Friday Night Final: Monrovia steps up; La Mirada runs by St. Francis and La Salle routs Maranatha




Photo by Chris Burt

Monrovia has heard all the talk that it can win these step up games. Friday, the Wildcats did something about it, routing San Dimas, which was 3-0 and averaging nearly 50 points a game. The ‘Cats, getting 168 yards passing and three touchdowns from Blake Heyworth, cruised to a 35-23 victory over the Saints. The other two big area cames saw La Mirada roll up 307 yards rushing to beat St. Francis, 28-21; and La Salle improve to 4-0 by routing Maranatha, 63-7. The Minutemen, who started 6-0 last season, are 0-4.
Here’s a brief look at Friday’s games:
La Mirada 28, No. 1 St. Francis 21 — The host Mats took over this game in the second half, going on a pair of 80-yard drives to beat the Golden Knights, who got 221 yards passing and three touchdowns from Jared Lebowitz. La Mirada, which now has wins over parochials St. Paul and St. Francis, improved to 3-1. The Mats got 220 yards rushing from Adam Carrasco.
No. 2 Monrovia 35, San Dimas 23 — This is a big step-up game for the Wildcats, who face South Hills and St. Francis in the coming weeks. Win those, then run the table in the Rio Hondo League and Mid-Valley Division and could Monrovia find itself in a region bowl game?
No. 3 San Marino 63, Nogales 0 — Ryan Wood rushed for 134 yards and four touchdowns and Matt Wofford rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns as the Titans’ machine continued to roll, improved to 3-0. Every week it looks like San Marino can run the table heading into a late season tilt against Monrovia.
No. 4 Rio Hondo Prep 48, Boron 6 — A long bus ride didn’t stop the Kares, who rolled easily.
No. 5 La Salle 63, Maranatha 7 — Are there any doubters left? The Lancers (4-0), under Russell Gordon, look impressive every week. They continued with a 49-point second quarter to put this one away. The Minutemen, 0-4, are free-falling.
No. 6 Gabrielino 35, Contreras 8 — The Eagles, getting 119 yards passing from quarterback Elijah Peters, are off to their best start in years. Yes, the competition hasn’t been the best, 4-0 is 4-0.
No. 7 South Pasadena 39, Glendale 7 — The Tigers, getting 179 yards rushign and two touchdowns from Nathan Lee, bounced back from last week’s loss to Hoover with an impressive win. If it can stay consistent, this might be a team to watch in the Rio Hondo.
Salesian 35, No. 10 Pasadena 6 — The Bulldogs found life without Brandon Cox tough. He’s expected to miss the next two weeks, which could spell a poor Pacific League start.
San Gabriel 41, Baldwin Park 10 — An impressive win for the Matadors, who received 337 yards passing and four touchdowns from Marqus Valenzuela.
Crescenta Valley 48, La Canada 21 — The Falcons, getting 171 yards rushing from William Wang, win the battle for the 210 freeway. La Canda, after winning its opener, is now 1-2.
Rosemead 35, Warren 7 — Everardo Camacho accounted for 270 yards and the Panthers broke through for their first win against the Bears. Can they get on a streak?
Alhambra 21, L.A. Wilson 7 — The Moors, getting an 80-yard blocked field goal return from Christian Caraveo, won for the second time in as many weeks. It looks like Alhambra is rounding into form after a slow start.
Douglass 54, Blair 14 — The Vikings’ struggles continue.
Sierra Vista 59, Keppel 0 — Another loss for the Aztecs, who were no match for the Dons.
Marshall 28, South Region #2 7 — A nice win for the Eagles, who saw quarterback De’Angelo Swinney account for two scores.
Westminster 13, Bosco Tech 10 — The Tigers’ Steven Barron rushed for 49 yards.

St. Francis run over by La Mirada — LA MIRADA – There’s nothing complex about the La Mirada High School football team’s offensive attack.
The Matadores believe they can run against anybody, and they continued to prove the point Friday night.
Adam Carrasco ran for 220 yards and two touchdowns and host La Mirada rolled up 307 yards rushing to rally for a 28-21 victory over St. Francis in a nonleague game.
The Matadores (3-1), also receiving 181 yards passing from Gerry Myres, got a key fumble recovery from Tyler Hallock at the La Mirada 26 with 3:55 left.

MONROVIA STEPS UP — In another installment of the Monrovia-San Dimas football rivalry Friday night, it was the two-time defending Mid-Valley Division champs, and some flag-happy referees, who stole the show.
After a back-and-forth first half, Monrovia (2-1) pulled away, outscoring San Dimas 23-7 to close the game for a 35-23 nonleague victory.
The Wildcats also had four touchdowns called back on penalties during their run to close the game, including three in the fourth quarter.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Reddit Tumblr Email