La Canada Loses Grip to Monrovia

It was a case of too many turnovers and not enough offense for the La Canada High football team on Thursday night.

The Spartans committed five turnovers and gained only 136 yards in a 34-0 loss to Monrovia in a Rio Hondo League game.

“The difference was the fumbles,” said La Canada Coach Richard Wheeler, whose team fell to 4-3 and 0-2 in league play. “Every time we did something good, we kicked ourselves in the foot.”

Monrovia (6-0-1, 2-0), ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section Division IX, took advantage of La Canada’s mistakes.

After recovering a fumble by quarterback Mike Olson at the La Canada 32 late in the first quarter, the Wildcats scored four plays later on a 17-yard pass from Darryl Moore to Adam Summerell.

Opportunity knocked again for Monrovia late in the second quarter when lineman Jerry Hemingway blocked punter Glenn Falkenberg’s quick kick at his own seven and Paul Escarega recovered in the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 halftime lead.

The theme continued early in the fourth quarter when Olson made an errant pitch and Monrovia’s Jamal Bourne scooped it up and ran 52 yards for a touchdown to make the score 21-0.

The mistakes overshadowed the effort by the La Canada defense, which held the Wildcats to 206 yards.

The one player La Canada could not shut down was running back Akil Harris, who rushed for 176 yards in 20 carries and scored his team’s final two touchdowns on runs of 21 and four yards.