Monroe, Scott Wear Down Reseda, 28-10

The Reseda Regents pride themselves on being a second-half football team, but on Friday night it was the Monroe Vikings who dominated after intermission in a Mid-Valley League showdown at Reseda.

With tailback Curtis Scott rushing for a career-high 231 yards in 37 carries and 4 touchdowns, Monroe beat Reseda, 28-10, to clinch at least a tie for the league title.

Scott, who entered the game as the Valley area’s leading rusher with 1,117 yards in 184 carries, scored on runs of 28, 3, 8 and 3 yards. He also had a 2-point conversion run.

“I never imagined myself doing this well against Reseda,” Scott said after gaining 139 yards in 21 carries in the second half. “But my line just did a great job of opening up holes.”

Scott’s third score and subsequent 2-point conversion gave Monroe (7-1, 6-0 in league play) a 21-10 lead with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“I told the guys we could win the game if we scored on that drive,” Scott said. “And that’s what we did.”

Scott carried on every play in the 5-play, 34-yard drive, which was set up by Charles Patrick’s interception of a Coley Kyman pass.

Scott & Co. wrapped up the game on the following possession, marching 60 yards in 10 plays. Scott gained 35 yards in 9 carries during the drive.

“We knew we could run off tackle,” Monroe Coach Frank D’Alessandro said. “We saw on film that was their weakness and we were able to expose it.”

After trailing, 13-0, early in the game, Reseda narrowed the deficit to 13-10 with 1:28 left in the first half when Henry Ray ran 16 yards for a touchdown.

The opportunistic Monroe offense wasted little time scoring, taking a 6-0 lead on Scott’s 28-yard run with 11:16 left in the first quarter. Josh Lawrence’s extra point gave the Vikings a 7-0 lead with the game less than a minute old.

The score was set up by Richard Herman’s recovery of a fumble by William Gaines on the opening kickoff.

The Vikings drove 29 yards in 8 plays to take a 13-0 lead with 11:23 left in the second quarter after an 11-yard punt return by Terry London.