Friday Night Aftermath: Monrovia offense starts slow, ends big in 40-0 win; Arcadia improves to 4-1, Muir adds a win, too; St. Francis comes up at homecoming, 40-10.

Temple City-Monrovia Video Highlights

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Friday’s Results

Monrovia 40, Temple City 0 — Give credit to the Temple City defense in the first half. The Rams held Monrovia to 14 points in the first half and scoreless in the first quarter. Temple City intercepted a pass on Monrovia’s first red zone trip. In fact, Monrovia’s first three possessions resulted in an interception, a missed 33-yard field goal attempt and a fumble at the Temple City 9. It wasn’t until Nick Bueno returned a 35-yard punt return for a touchdown to get things going in the second quarter. Bueno rushed for 163 yards and one touchdown on nine carries. He passed for 222 yards on 15-of-24 passing and three touchdowns to lead the Wildcats. Jay Henderson recorded an interception. He easily could have had three interceptions. Luke Williams, Anthony Craft and Brandon Wingenbach each caught a touchdown pass. George Frazier capped the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Burbank 45, Pasadena 26 — There were seven different leads in the first half before Burbank pulled away in the second half. Burbank’s Ulisies Ochoa shouldered offensive responsibility in absence of Quortney Brazier, who is serving a one-game suspension stemming from a scuffle in Burbank’s 48-20 loss to Arcadia last week. Ochoa had 211 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. Pasadena’s Brandon Cox completed 16 of 23 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns. Pasadena trailed 24-20 to start the second half, got all the way to the Burbank 1 and Burbank stopped them on fourth and 1 at the 1 before Burbank initiated an impressive 11-play, 98-yard drive that was capped by a touchdown. The game was never in doubt after that.

St. Francis 40, St. Paul 10 — St. Francis scored 30 points in the third quarter to break the game open. In that quarter, the Golden Knights defense had two interceptions and a safety. Luke Anderson had an interception, a sack and also scored on a 6-yard run for St. Francis. Brett Nelson completed 15 of 28 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Ian Hamilton had a 26-yard pass off a double-reverse and a 69-yard reception. St. Francis improved to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in Mission League to keep its playoff hopes alive. St. Francis now has played its toughest part of league.

Arcadia 49, Hoover 6 — The Apaches’ special teams was, well, special. They returned two punts and one kickoff for touchdowns to lead the way. Maldonado returned both punts on 66 and 68 yards. Everett Frazier also got in on the fun, this time returning a kickoff for 88 yards. Arcadia improved to 4-1 in the Pacific League.

Muir 31, Glendale 6 — Tairen Owens was an offensive machine for the Mustangs. Owens rushed for 157 yards and three touchdown on 12 carries to lead Muir, who improved to 3-2 in the Pacific League.

La Canada 42, Blair 0 — The Spartans’ Scott Gray rushed for 93 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground. He threw four passes only, completed three of them, all three to Jay Kolina, including one for a touchdown. Not all turned out good for the Spartans. La Canada’s Jordan Johannes suffered right leg injury on a fumble recovery in the end zone by John Moon.

South Pasadena 42, San Marino 20 — San Marino struggled for consistency on offense. The Titans had 153 yards of total offense. South Pasadena’s Conor Bednarski completed 10 of 16 passes for 152 yards and four touchdowns, all thrown to Matt Nelson, who’s longest touchdown reception was for 39 yards. Tigers running back Patrick Martin carried the ball 29 times for 203 and two touchdowns.

Montebello 17, Alhambra 7 — Fernando Hoffens completed 21 of 44 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown to lead the visiting Oilers. Alhambra’s Joshua Mendoza completed 9 of 25 for 136 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions in the losing effort. Alhambra generated 209 yards of total offense, which included only 73 yards on the ground.

OTHER SCORES
Rosemead 38, Mountain View 12
Bell Gardens 37, San Gabriel 35
Arroyo 49, Gabrielino 7
Schurr 42, Keppel 0
Cantwell-Sacred Heart 28, Bosco Tech 0
Workman 41, Duarte 7
Mary Star 35, La Salle 14
Pasadena Poly 42, Flintridge Prep 7

Saturday’s games
Marshall at Campbell Hall, 1 p.m. — Melendez (Campbell Hall)
Rio Hondo Prep at Chadwick, 2 p.m. — Melendez (Rio Hondo Prep)
Maranatha vs. Village Christian at Glendale, 7 p.m. — Melendez (Maranatha)

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Melendez: Crowley a constant in this Valley rivalry; Arcadia’s Lagace is no villain; Long night at Maranatha.


Above: Paul Crowley attends last year’s game with his son, Jon. (Photo courtesy of Jon Crowley)

MIGUEL MELENDEZ COLUMN

TWO years ago I had the privilege to spend an evening talking football with Paul Crowley, 82, and his son Jon.

It was an enlightening experience for this sportswriter to listen to the history of San Gabriel Valley football, particularly the brewing rivalry between South Pasadena and San Marino high schools.

