Monrovia rallies, beats Whittier Christian in shootout
MONROVIA - Monrovia scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to come from behind and defeat Whittier Christian, 35-32, in the CIF-SS Mid Valley Division semifinal Saturday evening at Monrovia High.
The Heralds (9-4), the third-place finisher in the Olympic League, were bidding to make their first CIF final appearance since 1990, but came up just short.
The Wildcats (13-0), the No. 1 seed, advances to the championship game next weekend against San Dimas. Monrovia has never won a CIF football championship.
Jay Henderson’s 40-yard interception return for a touchdown with 3:39 remaining in the game proved to be the game winner for the Wildcats.
The Heralds rallied and scored on a 13-yard TD pass from Stephen Anderson to Grant Escobar with under a minute to play. Garrett Fulbright then ran in the two-point conversion to make it 35-32 with 25 seconds left. However, the Wildcats recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to secure the win.
Things looked good for Whittier Christian early in the fourth quarter after Fulbright raced 46 yards for a TD, increasing the Heralds’ lead to 24-14. But disaster struck for Whittier Christian on the ensuing kickoff as De’shawn Ramirez returned it 97 yards for a touchdown.
The Heralds went three-and-out and Monrovia moved down the field. On a fourth-down play, Derrick Johnson scored on a 10-yard run to give the Wildcats a 28-24 lead.
“I thought we were on a roll up by 10,” said Whittier Christian coach Sergio Gradilla. “But the kickoff return was the huge turnaround play of the game. I’m still proud of our kids. We never quit.”
The Heralds no-huddle offense caused immediate problems for the Wildcats. Whittier Christian took the opening kickoff and drove 68 yards in 16 plays to take the lead.
The drive was kept alive by two key fourth-down pass receptions from Stephen Anderson to Cody Stewart and Escobar. Fulbright capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run, giving the Heralds a 7-0.
On the second play of Monrovia’s next possession, Taylor Smith recovered a Wildcats’ fumble. The Heralds converted it into a Cameron Stanley 23-yard field goal and increased their lead to 10-0.
The momentum shifted on the final play of the first quarter when Dujawn Jones intercepted Anderson pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown trimming the lead to 10-7.
Midway through the second quarter the Wildcats took the lead after QB Nick Bueno scored on a 36-yard TD run. Bueno ran a fake punt 26 yards giving the Wildcats a critical first down to keep the drive alive.
Fulbright rushed for 120 yards and Cody Stewart caught 7 passes for 111 yards for the Heralds. Bueno led the Wildcats with 127 yards and a touchdown.
