Rio Hondo Prep football coach Mark Carson has his tiny school of 150 students playing for a Division 5 football title. (Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)Eric SondheimerWed, November 26, 2025 at 12:15 PM UTC·2 min readRio Hondo Prep in Arcadia is like "The Little Engine That Could." The Kares are 13-0 and set to play for a 17th Southern Section football title on Saturday night despite having a student body of only 150, of which 82 are boys. Their opponent in the Division 5 final is host Redondo Union, which has a student body of nearly 3,000.
Coach Mark Carson said he embraces the challenge of his team moving up, from winning Division 9 two years ago to winning Division 7 last season after years of competing in Division XIII under old playoff systems based on size, geography and past performance. Now a computer algorithm decides divisional placement. The school has grades seven through 12, so Carson starts training players in middle school with the same offense through high school.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"The key is we have a great middle school tackle football program," he said.
Every boy in the school knows they're going to play football or work in the program as a manager. Many are multiple-sport athletes. The chemistry and knowledge they build together is apparent on the football field.
"We don't really pay attention to numbers on the other team," Carson said.
Quarterback Yanick Diaz said he has been with some of his teammates since kindergarten. They trust each other.
"I've known some of these guys for 15, 16 years," Diaz said. "It's still 11 versus 11. I'll take my 11 over yours."
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