Ellis McCarthy is number one on Mike Minter’s Top 5 list.
1. Ellis McCarthy (Monrovia) DL
Pure domination. Dbl and Triple teamed his whole HS career. Man amongst boys. Unstoppable one vs one. Great explosion with great feet. Had the joy of coaching him all 4 of his HS years. Tons of accolades. ESPN TOP 150. USA All American. All CIF. 2x CIF Champion. Played his college career at UCLA.
2. Nick Bueno (Monrovia) QB
Probably the best pure athlete I’ve had the privilege of coaching. Big game player. Pure competitor. No situation was to much for him to handle. Led our Offense to Monrovia’s first ever CIF Championship in 2010. Received MVP POY his Senior year. 2x CIF Champion. Incredible Baseball player as well. Played his college career at Cal Lutheran.
3. Akil Harris (Monrovia) RB
His nickname was Cadillac. Smooth, graceful, and explosive. One of the pure RB specialist that are hard to find. Workhorse. Great vision. Had that OG deadleg cut. Fun to watch. Led by example on the field. First game I watched him play he went for 400 yds and 6 TDS vs South El Monte. SuperPrep All American. LATimes and San Gabriel Valley Offensive Back of the Year. Played his college career at UCLA.
4. George Frazier (Monrovia) TE/LB
Also known as G5. Where do I start with George. The epitome of a Football player. Did it all. Understood what it took to be special. Great hands. The game flowed easy for him which in hand set him up to make some incredible plays. Could put him in a stance in a 40 or stand him up in a 50. Prep Star All West. SuperPrep All West. 3x CIF Champion. Played his college career at U of Colorado.
5. Kurt Scoby (Monrovia) RB
Also known as Scooby. One of the hardest working athletes I’ve been around. First on the field and the last to leave. Just a BEAST the way he ran the ball. Run you over or run right by you. Only had the joy of having Kurt one year and oh my. Had to ease him back during practice because he would be knocking players out during Team. Impressive in the weight room too. Ran for 2,206 and 35 YDs his Senior year. Played his college career at Fresno State and Azusa Pacific
Honorable Mention (All Monrovia)
JJ Davis RB
Jesse Canada WR
Brett Walsh LB
Adam Gabriel RB/LB
Players I’ve coached against
Rocky Hinds QB St Bernards
Desmond Reed RB/WR/PR/KR/DB Temple City
Alex Villalobos WR San Gabriel
TraUCLA Summler RB Rosemead
Jake Payton RB San Dimas
Jeff Worthy DL Whittier Christian
Todd Golper LB Arcadia
Joe Torosian’s book Temple City & The Company of Ages is now available on Amazon
Bueno and Frazer should be higher on the list, Scooby should not be on the list, as he was no more no less than a free agent, who never attended a single class at Monrovia. Football was an enhancement to his on line high school (home school) classes. (Per a local AD I spoke to)
When the Scooby free agent signing was written up in the LA Times Reporter Sondheimer questioned whether even with the signing that Scooby would ever play a single game at Monrovia, due to poor grades and too few credits. He also had harsh words for Scooby’s guardian and the way he shopped Scooby. For those that do not know Scooby played at 4 different schools in his 4 year high school career. Aram Tolegian had harsher words. Local post boards had even worse.
Aram Tolgian
“But forget all that, Scoby and his foster parent, have lost all credibility because of what’s taken place the past three years. Charter Oak to Duarte to St. Paul to Cathedral to Alemany to now (maybe) Monrovia … the same Monrovia that Scoby was almost at before leaving Duarte for St. Paul…
But here’s the thing, it’s real longshot that Scoby will ever play under the lights again. He’s out of options, for lack of a better term, with CIF. He needs a valid residential change to get into Monrovia’s district, which may not be hard to accomplish as he’s been rumored to live in Monrovia/Duarte before.
Then there’s the matter of academic eligibility. If we added up ALL the time Scoby has missed just in between transfers, it’s hard to imagine he’s on-schedule classes-wise or even eligible grades-wise. ”
All this was on local prep sports boards and created a big controversy.. Clearly Maddox and Minter were up to their keesters in the Scoby signing, The whole thing smells like Reggie Bush.
When the season came Monrovia boosters said Scooby was getting As and Bs in all his classes. I ask the reader if that makes sense. All of a sudden a poor student becomes an As and Bs student?
Scooby is more of an indictment of the Monrovia program, and should not appear on the list for obvious reasons. I think more serious questions should have been asked to Minter about his involvement in the Scooby signing and what promises were made and what was done for Scooby academically. Especially as he never attended a single class, and never set foot in a Monrovia High School classroom. He only was a Monrovia Student for purposes of football. But the Monrovia boosters and coaches knew they needed Scoby to win.. Just win..
The only thing that can be said is the CIF let them do it.
Forgot a lot of legends but a solid list!
And to think TC actually won the RHL in 01, 03, 05, and 06….
Ellis was a man amongst the boys. But Nick Bueno was the best athlete I’ve ever seen. Too many times I watched him drop back to pass and take off running with TC defenders merging on where he was… two seconds ago. So quick with great vision.
Probably THE most impressive list you’ve made. Monrovia churned out some horses. Those are just a few of the bunch