Photos and story are courtesy of former Long Beach Press-Telegram Sports Editor, Jim McCormack
Football:
When you’re in the CIF-SS Division 9 football playoffs, it’s probably not a good idea to spot your opponent a 27-point fourth-quarter lead.
That’s where Monrovia found itself Friday night against Troy at Fullerton High School.
The Wildcats did their best to rally, trimming the disadvantage to 13 with 9:41 remaining before the magic wore off and Troy prevailed, 41-28.
Monrovia and its explosive offense entered the contest averaging 37.3 points a game, and what the Wildcats went through in the first 24 minutes of Friday’s match had to be unthinkable.
The Wildcats’ brilliant senior quarterback, Brian Salazar Jr., who had thrown only eight interceptions in nine games, was picked three times in the first half by an upstart Warrior defense that had its best defensive effort of the season.
The result was Troy had a 14-0 lead after one, 28-0 after two.
The first half ended in frustration for Monrovia, which, in the closing minutes, had its first effective drive of the evening.
The Wildcats marched inside the Troy 20, but, out of timeouts, Vincent Pace was tackled before he could get out of bounds with five seconds to play and time ran out before Monrovia coull run another play, although Coach Jose Casagran and his players complained that Pace should have been ruled out of bounds.
Monrovia received the second-half kickoff and promptly drove to its first score.
That was offset by a Troy TD and the teams entered the final period with the Wildcats facing a 27-point deficit.
That changed quickly when the Wildcats’ offense got untracked, first on a 30-yard run by Dante Jones and then less than two minutes later, when Salazar Jr. found Noah Ellison in the end zone on a 32-yard scoring play.
The second score was set up by a perfectly placed high-bounce onside kick, recovered by the Wildcats.
Monrovia went for the onside kick again after the Ellison TD, and got the same high bounce, but this time Troy recovered the ball.
The Warriors, who rushed for 297 yards, then went on a sustained drive before the Monrovia defense came up with three successive defensive stops, after Troy had a first down at the Wildcat two.
Three plays lost 14 yards, but fourth down was a dagger in the heart when Troy’s Declan Kai Healey made a remarkable one-handed grab of a Rudy Alcala pass in the end zone on an 18-yard scoring play that effectively ended the Wildcats’ chances for a comeback victory.
Salazar Jr. passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns, Jones rushed for 82 yards and a score and Ellison had 12 catches for 127 yards and two scores.
To view a photo gallery by Jim McCormack, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Box Score:
M: 0-0-7-21-(28)
T: 14-14-6-7-(41)
Division 9 Scores:
Rio Hondo Prep 28, St. Margaret’s 26
Orange 19, Diamond Bar 12
Vista Del Lago 24, Marina 7
Sonora 35, Rancho Mirage 34
Santa Monica 33, Santa Ana 27
Troy 41, Monrovia 28
Kaiser 17, Dominguez 14
Los Osos 30, South Pasadena 27
Division 9 Schedule:
Rio Hondo Prep at Orange
Vista Del Lago at Sonora
Santa Monica at Troy
Los Osos at Kaiser
Records: Monrovia (6-4); Troy (7-4)
Football: CIF-SS Semifinal Round Scores: Division 1: Mater Dei 36, Centennial Corona 7 St. John Bosco 20, Orange Lutheran 17 Division 2: Murrieta Valley 55, Oaks Christian 52 Newbury Park 20, Yorba Linda 14 Division 3: Edison 42, Vista Murrieta 14 Simi Valley 28, Loyola 25 Division 4: St. Bonaventure 20, Apple Valley 13 Pacifica […]
Girls Water Polo: West Covina is one victory away today from having a four-win week. The Bulldogs have defeated La Mirada (15-13), Pasadena (10-5) and Cerritos (15-4) on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Deneli Salazar continued her dominant week with eight goals. Meagan Harris chipped in with three goals. Marisa Lemus had quite the game […]
Girls Basketball: La Salle improved to 2-0 after its 52-26 victory at Keppel. The Lancers pulled away in the second quarter after outscoring the Aztecs, 15-0. Aislin Tamez Torres had a game-high 18 points. Casey Higgins chipped in with 14 points. Kaden Cortes and Julianne Tan provided six points apiece in Thursday’s win. Alyssa Canizal […]
Photo by Underrated Media Girls Basketball: Los Osos and Flintridge Prep met up Thursday night at the Bonita Tip-Off challenge. The win would earn a spot in Saturday’s title game. And it was the Wolves that secured a championship game appearance with a 52-45 victory over the Grizzlies. Maddie Smith had a game-high 19 points […]
Girls Water Polo: West Covina picked up their third victory of the 2024-25 season in four tries. After a 9-2 loss to San Dimas in the season opener, the Bulldogs have now defeated Monrovia (17-13), La Mirada (15-13) and Pasadena (10-5). Deneli Salazar led the charge with five goals and four steals, continuing her streak […]
Girls Basketball: It’s unusual for a game to be considered ‘over’ after eight minutes of play. However, politically correct or not, Glendora put Anaheim away with a 22-0 first quarter. The Tartans cruised to a 57-26 victory at the La Mirada Tournament. Reagan (“Ronnie”) Herrmann had a game-high 17 points. Kamryn Kuo led both teams […]
Photo by Angeline Sabillon-Cifuentes Boys Soccer: The Marshall Fundamental soccer program scored two first-half goals on Wednesday at La Canada. The Spartans scored a second-half goal, and both programs had to settle for a 2-2 tie. Giovanni Retana had an unassisted goal for the Eagles. Justin Lopez-Perez scored off an assist from Retana. Angel Capistran […]
Boys Basketball: Damien is off to a great start in the 2024-25 season. The Spartans have now defeated Troy (80-41), Ontario Christian (68-39) and Villa Park (70-42) at the Sunny Hills Tournament by a combined margin of 218-122. DHS had a 38-19 lead at the half. Nate Garcia had a game-high 21 points. Jayden Avina […]
Photo by Underrated Media Girls Basketball: Flintridge Prep jumped on Claremont early, and the Wolfpack weren’t able to mount much of a challenge. The Wolves had a 20-3 lead after the first eight minutes, and they cruised to a 69-35 victory in the second round of the Bonita Tournament. Maddie Smith and Megan Quoch led […]
