Colts are Last Men Standing, 57-50

Erik Cuellar scored five times for the victorious Colts. (Photo by Duane Barker.)

By Tim Peterson

(Covina) – Nin Burns II hit Matt Mannino on a 21-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone with 20 seconds left to secure a 57-50 Covina win over Monrovia on a wild Thursday night at Covina District Field. 

Burns’ TD strike gave the Colts a 55-50 lead and he then caught a pass from Mannino for two point conversion on a trick play to account for the final tally.

Although that proved to be the game winner nobody in the house was sure of it at the time. The Covina District Field crowd had seen everything so far and defense wasn’t one of them. Monrovia had the ball one more time and the way things were playing out on this night the Cats possibly had one more in them. However after a pass had moved the ball down to the Colt 40-yard line, Monrovia quarterback Nick Hernandez’ last desperation pass towards the end zone was batted down and only then, when the clock hit zeroes, was it clear that this event was over. And what an event it was.

There were 10 lead changes overall and it appeared that the team with the ball last would win. Monrovia scored first and had the ball last but simply ran out of time.

There were big plays throughout the night. Maury Rams IV scored on a reception of 61 yards and a run of 48 for Monrovia. Frank Hernandez also hauled in a 58-yard touchdown pass from Nick Hernandez for the Cats. Covina running back Erik Cuellar hit paydirt on a 69-yard jaunt for the Colts.

Cuellar, who had five touchdowns on the night for Covina, scored on runs of 19 and 10 yards in the first half and along with a 13-yard TD strike from Burns to Mannino gave the Colts a 22-7 lead early in the second. But Monrovia countered with Rams’ 61-yard touchdown reception, and a one-yard Rams plunge to cap an early drive for a 28-22 halftime advantage. Rams also scored on a three -yard run and Frank Hernandez grabbed 10-yard touchdown strike. The two teams had only just begun.

In the second half it amounted to who could throw the hardest punch. The Wildcats threw roundhouse blows with a 48-yard touchdown run by Rams and a Frank Hernandez’ 58-yard catch and carry but the Colts answered with a few haymakers of their own on two Cuellar runs of 69 and five yards and an eight yard Mannino sprint.

Maury Rams IV found paydirt four times for Monrovia. (Photo by Duane Barker.)

42-41 Monrovia after three.

Cuellar scored again early in the fourth to finish a drive with a one-yard run and a Burns pass to Martin Keely for two made it 49-42 with 6:30 left. Monrovia answered on just 4 plays with Devon Mayes scoring from a yard out and Hernandez to Hernandez on the two point conversion to make it 50-49. The problem for the Wildcat faithful was that they scored too early. There was still 4:31 left on the clock.

The Colts marched down the field and Burns hit Mannino with what proved to be the game winner with 20 seconds left.

Burns threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns for Covina while Cuellar piled up 223 yards on the ground with five scores.

For Monrovia Rams rushed for 128 and three scores and hauled in two passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Frank Hernandez caught six passes for 105 yards and two scores and Nick Hernandez had 247 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Add it all up and it tallied 107 points total with Covina scoring 57 of them including the decisive last eight.

Covina improved to 3-1 with the victory while Monrovia fell to 1-4 on a night that will go down in Monrovia and Covina history.

M 7  21  14  8      50

C 15  7  19  16     57

24 Comments to "Colts are Last Men Standing, 57-50"

  1. @fyi's Gravatar @fyi
    September 14, 2018 - 10:20 pm | Permalink

    Let’s see the Culver City game was supposed to be an L for Covina since they had way more athletes then them and katella was a strong team that almost won state and had one loss on the year. Remember it’s still Covina, the team that hasn’t went to the semis since 97 I think. So… I don’t get your point. Which D-11 team would shut them out.

  2. September 14, 2018 - 7:58 pm | Permalink

    That was a great fistfight. Ali vs Frazier! The CATS are getting it together. They are going
    to be a FORCE to DEAL with in the future. That coaching staff will get the job done. The
    CATS are back!

  3. September 14, 2018 - 7:22 pm | Permalink

    Wildcat81,
    Too many calls going Covina’s way?
    You mean like when they called back our touchdown or when your guy fumbled in the end zone, we recovered and refs said it was not a fumble?
    I was there. There was holding on both sides, not called blocks in the back, etc…
    Welcome to High School football. Don’t blame refs if you leave a game in the refs hands.

  4. Football FanA's Gravatar Football FanA
    September 14, 2018 - 6:22 pm | Permalink

    Really blaming the refs that’s low!!! There were at least three or four pass interferences that weren’t called against Monrovia last night!!!

