Photos by Robert Ketterling
Football:
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
When they get into the rigors of league play and the postseason, Monrovia and Bonita will both benefit from having met up in week zero of the 2022 football season.
It was a back-and-forth thriller in which both programs left everything they had on the field.
Early on, BHS held a 14-point advantage, and well into the fourth period, MHS led by 13.
But wow, what a tough way to finish for the Bearcats.
Trailing 29-16 in the fourth quarter, Bonita quarterback Daniel Andrade connected with Georgie Markossian on TD passes of 14 and 34 yards, respectively.
The second TD, with just over one minute to play, would pull the Bearcats even with Monrovia at 29-29.
And that final score in regulation would have never happened had Andrade not found Noah Mikhail for a 25-yard reception on a 4th-and-19 play.
Bonita’s extra-point attempt, however, went wide right, and the game would go into overtime.
Monrovia quarterback Brian Salazar, in his first career start, scored on a 1-yard run behind the left side of his line, and Bryan Cote’s extra-point gave the Wildcats a 36-29 lead in OT.
Bonita would answer back, with a 3-yard TD run.
But as the Bearcats running back got caught up in the excitement, he spiked the ball in the back of the west end zone, and it drew a 15-yard penalty.
So instead of a 19-yard extra-point attempt to tie the game and send it to a second OT, the Bonita kicker was looking at a 34-yard try, and it would miss left.
The Monrovia sideline and its fans erupted after securing the 36-35 road victory.
You could almost see Salazar find his confidence and evolve as the game went on for the Wildcats.
Salazar threw for 230 yards, including a 27-yard TD pass to Jaylen Moore, and a 42-yard scoring strike to Noah Ellison, which extended the Monrovia lead to 29-16.
Ellison also wrestled away a would-be Bonita pick of Salazar, and that set up a Marcel Jones TD run.
Jones rushed for nearly 90 yards and had two TDs.
Carlos Hernandez, arguably the SGV area’s most dynamic player, was double teamed all night, but the future Washington State receiver caught a 2-point conversion pass and picked off Andrade in the east end zone to thwart a potential Bearcats scoring drive in the second half.
Jacob Monroe and Sonny Jaramillo also snared interceptions for the Monrovia defense.
And while Andrade would be the first to tell you that he could have been more consistent on Friday night, the Bearcats senior had plenty of moments that put BHS in a position to win the game.
Andrade threw for 374 yards and four TD’s.
Bryan Bradshaw picked off Salazar which set up an Andrade-to-Jon Coulson 10-yard TD pass.
Bradshaw also caught a 40-yard TD pass to give Bonita a 14-0 lead.
Up next: Monrovia will host Arcadia on Friday, and Bonita travels to Las Vegas next Saturday to face the Mater Academy.
At the very bottom are some highlights from Friday’s game, as well as interviews with Monrovia coach, Mike Williams, and the Wildcats’ Brian Salazar, Noah Ellison and Carlos Hernandez.
To view a 29-pic photo gallery by Robert Ketterling, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Box Score:
M: 0-14-15-0-7-(36)
B: 7-9-0-13-6-(35)
Records: Monrovia (1-0); Bonita (0-1)
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