Friday Night Aftermath: Monrovia is headed back to the semifinals, outmuscles Paraclete, 14-3; Palmdale knocks out St. Francis in 2OT; San Marino, Maranatha stunned; Linfield Christian too much for Pasadena Poly, 49-0.

CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY OF FRIDAY’S MONROVIA-PARACLETE GAME, SHOT BY STAR-NEWS ACE PHOTOGRAPHER KEITH BIRMINGHAM

PALMDALE — Monrovia’s (12-0) season will be defined by what will simply be known as “The Drive.” They showed heart, battled through adversity and didn’t let a virtual wall deter them. Simply put, the Wildcats proved why they are favored to win the Mid Valley Division crown. Facing a second-and-6 at the Monrovia 24, sophomore standout De’Shaw Ramirez took off for a 33-yard gain, only to have it negated on a holding penalty. On third-and-20, Wildcats quarterback Nick Bueno connected on a 27-yard pass to a leaping Ellis McCarthy (below) for the first down. Bueno then connected on a 16-yard pass to Luke Williams, and a face mask on Paraclete (7-5) helped Monrovia move the ball all the way up to the Spirits 25 yard line. Bueno was nearly intercepted in the end zone on the next play, and on fourth-and-1 at the Paraclete 16, Bueno took off on a sneak and got the first down by a few millimeters. The roller coaster drive was capped by a 15-yard touchdown run by Ramirez to give Monrovia a 7-3 lead with 48.6 seconds left in the second quarter. That pretty much summed up Monrovia’s night. Paraclete (7-5) was limited to a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter to take a 3-0 lead, but after that it was all Monrovia, particularly its defense which came up with two interceptions, one sack and constant pressure that deflated any momentum by the Paraclete quarterback in the second half.

I’m sitting in my car and parked at a gas station with my laptop at hand. All the scores are updated below, but I don’t have much details on the game since I’m a world away in (ahem) beautiful Palmdale. Off hand, I’m stunned by Maranatha’s loss to Ontario Christian. I guess Maranatha coach Joel Murphy was right, Ontario Christian’s record was deceiving, and they proved it. San Marino at one point lead, 24-20, I believe but couldn’t hold on. I’m shocked by St. Francis’ double overtime loss. I thought the Golden Knights had this one. They were having such a good run and it’s tough to see them go out like this. Pasadena Poly should take solace in that it reached the quarterfinals of the Northeast Division. Linfield Christian was a tough draw. I’ll be at the Rio Hondo Prep game Saturday night. This is it for now. I’m headed home and will try to update this thread later. Someone asked why I didn’t post scoring updates on Monrovia. I was roaming the sidelines the entire game and sent text updates to Robledo, hence the updates on his blog. Oh, and for those who made the trip to Palmdale, it was a chilly 48 degrees, but that was nothing compared to last year’s finals. Still, I can barely feel my thumbs.

TONIGHT’S RESULTS

Monrovia 14, Paraclete 3
Linfield Christian 49, Pasadena Poly 0
Palmdale 49, St. Francis 42, 2OT
Azusa 27, San Marino 24
Ontario Christian 28, Maranatha 24

SATURDAY’S GAME
Rio Hondo Prep vs. Saddleback Valley Christian at St. Margaret’s High, 7 p.m. — Rio Hondo Prep

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