MidValleySports.Com

Monrovia's defense made big plays when it mattered. Photo by Anne Cypress.

(Monrovia) – The Mid Valley Division’s prohibitive favorite Monrovia used a devastating ground game to defeat the La Salle 48-14 to close out the preseason schedule undefeated.

“We kept the kids focused on the task at hand,” said Wildcat head coach Ryan Maddox. “We have quite a few senior leaders that keep this team centered.

Derrick Johnson rushed for 53 yards on six carries and scored twice, while Deshawn Ramirez ran for 82 yards and added a pair of touchdowns to lead the Wildcats offense.

Monrovia’s defense also played a key role on the evening sacking Lancer quarterback Michael Novell four times and intercepted him three times on the evening. The Wildcats also had a blocked field goal attempt to thwart a La Salle attack.

Nick Bueno rushed six times for 96 yards but committed to two turnovers for Monrovia. Bueno was only asked to throw four times and completed two of those passes for 46 yards.

The night belonged to Johnson and Ramirez as they knifed their way through the Lancers defense front.

Derrick Johnson was able to get through the first line of defense against La Salle. Photo by Anne Cypress.

La Salle appeared on their way to scoring the nights first points early in the first quarter, only to have Mark Danhausen’s 32-yard field goal attempted block and returned to the Monrovia 42-yard line.

Three plays later Justin Delanuez found a hole and ran for a 35-yard score to give the Wildcats a seven to zero lead.

After, the Lancers decided to punt with a half a yard to go for a first down with 7:30 to play in the quarter, Monrovia marched down the field on eight plays for 74-yards and capped by Johnson’s five-yard run to open up a 14-point lead.

La Salle hung around as Novell found Michael Alexander (four receptions for 92 yards) with 15 seconds left in the quarter to make the score 21-7.

Though the Wildcat record remains perfect, their turnover margin needs to be fixed as they managed to fumble three straight possessions away in Monrovia territory in the second quarter. The Lancers would not capitalize on the miscues.

La Salle found away to keep their 14-point deficit as Novell threw two interceptions inside the red zone.

“We (La Salle) didn’t take advantage of our opportunities there,” said Lancer head coach Antoine Peterson. “I told the team that we need to execute and not turn the ball over.”

The Wildcats would take a 28-point lead into halftime as Johnson scored for the second time on a two-yard run with 27 seconds to play.

Ramirez would ice the game on the opening kickoff of the second half with a 100-yard return for a touchdown to give Monrovia a 41-7 lead.

Monrovia's DeShawn Ramirez looks back to see if anyone will catch him. Photo by Anne Cypress.

LA SALLE           7     0     0     7     14

MONROVIA      21   14   6      7     48

SCORING:

M  –  Justin Delanuez 35 run (Christian Blanco kick)

M – Derrick Johnson 5  run (Blanco kick)

M – DeShawn Ramirez 80 run (Blanco kick)

LS – Michael Alexander 33 pass from Michael Novell (Mark Danhausen kick)

M – Osmong Bouligny 18 run (Blanco kick)

M – Johnson 2 run (Blanco kick)

M – Ramirez 100 kick return (kick failed)

M – Blanco 25 run (Blanco kick)

LS – Alexander 5 run (Danhausen kick)