The teams will meet at 7 tonight at San Marino for the 56th time as they battle for the coveted Crowley Cup. San Marino (2-5, 0-2) has won the last two meetings convincingly, but South Pasadena (4-3, 1-1) still leads the series, 27-25-4.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the rivalry itself is the fact Crowley never has missed a game.

Jon is a football official who spends Friday nights on the gridiron, too. But tonight you’ll find him at San Marino, wheeling a living legend onto the field. Paul has attended every San Marino-South Pasadena football game dating back to 1955 when the teams first met. Before that, the biggest rivalry used to be South Pasadena-Alhambra. Paul called it the “biggest rivalry in the history between the 1920s and 1930s.”

Paul’s health has been a concern as of late. He was in a fragile state when I met him a few years ago and his hearing was suspect. But the way he went about living, his personality and charming sarcasm are a page we can borrow from his book.

Then there’s his love for football. His memory was as sharp as when he attended the 21st meeting in 1974, a game that was televised on NBC. It also was the first Saturday afternoon game in San Marino history.
So what are the chances Paul will make an appearance tonight?

“His orders are still to wheel him out to the game,” Jon said, “even if in an iron lung.”

Paul in 1990 created the perpetual plaque, and every year he personally has picked up the plaque, taken it to the trophy company to have the latest winner inscribed and returned it to the winning school.

Two years ago, the perpetual plaque deservedly was renamed the “Crowley Cup.”

The honor was long overdue.

Lagace’s no villain

Arcadia’s Taylor Lagace is not the out-of-control, punching machine Burbank head coach Hector Valencia made him out to be in a Los Angeles Daily News article last weekend, and it was unfortunate to see Lagace’s name dragged through the mud like that.

Lagace and Burbank’s Quortney Brazier were involved in a scuffle in the Apaches’ 48-20 victory. Both players were ejected and will sit out tonight’s game.

Valencia told the Daily News that Lagace punched Brazier in the face and Brazier suffered a black eye. There was no mention of Arcadia’s side of the story.

Arcadia coach Jon Dimalante refuted the report and said Lagace never threw punches, which would make sense given Brazier was wearing a helmet.

Lagace’s a competitor. If he’s guilty of anything it’s that he’s a fierce competitor. That he’s a talented wideout makes him an easy target for defenders to instigate him.

At the very least Lagace, who will spend the next two days at a church retreat, should have been given a fair chance to defend himself.

That never happened in last weekend’s article.

A long night

What a night if you happened to be at Maranatha last week. The game lasted nearly five hours and needed five overtime periods before Cerritos Valley Christian prevailed, 70-64, in an epic showdown that will be remembered for years to come.

It undoubtedly was the longest, most thrilling game I have ever been a part of in my decade-long career as a sportswriter. Believe us when we say we tried hard to get the story in the next day’s paper, but that just wasn’t going to happen when the Star-News’ deadline is 11:10 p.m.

The game didn’t end until 11:30 p.m. We weren’t the only ones worried about deadline. There was talk about the lights possibly going out at 11, but fortunately the game continued.

It was nice to see a show of sportsmanship when the game ended, with both teams taking a knee at midfield and coaches from both staffs praising the teams.

There’s little doubt anyone on either side of the stands left the game early, and just glancing from the sidelines fans were on their feet.

Maranatha fans were just as gracious and, to an extent, appreciative of the warrior-like effort from the Minutemen who seemingly sweated every ounce and shed every tear because playoff hopes were on the line.

Here’s hoping Maranatha players are remembered for playing out an instant classic.

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Football: The Stang Fan tells us how he really feels ….

An essay, err, comment made by Stang Fan on an earlier post, and he’s pretty much nailed it.

This is EXACTLY why I don’t beat my chest any more. This is EXACTLY why I just limit my comments to post-game analysis of the team I follow. This is EXACTLY why I regret acting like an ass on here the first few years of the blog…because this is the EXACT reason why the WSGV is laughed at and mocked.

Look man, no one on this side of the WSGV is good. No one. And by good I mean a team that is respected inside of AND outside of our area. Hell, not one team on this side is even in Aram’s Top 12….of the SGV! Better days, we have certainly seen.

Does anyone on this side have one significant win? One? Just one?

No.

Has every team on this side lost to someone they could have, and maybe should have, beaten?

Yes.

Let’s look at the 5 most talked about teams:

Monrovia: No significant win (please don’t say South Hills) and Glendora and San Dimas aren’t what folks thought they were, and the Cats still lost to them.

St. Franics: Four straight losses, two to teams they “should’ve” beaten, and two to significant teams.

Arcadia: Lost to the two teams above as well as Burroughs and has no significant win (sorry, Burbank is not a significant win.)

Muir: Where do I begin? Yes, injuries are part of the game, but it’s still about wins and losses…and the Stangs have more losses than wins.

Maranatha: A little slack is cut for the Minutemen because they are a “smaller” school, but still….not one significant win and they lost to Big Bear.

