Monrovia topples Spartans, 47-2
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE - There’s a reason why a high school football team might have a 17-game league winning streak.
And there’s a reason why that football team has won the last four league titles.
That reason being playmakers on both sides of the ball.
Monrovia proved too much to handle for the La Canada High School football team, which fell at home 47-2 to open Rio Hondo League play.
The Wildcats (3-3, 1-0), winners of four consecutive Rio Hondo titles, extended their league winning streak to 18 consecutive contests.
“What didn’t?” said La Canada (1-5, 0-1) Coach Dan Yoder when asked what went wrong. “We threw everything we had at them and it didn’t go our way. Every now and then we’d get a little something working and they’d respond and shut it down.”
Offensively, Monrovia running back Marquise Bias tallied 154 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. Quarterback Blake Heyworth was 14-for-22 passing for 260 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran in a score.
Kyle Herron had 38 yards on 11 carries for the Spartans.
“Primarily, I just think we didn’t have the fight that we typically have,” said Herron, a senior fullback. “Maybe because it’s Thursday night, maybe because we’re tired from the week, whatever it may be. Monrovia has this reputation of being this big, strong, very talented team, and to be frank, I think we were a little scared.”
The game was never really in doubt. Monrovia took its opening drive 80 yards, culminating on a Heyworth one-yard sneak and a 6-0 lead. Heyworth added two touchdown passes in the second quarter, including a 66-yarder to De’Shawn Ramirez. Bias had his first touchdown late in the second quarter for a 27-0 half-time advantage.
Monrovia tallied eight first downs in the first quarter. La Canada had five for the game.
“I felt like we could have been a little more aggressive on both sides of the ball,” Yoder said. “I don’t take anything away from their playmakers. They have guys that just make you miss and make you look foolish.”
La Canada’s only points came in the third quarter. Attempting a punt deep in its own territory, the Monrovia snap went over its punter’s head and into the back of the end zone for a Spartan safety.
That’s about as good as it got for La Canada.
“Half our season we’ve come out with great intensity, and half our season we’ve come out with very little intensity,” Herron said. “We need to keep a consistent flow of energy throughout the game and focus. When you break it down, we can’t be fearful of the team we face.”