CITY SECTION ROUNDUP - Monroe Shocks Sylmar, 18-17, in Final Minute

A two-point conversion pass from Monroe High quarterback Jesse Wallace to Gerrit Maxwell with 33 seconds left Friday lifted the Vikings to an 18-17 upset of previously unbeaten Sylmar in a Valley Pac-8 Conference game at Monroe.

The conversion came after a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 1 minute, 17 seconds, capped by Wallace’s one-yard sneak to give the Vikings (1-3, 1-1 in league play) their first.

Starting at the Monroe 25, Wallace fired two passes to Maxwell covering 13 and 51 yards. Then after a 10-yard pass to Gene Hodge that put the ball at the one-yard line, Wallace scored on the sneak.

After the Monroe score, Sylmar (3-1, 1-1) had a final opportunity when Jerome Casey took the kickoff 37 yards to the Monroe 40-yard line, then caught a 31-yard pass from quarterback Daniel Terry, putting the ball on the nine-yard line.

A 23-yard field-goal attempt by Oscar Hernandez went awry after a bad snap forced holder Daniel Moreno to try a desperation pass.

Sylmar had taken a 17-10 lead with 1:51 left when Joe Vaughn stepped in front of a Wallace pass at the five-yard line and took the interception into the end zone.

Casey finished with 203 yards in 32 carries. Wallace finished with 242 yards passing, completing 11 of 28.

Monroe’s Rachel Gagliano kicked a PAT after Monroe’s touchdown in the third quarter to become the first girl in City Section history to score a point in a varsity game.