  5. @fyi's Gravatar @fyi
    September 14, 2018 - 5:54 pm | Permalink

    Lol. You know he was at Covina right?? U know they didn’t smell the semis since 97. Dam 2 games vs Culver City and katella. One team that had way more athletes then Covina and was picked to win it all and the other a solid good team. Those are the games your goin to use as an example. Then u must hate the guy or program.

  6. WildCatt81's Gravatar WildCatt81
    September 14, 2018 - 5:39 pm | Permalink

    It was a good game last night. There were a few things that came to my attention, the defensive back coach for Monrovia, he needs to figure out what he is trying to teach these kids. Not sure why no one else brought this up but the ratio of penalties, i know a positions coach at Monrovia very well and he was stating that the ref’s had missed so many holding calls on Covina that they would have scored at least two too three less touchdowns. When they first asked him about the missed calles his reply was “I did see anyting”. Then later it was “nothing there”. At this time I am not able to find the box score but it was very noticeable, not as bad as the Alta Loma game 27- 3 in favor of Alta Loma. It seemed the officiating crew favored Covina by far.

  7. FYI's Gravatar FYI
    September 14, 2018 - 2:05 pm | Permalink

    SoCal Bulldog, you must have not seen the last two games in which Bacon was the DC at covina. They gave up 117 combines

  8. Maverick's Gravatar Maverick
    September 14, 2018 - 2:01 pm | Permalink

    The score looks like a game with Corona Centennial vs Bosco.

  9. September 14, 2018 - 12:36 pm | Permalink

    My keyboard is a lousy typist.
    1. Our defense had…not has.
    2. …play he got burned on, Not we ( although it also fit ). Was addressing all teams not ours specifically.

  10. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    September 14, 2018 - 12:20 pm | Permalink

    To play a 3-4 like Covina you need these 3 things on defense

    1. A nose guard who commands double teams and won’t allow a guard to scrape to the 2nd level.

    2. Your 5 technique D ends must set the edge not allowing running backs to bounce everything outside (Rams did that all night)

    3. Your linebackers and safety must fill and GET OFF BLOCKS!! These kids have not “what for” meaning if somebody gets their hands on them it’s a wrap.

  11. September 14, 2018 - 11:04 am | Permalink

    My observation from last night : These are my personal views and not one of Covina’s. I am a fan and supporter. Nothing else. My views carry as much weight as the lady after the games collecting bottles.
    *Our defense has a complete and total meltdown. Don’t know why and I hope it was a one time mass brain fart.
    *Our offense leads the VVL. We will score points. Period.
    *It’s easy to claim you are great when you have played no one. And the teams you beat are beating no one also. When just about everyone is sucking it’s bound to happen that the least sucking will be on top. No one in the VVL has played a top caliber team yet. Next week will be different for some of us.
    *I remember when each team had 4 coaches. Now every team has half as many coaches as players. Too many Indians trying to all get on the same page.
    *Back in the dinosaur days we had playbooks. We had to memorize assignments and coverage’s. We were also quizzed weekly on them. Now it’s in one kids ear and out the other. So don’t be surprised if you ask a kid what his coverage was supposed to be on the last play we got burned on and he answers wrong. We also had a policy of if you fumbled…on Monday you carried a ball with you all day. Embarrassing but effective. Times have changed.
    *Tim was at the game last night and reminded me something I always forget. These are kids playing. What ever you least expect them to do they will do. Doo-Doo happens.
    *Don’t judge any team by their brain farts. Judge them how they respond after.
    *Covina will either fix the problems or they won’t. It’s really that simple. I’ll be there supporting them no matter what.
    * Parents in the stands need to take their meds before they come to the games. Heard some pretty vile thing screamed out last night at our coaches. But saw them high five-ing each other after it was over. Chill.

  12. @Bulldog's Gravatar @Bulldog
    September 14, 2018 - 9:48 am | Permalink

    Bacon is at Oak Hills High School. There is a new DC at covina

  13. Valle Vista's Gravatar Valle Vista
    September 14, 2018 - 9:39 am | Permalink

    I have watched Covina, Northview, and San Dimas play. It’s Northview, than it’s between Covina and San Dimas for second. Covina is not beating Northview and its not gonna be whoever has the ball last wins kinda game. Also, Covinas offense is not mediocre, let’s be realistic. But they are not gonna go up and down the field and score 57 points on this Northview defense. But hey, could be wrong. That’s why they play the games. Everybody expected Northview to regress, boy were we wrong. I feel San Dimas vs Covina will be whoever has the ball last type of game. Neither defense will get stops. I feel San Dimas has a shot of beating Northview. If San Dimas offense is going that night it will be hard to stop. That offense is tough.

