PMA Sports Roundup: Basketball preview; CIF football quarterfinal results
St. Pius X - St. Matthias Academy head coach Donte Archie with players, Dominic Gallardo, left, Darrellreon Morris, left center, and Dayvion Gates, right, during the Del Rey League’s varsity basketball media day. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
DOWNEY – It’s exciting times around the St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy (PMA) campus these days.
On Wednesday (Nov. 12), the school hosted a Del Rey League Basketball media day with all five schools in attendance, which included coaches and player representatives. Two days later, the Warriors football team hosted Upland in a CIF-SS D6 quarterfinal game and had a miraculous last second comeback win to advance.to the semifinals Friday (Nov. 21).
PMA Basketball Media Day – 2025
PMA athletic director James Covell put together a very successful Del Rey League media day with a Q and A with the five teams – St. Anthony, St. Bernard, St. Monica, St. Paul and St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy.
“All of these coaches have won somewhere,” St. Monica coach Alan Mitchell said.
Missing this season is Serra of Gardena and Bishop Montgomery, which moved on to the Camino Real League.
Each coach introduced their respective players and talked of their teams for the upcoming season. Also, a topic of discussion was the absence of the two schools.
"Media day is a great way to showcase the tremendous student-athletes and coaches we have in the Del Rey league,” Covell said. “We see it from top to bottom as one of the premier leagues in Southern California."
The defending champion from last season was St. Anthony, which finished at 10-2, followed by PMA (8-4), St. Paul (8-4), St. Bernard (7-5) and St. Monica.
Bishop Montgomery and Serra finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
All four playoff teams were in the CIF Division One playoffs last year.
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy
Head coach – Donte Archie
Asst. coaches – Stephan Johnson, Jamal Briscoe, Jonathan Chapple
2024-25 record – 18-11, 8-4 (2nd)
2025 CIF Playoffs – DI, L 2nd Rd
“From seven to five teams, it’s going to be a tough league to play in,” Archie said. “Every game is going to be good. Each game you have to be ready to play.
“What I tried to do in the early days of our practices is to push the kids to get past their limit.”
In an unusual move on the team, freshman Darrellreon Morris, better known as Reece, was named captain in a vote by the players.
“It’s tough to get captains these days, it’s just not that era,” Archie said. “He’s a rare one.”
Archie talked of his three players that represented the team at the media day, saying “They are a good three (players),” he said. “They do everything right – Dayvion (Gates), Dominic (Gallardo) and Reece (Darrellreon Morris) – they do a great job exemplifying what we want the program to look like and how we want them to go about their everyday business.”
Archie, who won his first CIF title for PMA in 2020, said of his expectations for this season said, “I’m looking forward to it being a great year,” he added. “Its kind of a different type of team than we usually have. This group is good and they’re coming together, and the practices are good. At the end, you just want to be good.”
A few of his former players have moved on, which include Tyrone Riley (University of San Francisco), Douglas Langford (San Jose State), Saul Anaya (Santa Barbara City College), Tylon Williams (Riverside City College) and Dayvion Gates (Mt. SAC).
“Tyrone is a guy that you can’t replace, basketball-wise on and off the court, just everything he was a great person,” Archie said. “From the janitor to a coach to a teacher, to the administration, he was just a wonderful student-athlete.”
Asked who could become the leader of the team as the season goes on, Archie said, “One day it could be Kayleb (Kearse), one day it could be Reece, one day it could be Dominic, Dayvion, Pharell (Ukwu), Christian (Clayman), it could be anybody.”
With the media day Archie was very appreciative for the effort of Covell.
“I think it’s a great event,” he said. “I think every high school league should do it because we’re supposed to be getting student-athletes ready for the next level.”
The Warriors opened the preseason (Tuesday Nov. 18) with an easy 70-45 victory over Jordan. They will travel to Corona Centennial (Friday Nov. 21).
What they said:
Dayvion Gates – “My brother (Dayvon Gates) really helped me when we first came here and showed me how to work hard.”
On Reece: “He’s very vocal and vocal to all of us. When he first came in, I already knew he was a hard worker.
“My brother really motivated me, by just seeing him going from a D3 (University of Redlands) to a JUCO (Mt. SAC) and him just wanting to work harder. Being around him that just motivated me to work harder.”
Darrellreon ‘Reece’ Morris – “My dad (Darrell) and I are always in the gym. Since I was a little kid, we’ve always been going to tournaments and shooting around. I just got to love the game.
“I think I’m a leader because I talk the most and I help my team. Even though they’re older than me I can still tell them ways to get better, even though I’m just coming in as a freshman.
“I think us winning would really make Donte happy. I think he’s trying to get us to a higher level.”
Dominic Gallardo – “I transferred in last year from Bosco Tech and I got a connection with the seniors last year as a junior.
I really got a lot stronger over the summer, and I’ve been working on my ball handling, instead of being a catch and shoot guy.
