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TONIGHT’S GAMES
San Marino 42, Monrovia Rosemead 20 — Benny Hung rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Joe Forgatch completed 12 of 19 passes for 188 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Titans in the dominating victory. Rosemead’s Matt Fregoso rushed for 190 yards on 26 carries and quarterback Matt Macias completed 12 of 22 passes with one interception and three touchdowns to lead the Panthers. Rosemead had no answer for Hung, who scored on runs of 17 and 13 yards. Forgatch connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Stevie Yortsos and a 53-yard dart to Ben Harwich. Forgatch also scored on runs of 1 and 10 yards. It looked like the game was going to be a slug fest, but San Marino put that theory to rest when it scored 21 unanswered points to end the first half. Hung was just tough as nails down the middle, smash-mouth football at its best. Yortsos is fun to watch. He returned an interception 32 yards from the end zone, tippy-toeing at the goal line and letting one then two defenders fly by to miss the tackle. Forgatch is much much improved from last year and provides a dual threat for the Titans. He’s tough and is not afraid to get the extra yards. San Marino went all out, going 3 for 3 on fourth-down conversions. This team will be dangerous and were definitely fun to watch from the Titans sidelines.
Monrovia 40, South El Monte 7 — You knew it would be Monrovia’s day when on its opening drive Dejawn Jones recovered Ellis McCarthy’s in the end zone for the opening score. Nick Bueno’s first run was for a touchdown and his last two throws also were for scores. No starters played in the second half, which had a running clock the rest of the way. See you all in Lancaster, err, Palmdale.
Burbank 21, Alhambra 14 — Tipping my hat here for Gil Ruedaflores who after 21 seasons steps down as the Moors coach. Alhambra had a 14-0 lead with two touchdown passes from quarterback Darrian Cazarin. But Alhambra’s offense was limited to 27 yards in the second half and Burbank’s 21 unanswered points sealed the deal.
Cerritos Valley Christian 45, La Caada 0 — The visiting Spartans (5-5) trailed 31-0 at the half in the first-round loss of the CIF-Southern Section Mid-Valley Division playoffs.
Valley Christian (8-3) is the Olympic League champion that knocked off Paraclete, the defending divisional champion, in the season finale. Cerritos Valley Christian will play the San Dimas-Workman winner in the quarterfinals. La Caada won a Rio Hondo League playoff against Temple City last week to earn a playoff berth as the league’s third-place team, and made a playoff appearance after a long absence.
Charter Oak 20, Muir 19 — Muir missed a two-point conversion in the final play of the game to let this one slip away. Trailing by seven late in the fourth quarter, Mustangs quarterback Jarron Williams connected with Ormoni Duncan for a dramatic 30-yard touchdown on fourth and 18 with four seconds remaining and cut Charter Oak’s lead to one. Perhaps pulling a play from Bill Belichick’s book, Muir coach Ken Howard opted to go for two points for the win, but Williams’ quarterback draw was stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Chargers standout linebacker Keith Smith.
West Covina 40, San Gabriel 7 — West Covina was led by sophomore Chris Soloman who rushed for a career-high 192 yards on just 15 carries.
Maranatha 59, Frazier 13 — The Minutemen’s Erik Johnson did much of the damage, accounting for 145 yards of total offense, 60 on the ground and 85 through the air in the first half. The second-quarter scoring barrage was a balanced attack. The Minutemen’s offense scored on touchdown runs of 1 and 4 yards, and quarterback Cody Keith threw two passes for touchdowns from 7 and 44 yards.
St. Francis 55, Ghar 34 — St. Francis scored 21 points in the fourth quarter with nine minutes left. Justin Posthumas rushed for 102 yards and passed for 145 yards with two touchdowns. Ghar’s Casey Nielsen passed for 405 yards in the losing effort.
Rio Hondo Prep 34, Desert Christian 0 — Rio Hondo Prep’s Charles Quintero was lights out for the Kares, returning a 109-yard interception for a touchdown and a 60-yard punt return for a score to lead the defending Northeast Division champions. Quarterback Chris Llamas ran for one touchdown and caught one, too. Yes, caught one, too. He caught 4-yard touchdown pass from J.T. Parker on the trick play in the second quarter.
Pasadena Poly 54, St. Genevieve 42 — Pasadena Poly quarterback Hunter Marryman connected on a 68-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Capehart with 22 seconds left to cap a dramatic 54-42 win over St. Genevieve in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Northeast Division playoffs Friday night at L.A. Poly. Pasadena Poly (7-4) will play the Linfield Christian-CSDR winner next week at South Pasadena High. The Panthers withstood the Valiants’ frantic effort in the waning minutes. St. Genevieve (9-2) had the ball at Pasadena Poly’s 3-yard line but fumbled at the 1. The ball rolled for five seconds before the Panthers’ Zach Murphy recovered with under a minute left in the game. Pasadena Poly’s Blake Edwards had 295 yards on 25 carries and five touchdowns, helping the Panthers take a 47-28 lead at the half. “It was a track meet,” Pasadena Poly coach Brenden McGrail said. “We got off to a good start offensively, but then we couldn’t stop them and it was back and forth. In the end we were hanging on and we were fortunate to move ahead.” Merryman completed 10 of 19 for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Crazy, indeed.
St. Joseph 55, La Salle 0 — St. Joseph took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and extended it to 48-0 at the half to overwhelm the visiting Lancers in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Northwest Division playoffs. The Lancers (5-6) trailed 48-0 at the half.