So. Who is ranked ahead of whom? At this point, who cares? Does it even matter?

Maybe it’s just me….all gloom and doom right now. But frankly, I’m tired of the WSGV being stuck in this mire of mediocrity. I’ve been frustrated with Muir this year, but honestly I’m frustrated with the entire WSGV right about now. We’ve ALL got to right this ship…..SOON. And I’m pulling for ALL of us.

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Top 10 Rankings: Monrovia, St. Francis still No. 1, 2; Arcadia is now No. 3; Rio Hondo Prep jumps to No. 6.


Above: Rio Hondo Prep’s Charles Quintero had a monster of a performance last week, rushing for 209 yards and three touchdowns in the Kares’ 40-0 win over Flintridge Prep. Cool uniforms, Rio.

STAR-NEWS RANKINGS

1. MONROVIA (5-2) — Will anyone score against the tenacious Wildcats defense in the Rio Hondo League? That’s an honest question. Monrovia has recorded wins over Blair (57-0) and San Marino (56-0). The Wildcats should see a better challenge Friday against Temple City. I won’t quite say Monrovia won’t lose the rest of the season and through the playoffs, but I’m getting there. I’ll get a chance to see the Wildcats on Friday since checking ’em out in a win over Arcadia.

2. ST. FRANCIS (3-4) — The Golden Knights’ playoff hopes hang in the balance. St. Paul comes to town. On paper, St. Francis has the weapons to overmatch the Swordsmen, but how will the Golden Knights respond as they head in to their homecoming with a four-game losing streak?

3. ARCADIA (4-3) — The Apaches showed Burbank who’s boss last week. They are 3-1 in the Pacific League, and my guess is they’ll improve to 4-1 after Friday. Taylor Lagace will sit out the game because of a one-game suspension stemming from his ejection last week. Lagace could use the break anyway. Myles Carr, Rodney Arnett, David Maldonado, Sheldon McKinley — the field’s all yours.

4. MUIR (3-4) — Look out for the Mustangs, who are quietly marching to a possible playoff spot. Muir is 2-2 in league and currently sits fourth. They’ll host Glendale on Friday, so let’s go ahead and make it 3-2 after Friday. Now’s the time for the offense to hone its skills, iron out wrinkles and play with consistency. The Mustangs defense should take this as a challenge and do everything they can to record a shutout. The same goes for Arcadia.

5. ROSEMEAD (4-3) — Arroyo has all but wrapped up the Mission Valley League title. OK, that’s getting a bit ahead. But it’s safe to say the Knights are in the driver’s seat. The Panthers likely will finish no less than second in league, but don’t count them out because I’m certain they still have a crown in mind.

6. RIO HONDO PREP (5-1) — A big win over Village Christian has propelled the Kares into the rankings, and convincing wins in the Prep League is moving them ahead. Small school, shmall school. Rio Hondo Prep has some good athletes. That much was true when Cody Cowell anchored the defense last year, and that much is true with Charles Quintero in the backfield. He leads the team in rushing with 634 yards and 11 touchdowns. Nick Preciado is closely behind with 525 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Alex Tayco and sophomore Jake Holguin also are contributing big time. Circle Nov. 5, that’s when Rio Hondo Prep and Pasadena Poly throw it down.

7. MARANATHA (5-3) — To be honest, this may be a low ranking for the Minutemen. Looking at it purely from a record standpoint, Maranatha is No. 7. The Minutemen are 0-2 in the Olympic League, but it’s certainly not indicative of how strong they really are. No need to go over the explosive offense, again. You know that by now. Close losses to Whittier Christian and Cerritos Valley Christian suggest Maranatha can not only compete in arguably the toughest league in the Mid-Valley Division, but that it can also stand its ground in the division. Maranatha likely will get an at-large berth, but it must take care of business.

8. SAN GABRIEL (3-4) — A win over Keppel was a given. Bell Gardens will be a true test. Cal Preps has the visiting Lancers winning, 38-27.

9. PASADENA POLY (5-2) — The Panthers likely won’t face any real competition in the Prep League until visiting Rio Hondo Prep on Nov. 5. Until then, enjoy the wins.

10. ALHAMBRA (4-3) — The Moors took one in the chin last week against Schurr. Montebello will be another tough test. Schurr is 2-0 in the Almont League, but Alhambra, Montebello, San Gabriel and Bell Gardens are all 1-1, meaning the No. 2 or 3 spots are nowhere near settled. It’s gut-check week.

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Monrovia boys soccer to hold food fundraiser today

The Monrovia boys soccer team will hold a fundraiser today from 4-9 p.m. at Los Gueros Mexican Restaurant (423 S. Myrtle Ave., Monrovia). You can dine-in or take out, and if you bring the team’s fundraiser flyer, the soccer team will receive 20 percent of your purchase.

Los Gueros
Mexican Restaurant

423 S. Myrtle Avenue
Monrovia
626-256-6720

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