I expect us to just go out and just play basketball, have fun with the team. It’s a really fun team to be with.”
Roster:
Seniors – Zaire Bea-mone, Christian Clayman, Kayleb Kearse, Dominic Gallardo, Dayvion Gates
Junior – Anthony Dominguez
Sophomores – Leonardo Rojas, Fox Narvaez, Noah Reed Muhammad
Freshman – Darrellreon (Reece) Morris
St. Anthony
Head coach – Alan Mitchell
2024-25 record – 18-7, 10-2 (1st)
2025 CIF Playoffs – DI, L 1st Rd
2024-25 results vs. PMA – Lost 88-85, W 58-57.
The Saints were senior heavy last season and have three transfers that came from public schools.
“It’s new roads for all of the players and a new system,” Mitchell said. “We’ve learned from the last couple years to play a more heavy Fall schedule because of the first tournament last year when we played five games in six days to start the season. The ‘playoffs’ start January 2.”
All three of the transfers are juniors for St. Anthony.
“It’s been a challenge for us,” said Tylan Kinsey, one of the three transfers. Kinsey transferred from Leuzinger.
Roster: Two seniors, five juniors, four sophomores, two freshmen
St. Paul
Head coach – Patrick Roy
2024-25 record – 19-11, 8-4 (3rd)
2025 CIF Playoffs – DI, L 2nd Rd
2024-25 results vs. PMA – Lost 68-62, Won 61-45
The Swordsmen finished tied with PMA for second place last season and split the two games.
“We have a young group this year,” assistant coach William Bryson said. “The players know it’s going to be a dog fight every night.
“The league is the toughest in So Cal. League prepares us for the playoffs. The players are good listeners.”
St. Bernard
Head coach – Bernard McCrumby, 2nd Year
2024-25 record – 18-11, 7-5 (4th place)
2025 CIF Playoffs – DI, L 1st Rd
2024-25 record vs. PMA – W 60-54, L 67-60
“We’re excited about what we’re building here at St. Bernards,” McCrumby said. “We’ll be better later. We’re going to become the jewel of the South Bay. (The transfers) have seen our culture here at St. Bernards.”
Roster: Five seniors, six juniors, one freshman (4 returners, 7 transfers).
St. Monica
Head coach - Allen Caveness
2024-25 record – 18-10, 5-7 (5th place)
No playoffs
2024-25 results vs. PMA – L 80-55, W 55-50
“The league will be much more balanced now playing only two games a week, as opposed to three,” said Caveness, of the five-team league. “The fact that it’s a five-team league now is more conventional.”
Roster: Two seniors, three juniors, four sophomores, three freshmen
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy returning standouts, from left, Marcus Ball, Johnny McNeal, Malik Brooks, Jassi Williams, DeMari Nunley, Kenny Peevy and Gregory Taylor, Jaylen Stokes before practice on Monday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
PMA football defeats Upland, 31-28
CIF Quarterfinals
Trailing 28-13 with just 2:16 left in their season, the Warriors completed a last second comeback scoring two touchdowns to defeat Upland and move on to the division semifinals.
PMA (6-6) will travel to Roosevelt (7-5), a 14-13 winner over Burbank, for an opportunity to return to the championship game for the second year in a row with a win.
PMA defeated Serrano, 38-19, a year ago to win the CIF-SS D8 title and advanced to the CIF So Cal Regional final.
In the quarterfinal win over Upland, the Warriors trailed 14-0 in the first quarter but got on the board early in the second quarter with a 70-yard pass from senior quarterback Jassi Williams to senior wide receiver Demari Nunley, to trail, 14-7.
Prior to halftime, Upland picked off Williams for a pick six to lead, 21-7 at the break.
PMA junior running back A.J. Monroe ran in a 25-yard score, to trail, 21-13, in the third quarter, but the Highlanders answered with a TD to extend their lead to 28-13 heading into the fourth quarter.
Then the miraculous comeback started for the Warriors late in the fourth quarter.
Williams scored from two yards out to trail Upland, 28-19.
After the kickoff, the Warriors decided not to go for an onside kick when it was noticed by the PMA coaching staff that a different returner was back for the Highlanders.
After the kickoff, the ball was fumbled by Upland and recovered by senior strong safety Jordan Stacy, after it was knocked out by senior defensive end Charles Whetstone.
On the ensuing Warriors possession, Williams’ pass was intercepted, but a “roughing the passer’ penalty was called against Upland to nullify the Int.
With the ball on the Upland 8-yard line, junior running back Geremya Hood ran for two yards and after a couple of quarterback sneaks, Williams finally ran the ball over the goal line for the go-ahead score with 16 seconds left, to lead, 31-28.
Time expired and the Warriors were headed to the semifinals.
“It was a great comeback,” PMA coach Devah Thomas said. “The kids were resilient, and God blessed us in the end.”
As for Williams, Thomas said. “The kid has a lot of grit and a lot of fight. It paid off for us.”