Preparing for the Saints
(Monrovia) – Monrovia got a new field in 2010. The Wildcats also hope to get a new CIF championship after coming one game short a year ago. A good start towards that goal would be a win over San Dimas – the team that beat them in the CIF Championship game last year.
This Friday night at San Dimas is the rubber match. Monrovia beat San Dimas 36-17 last September at home. Then the Saints won 12-7 to win the CIF title on a rain soaked field at Citrus College in December.
“We don’t really look at it that way. This is a lot different,” said Monrovia Coach Ryan Maddox late Wednesday afternoon while running his team through drills. “But yeah we feel like we have something to prove.”
While the fast dry field led to a track meet and 36 point outburst for Monrovia in the first game, a down pour forced both teams to run in puddles and a defensive struggle in the title game.
Nick Bueno, now in his third year as the Wildcat starting quarterback, is coming off a huge game against Arcadia last week. Bueno threw for 195 yards and rushed for 205 more in a 34-7 rout.
Derrick Johnson looking forward to SD
It was somewhat of a bounce back game for the Wildcats after they fell to Glendora in week one. They were tied with the Tartans at halftime but turned the ball over four times and eventually fell 21-7.
“I don’t think we were ever really off track. We just turned the ball over way too much in that first game,” Maddox said. “Nick wasn’t on that first week with his receivers. But you saw it last week. He looked pretty good.”
Things haven’t gone as planned so far for the defending Mid-Valley CIF Champs. San Dimas lost to Bonita in the Smudge Pot 41-20 in zero week. The Saints responded with a 55-0 rout of South El Monte and then battled Rancho Cucamonga in a 21-10 loss last week.
Codee Watts has replaced Sean Kennedy at quarterback and has thrown for 426 yards and rushed for 162 more in three games. Dillon Corona has ran for 140 in Coach Bill Zernickow’s balanced offense.
Can San Dimas stop this guy?
Defensively Monrovia has the slight edge. The Wildcats have allowed an average of 14 points per game while the Saints have given up an average of just over 20. They were hurt by the 41 point onslaught by Bonita in the opener.
Monrovia’s front line led by Ellis McCarthy has lived in opponents backfields. Glendora quarterback Chad Jeffries was sacked four times and Arcadia’s Myles Carr was roughed up as well.
For the winner the bragging rights will more than likely be temporary. Both expect to see each other again in the playoffs.
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