history. Rio Hondo is one of only thirty teams in California that get to play footbal...

After winning the school’s 16th CIF Southern Section Championship last week, the Rio Hondo Prep Kares (12-1) will travel 120 miles down to San Diego County to take on the Poway Titans (6-7) in the California Division 3A State Regional. The Titans have caught fire in the San Diego Section Playoffs scoring 18 touchdowns in their final two games. However, the Kares bring a staunch defense into Decemb...

Don't tell the Rio Hondo Prep Kares they can't compete with someone. For countless generations, Rio has outperformed their expectations. The Kares showed on Friday night that they back down to absolutely nobody as they defeated Warren High School 43-16 in the CIF-SS D7 Final to capture the school's 16th Southern Section Championship. This game will be immortalized as a night where RHP stood up to...

Rio Hondo Prep has slayed countless Goliaths over their 57 year history on the gridiron. The Warren Bears from Downey are a giant among giants and the biggest challenge RHP has ever faced. The 3,635-120 enrollment discrepancy is the elephant in the room, but the Kares enter the 2024 CIF-SS Division 7 Finals with the brotherhood, toughness, and discipline that is unmatched throughout Southern Calif...

The Rio Hondo Prep Kares are headed back to the CIF Southern Section Finals. Rio defeated the West Torrance Warriors 42-21 in front of a capacity crowd at Kare Park in Irwindale after six consecutive Playoff Games on the road dating back to last season. The Kares played with a violent passion and deadly execution that can only be described as "Rio Hondo Football." Head Coach Mark Carson discusses...

Rio Hondo Prep (10-1) will host West Torrance (10-2) in the CIF-SS Division 7 Semifinals after six consecutive postseason games on the road over the past two years. This is arguably the biggest home playoff game in school history and the most significant moment at Kare Park since Rio began playing their home contests there in Irwindale. Our special guest is Chris Fore who is the Principal at Mojav...

For the second consecutive week, Rio Hondo Prep traveled to Riverside and took down the home team in the CIF-SS Playoffs. The Kares played their sixth consecutive postseason game on the road and defeated Martin Luther King HS 28-7 to advance to Division 7 Semifinals which will now be arguably the biggest home playoff game in school history. The Never Say Die Rio Hondo defense was phenomenal all ni...

Rio Hondo Prep (9-1) will travel back to Riverside in consecutive weeks to take on King High School (8-3) for the 2nd Round of the CIF-SS Division 7 Playoffs. Both the Kares and the Wolves are coming off of 1st Round upset wins on the road in which both defenses not only shutout their opponents but also caused a plethora of turnovers. Rio Hondo is on the road for their 6th straight Postseason game...

Rio Hondo Prep completely dominated Ramona High School in Riverside for a decisive victory in the 1st Round of the Division 7 CIF-SS Playoffs. The Kares played extremely physical on defense and executed their offense to near perfection as they frustrated the previously unbeaten defending State Champion Rams. Ramona suited up more players than Rio has boys in the entire high school and yet the Kare...

Rio Hondo Prep (8-1) will travel to Riverside for the 1st Round of the CIF-SS Division 7 Playoffs to take on the Ramona Rams (10-0). The game features two Southern Section Champions from last season in Division 9 and 11 respectively. The Rams also won a State Title and are a very balanced football team. Rio is an underdog on the road once again and wouldn't have it any other way. Our alumni guest...

It is Selection Sunday for the CIF Southern Section Football Playoffs! We react in real time as the brackets are released with Head Coach Mark Carson. The Kares will travel to Riverside for a 1st Round matchup with 10-0 Ramona High School. The Rams not only won a Division 11 Southern Section title last season but were also crowned State Champions as well. Rio Hondo has a tremendous challenge in fr...

The regular season is in the books as Rio Hondo Prep defeated the Brentwood Eagles 42-22 to capture the Gold Coast League Championship and an automatic bid to the Southern Section Playoffs. Rio will enjoy a week off as they patiently wait to see what division they will be placed in on Selection Sunday next weekend. Head Coach Mark Carson recaps the big game from Friday as well as the season as a w...

It has been 1,106 days since Rio Hondo Prep has defeated the Brentwood Eagles. The past 2 seasons have been a humbling experience for the Kares when they have lined up against their league rivals from West Los Angeles. In the last game of the regular season, RHP faces BHS one more time with the Gold Coast League Championship on the line as well as the only automatic bid to the CIF-SS Playoffs. For...

