Huskies Make Mush of Monroe

After a sluggish first half, North Hollywood High took control of a sloppily played Pac-8 Conference game and downed Monroe, 30-6, on Friday night at Monroe.

The Huskies (3-2, 2-0 in conference) scored on their initial drive of the third quarter, capped by quarterback Danny Romero’s five-yard run that gave them a 14-6 lead.

The Huskies put the game away in the fourth quarter when the Vikings failed to convert a fourth and four from their 25. Viking running back Paul Jones came up a few yards short and the Huskies took over on downs.

“We made the adjustments on their offense,” North Hollywood Coach Gary Gray said. “We basically said to stay home and play disciplined on the quarterback, the pitch and the dive.”

On the first play after Jones was stopped, David Harlow ran 26 yards to score and give the Huskies a 22-6 lead.

After the ensuing kickoff, linebacker Devon Rose scooped up a fumble by quarterback Willie Alaimo and ran 42 yards to cap the scoring.

“It’s a great feeling, winning again,” said Rose, a transfer from Granada Hills. “This win gives us a boost of confidence going into the games against Canoga Park and Sylmar.”

In the heralded matchup of two of the Valley’s best backs, All-City running back Dante Clay of North Hollywood ran for 111 yards in 14 carries, equaling Vinny Walker of Monroe, who had 111 in 17 carries.

Walker injured his lower right leg late in the third quarter.

“Walker is OK,” interim Coach Don Senegal said. “He’ll be ready to go next week. We just decided to shut him down after the game was pretty much decided.”

Fumbles, miscues and downright sloppy play were the lowlights of the first half as each team accounted for three turnovers.

After an interception of Alaimo’s first pass at midfield, North Hollywood scored on a 15-yard run by Rose, who rushed for 64 yards in six carries at fullback. Clay’s two-point conversion run gave the Huskies a 8-0 lead.

“Rose had to step it up because they were keying on me and coach mentioned it to him at halftime,” Clay said. “This is a big win for us on the road being that they were 4-0.”

Monroe (4-1, 1-1) responded with a scoring drive of its own. Walker set the pace on the drive, rushing for 48 yards in six carries to set up George Garcia’s one-yard touchdown run.

Walker was cut down short of the goal line, however, on a two-point conversion run, allowing North Hollywood to maintain its 8-6 lead.

The Vikings squandered a scoring opportunity late in the second quarter. On second and goal at the Husky five-yard line with less than a minute remaining, Alaimo fumbled as he was hit trying to scramble out of the pocket and North Hollywood recovered.