El Camino Real Hammers Out 26-7 Victory Over Monroe

Pound, pound, pound away.

That’s what El Camino Real High did with its ground-oriented offense during a 26-7 victory over Monroe in a nonleague game at Canoga Park on Friday night.

The Conquistadores (2-0), led by sophomore tailback Chris Shinnick with 108 yards in 20 carries, rolled up 334 yards in offense, 251 of those being contributed by its foot soldiers.

Shinnick, who sat out the fourth period, scored twice, on carries of two and seven yards.

He had carried 16 times and accumulated 84 yards by halftime, but it was not easy.

“It was tough in the first half,” Shinnick said as he rubbed the top of his head after the game. “I was getting hit a lot harder than last week. (This was) a big team . . . a big team.

“They were good. I still don’t know how we got all of those points.”

When fullback Andy Hasson wasn’t leading the way with a block for Shinnick, he was picking up yardage himself. Hasson rushed for 74 yards in 12 carries and scored on a two-yard run late in the third quarter to break the game open, 26-0.

Monroe (0-1), which has not enjoyed much success in the past few years, showed promise despite a meager 129 yards of offense. Senior running back Sean Bell, who rushed for 90 yards in 19 carries, was in on half of the Vikings’ 38 offensive plays.

Bell looked brilliant on occasion, gaining at least 10 yards five times.

Monroe’s only score came midway through the fourth quarter. Bell’s one-yard touchdown run capped an 18-play, 85-yard drive that chewed up 8 minutes 46 seconds. Bell carried nine times and accounted for 43 yards of the drive.

The Conquistadores opened the scoring early in the second quarter on Shinnick’s two-yard run.

The Conquistadores next capitalized on a fumbled punt return by Monroe. Richard Gill fell on the ball at Monroe’s 32-yard line, setting up the Conquistadores’ second score.

Quarterback Evan Howland connected with Gill on a quick slant over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown to make it 13-0 with 3:29 remaining in the half.

Gill caught two of Howland’s three completed first-half passes for 57 yards.