Homecoming is always a special night at Rio Hondo Prep and this year was no different. The Kares were victorious over the Viewpoint Patriots 54-19 as Kare Park in Irwindale was filled to capacity with fans and alumni. The Halftime Show included an enthusiastic performance by the girls of Kare Youth League as well as a humorous Snow White themed skit by recent graduates to reveal the Homecoming Cou...

Rio Hondo Prep (6-1) welcomes the Viewpoint Patriots (5-2) into Kare Park for Homecoming and the Gold Coast League opener after both teams had a Bye last week. With only 1 automatic qualifier from the 3 team league, it is fair to say that the Playoffs unofficially begin right now. Ryan Wiley is a rather distinguished RHP alumnus who not only won two football championships in 2011 and 2012 but was...

Rio Hondo Prep made the 360 mile trip to Northern California and came away with a 24-0 victory at The King's Academy up in the Bay Area. The Kares and the Knights played a very physical game after some pleasantries and fellowship the night before. The Rio defense played their best game of the season as they forced 3 turnovers and recorded 3 sacks in a shutout performance. Head Coach Mark Carson fi...

In a battle of Northern California vs Southern California, Rio Hondo Prep (5-1) will travel 360 miles up to Sunnyvale to take on the King's Academy Knights (1-3) in a game that will be the furthest RHP has traveled in their history. The Kares look to rebound immediately following their loss to Torrance last week and are poised to get back on track. Many players, coaches, and families will also be...

Rio Hondo Prep fell to 5-1 on the 2024 Season with a 28-21 loss to the Torrance Tartars at Louis Zamperini Stadium down in the South Bay. The game featured two defending champions who did everything they could to not give up their Title Belt. Rio battled mightily all the way to the end and appear to be ready for any fight that comes their way down the road. Coach Carson reacts to the first loss of...

Rio Hondo Prep takes their 5-0 record into Louis Zamperini Stadium on Friday night to face the 4-0 Torrance Tartars. The two schools are both defending CIF-SS Champions from Division 9 and 10 respectively. The matchup has the drama, buildup, and storylines of a massive Title Fight with the Unification of Championship Belts on the line. Rio legend Mike Whiteside joins the show to share some memorie...

Rio Hondo Prep improved to 5-0 with a 44-6 victory over the Bellflower Buccaneers. On Senior Night, the Kares honored their 4th year players with starting spots and a ceremony before kickoff. Rio scored in all 3 phases of the game, and it was once again won with key contributions from the entire roster. Coach Carson talks about the near flawless performance and presenting a game ball to dedicated...

Rio Hondo Prep is 4-0 and firing on all cylinders. The offense has scored at will and the defense makes big plays when they matter most. The challenge this week is to avoid any kind of letdown against the 0-3 Bellflower Buccaneers by possibly looking ahead to future opponents. The regular season is half over; where did it go? Our guest today is 2001 Rio alum Jon Echevarria who was a shifty Tailbac...

Rio Hondo Prep played their first Friday night game of the season and came away with a 53-19 win on the road at Marquez High School in Huntington Park. The Kares improved to 4-0 and played a very physical brand of football against the host Gladiators. Head Coach Mark Carson discusses his team's victory and the many different contributions throughout the evening in South Central Los Angeles. Ju...

Rio Hondo Prep travels to Huntington Park for their first Friday game of the season as they face off against the Marquez Gladiators. The environment should be rather electric and a true tough test on the road for the Kares. Dean Sloan is our featured guest this week and shares his thoughts on how Rio Hondo Football sets itself apart in many ways. Mr Sloan is a successful businessman, former Army R...

Rio Hondo Prep dominated the visiting Maranatha Minutemen 56-14 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Kares were nearly flawless on both sides of the ball as they rushed for over 400 yards and stifled their opponent with intense physical play. Six different Rio players scored the team's eight touchdowns on the night. Head Coach Mark Carson reacts to the great RHP win and Senior RB/LB Caeden Hol...

Rio Hondo Prep (2-0) hosts Maranatha (2-0) at Kare Park this Saturday night in a highly anticipated matchup. The two schools have not played each other since 2008 and while Rio has won three of the five contests in 11 Man Football, the Minutemen have been victorious the past two times they met. Our special guest today is Maranatha Head Coach Rand Holdren. He discusses building his program from the...