Special teams doom La Cañada in Rio Hondo League opener
MONROVIA — During the postgame huddle on the sideline, La Cañada High quarterback Tyler Rubendall put his head into his left hand.
The senior had just tried to rally the Spartans, only to see his desperation pass attempt intercepted at the Monrovia 20-yard line.
But it was likely special teams in which the game was ultimately decided.
La Cañada had several breakdowns on special teams that led to a 13-8 loss against Monrovia, which scored a touchdown on a kickoff return, on the road in a Rio Hondo League opener for both teams Friday.
“It’s a hard game and a bruising game,” said Rubendall, who rushed for 105 yards in 31 carries. “We played hard and we tried to come back, but it just wasn’t enough.
“It’s frustrating. I made a couple of mistakes that cost us.”
La Cañada (3-3) lost to Monrovia (2-4) for the 11th straight season. Yet, the Spartans had several chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
Rubendall, who completed four of 10 passes for eight yards, and La Cañada drove to the Monrovia 42-yard line with 1.4 seconds left. Rubendall then tossed a pass that was picked off by Monrovia’s Javen Walker on the final play.
Earlier in the quarter, the Spartans had a fourth and goal on the seven-yard line. Rubendall’s pass to Theo Chamberlain in the back of the end zone was incomplete with 8:34 remaining.
Special teams came into play for the Spartans in the second quarter. La Cañada attempted a 35-yard field goal attempt, but a botched snap snuffed out the scoring opportunity with 9:38 left.
The Spartans did get a positive play on special teams about two minutes later. Brandon Sharman returned a punt 57 yards down the left side for a touchdown to give his team a 6-0 lead. Rubendall then ran in the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.
Things quickly turned sour for La Cañada. Michael Washington of Monrovia returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards to bring the Wildcats to within 8-7.
Monrovia, which won three consecutive CIF Championships between 2010-12, saw Washington intercept a Rubendall pass at the La Cañada 32-yard line midway through the third quarter. The Wildcats capitalized on the turnover when quarterback Richie Schroeder scored on a one-yard run to make it 13-8 with 5:33 remaining in the quarter. The pass attempt on the two-point conversion failed.
“We had a couple of letdowns and we had a couple of holding penalties along the way hurt our team,” Spartans Coach Ryan Zerbel said. “These are things that we are going to need to clean up moving forward and it can be done.
“We really have to find a way to get better in all three phases. Until we do that playing against a good team, then it’s going to be tough. We had some chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter.”
The Spartans received 78 yards rushing in nine carries from Sharman. La Cañada finished with 220 yards of offense.
La Cañada will meet visiting South Pasadena in a league contest at 7 p.m. Friday.