  14. September 14, 2018 - 9:36 am | Permalink

    Bulldog,
    Bacon was let go from CVUSD for closing a teaching job. Sucks too! He’s the corner coach at Oak Hills now He was at the game last night.

  15. SoCal Bulldog's Gravatar SoCal Bulldog
    September 14, 2018 - 8:58 am | Permalink

    Colt74 what happened to Coach Bacon ?. I’ve known Martin for a while, I know his defensive teams wouldn’t be giving up that much. But both teams went at it last night.

  16. Football FanA's Gravatar Football FanA
    September 14, 2018 - 8:40 am | Permalink

    550 yards of offense and you call them mediocre!!!!

  17. @ Anonymous's Gravatar @ Anonymous
    September 14, 2018 - 7:27 am | Permalink

    LOL if you think Covina is going to put up 50 against NV then u may be that dude on crack that’s going through a TV at 3AM. NV puts up points and has a stellar defense. Covina has a mediocre offense with NO defense. the league goes through NV or San Dimas. ill call it right now, NV over Covina by 3 TD.

  18. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    September 14, 2018 - 3:23 am | Permalink

    @Observe Nothing
    Bonita and Northview will have running clocks ? Get off the couch !!! Covina’s defense is a work in progress. But Bonita hasn’t seen the type of offensive fire power that the Colts have. Stop drinking the Bonita kool aid, there still just Bonita. And Northview. Well that game very well could be like last nights. With the team who has the ball last wins. Either way I’d say the VVL has 3 solid teams ( cant forget San Dimas ). And those games between the 3 will be very entertaining.

  19. observantcat's Gravatar observantcat
    September 14, 2018 - 12:07 am | Permalink

    Great Game either way. No defense but nevertheless the offense kept you on your toes for the entire game. Colt, I know you are celebrating about now but I just wanted to say that Covina is what I expected and I think you may now believe that the Cats are the real deal and getting better. You couldn’t have drawn up a better script for a Thurs. night HS football game. It really did come down to the wire. Both teams were full of gifted athletes and I believe they may meet again later in the season in the Div. 9 playoffs. Nevertheless we must get ready for San Marino and the rest of the RHL now. Good luck in you league and I will be rooting to see another Monrovia/Covina match up later this season.

  20. Football FanA's Gravatar Football FanA
    September 13, 2018 - 11:42 pm | Permalink

    Observantcat your right both teams played hard!! Covina just made one more play than Monrovia did plain and simple!!!!

    Here’s my take on the game:
    1. 84 is a beast
    2. Burns is a special athlete
    3. Both offensives were unstoppable
    4. THIS GOES FOR BOTH TEAMS THE DEFENSES MUST IMPROVE OR NEITHER TEAM IS GOING ANYWHERE!!!!!

  21. Opposite of Soccer's Gravatar Opposite of Soccer
    September 13, 2018 - 11:40 pm | Permalink

    You could ask where was the defense tonight, but you could not fail to be entertained by this rare Thursday night barn-burner. Scoring like this simply doesn’t happen in soccer, the sport most of the world holds near and dear. Their loss.

  22. September 13, 2018 - 11:10 pm | Permalink

    First off. Props to Monrovia. Up until the final 1:40 I thought we were gonna take home the L trophy. We made mistakes and Monrovia took advantage and racked up another 7. Again, and again. On some plays they went thu our defense like a tweaker goes thru a TV set at 3AM. We get the W, but anyone that was there knows it could have gone either way. Colts dug deep when it mattered.
    Second, Pops again to Monrovia for getting ex players back to help out. Every team can take lessons in that.
    Third. Whomever is posting the fake banter BS between Coach Maxie and Coach Williams…stop it. It’s BS and you know it. Neither one of them is posting. Just some sad individual trying to start El Toro Poo-poo.
    Last, my pie hole is feeling pretty good tonight. Is yours?
    🙂

  23. Observe This's Gravatar Observe This
    September 13, 2018 - 11:07 pm | Permalink

    I really want the Cats fans to know after ripping them for previous weeks failures I’m truly impressed with their teams effort tonight. Neither team should be proud of their defensive efforts but I admit the Cats new coaching staff is far better than the last.

    Now on to Covina…

    If this defense doesn’t get better quickly, Bonita and Northview are gonna have running clocks on them. The front seven is by far the weak link and the oline even having scored 57 points, remains the Achilles heel of the offense.

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