Photos by RT Tolentino

Football:

Northview looked in midseason form on Thursday night.

The Vikings used a balanced offensive attack, and they cruised to a 54-35 victory over visiting Monrovia in a game that was far more lopsided than the final score might indicate.

In fact, the Vikings led 54-20 in the fourth quarter.

As the NHS offense seemed to score at will, the Wildcats, unlike the Vikings, did not look in midseason form.

And there’s a good reason for that.

Entering Thursday’s showdown at Covina District Field, Monrovia has only played two games.

Palm Springs opted out of their week one contest at Monrovia, because that massive storm that pounded the desert area on August 20th resulted in a number of canceled school days.

At least that’s what they told MHS.

While that is understandable, Monrovia not getting a win via forfeit had many scratching their heads.

And two weeks later, the Wildcats had a week-three bye.

But back to Thursday night.

Angel Barraza continued his stellar play, as the Vikings senior scored four TD’s for the second consecutive week.

Barraza scored on TD runs of 1, 2 and 3 yards.

NHS quarterback Erik Jimenez also found Barraza for a 20-yard touchdown.

Jimenez finished with three TD passes, including 4 and 51-yard scores to Dwayne Thompson.

Thompson would also secure an interception for the Northview defense.

Keanu Taovao had a 19-yard TD run, and Matt Gonzlez capped the NHS scoring with a 4-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

Although the game wasn’t as competitive as most expected, Monrovia’s offense could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Their two-sport star quarterback (and basketball player) Brian Salazar threw four TD passes in the loss.

He found another two-sport stud, Noah Ellison (baseball and football) on three of the four.

Ellison had TD receptions of 16, 70 and 36 yards.

Salazar’s other score came on a 32-yard TD pass to Joshua Griffiths that got the Wildcats on the board.

Griffiths also scored on a 4-yard TD run.

As the season moves forward, Monrovia feels confident they’ll find their rhythm and compete for a Rio Hondo League title.

And Northview will certainly battle for Valle Vista League superiority with Diamond Ranch, Los Altos and San Dimas.

Through last night’s games, the four VVL programs have a combined record of 12-3.

Up next: The Wildcats visit San Dimas next Thursday, and the Vikings travel to Harvard-Westlake on Friday.

Just below are a few scoring plays, as well as interviews with Northview coach Marcel Perez, the Vikings’ Barraza, Jimenez and Thompson, and Monrovia’s Salazar and Ellison.

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Box Score:
M: 7-14-0-14-(35)
N: 7-34-7-6-(54)

Scoring:
N: Angel Barraza 1 run (Daniel Garcia kick)
M: Joshua Griffiths 32 from Brian Salazar (Zephyr Enriquez kick)
N: Dwayne Thompson 4 pass from Erik Jimenez (Daniel Garcia kick)
N: Keanu Tauvao 19 run (Daniel Garcia kick)
M: Noah Ellison 16 pass from Brian Salazar (Zephyr Enriquez kick)
N: Dwayne Thompson 51 pass from Erik Jimenez (Daniel Garcia kick)
N: Angel Barraza 2 run (Daniel Garcia kick)
M: Joshua Griffiths 4 run (Zephyr Enriquez kick)
N: Angel Barraza 3 run (kick failed)
N: Angel Barraza 20 pass from Erik Jimenez (Daniel Garcia kick)
M: Noah Ellison 70 pass (Zephyr Enriquez kick)
N: Matt Gonzalez 4 run (2-point conversion failed)
M: Noah Ellison 36 pass from Brian Salazar (Zephyr Enriquez kick)

Records: Monrovia (1-2); Northview (4-1)