Joe Bell scores twice to lead La Canada to victory.
By Duane Barker
(La Canada) The La Canada Spartans played host to the visiting Monrovia Wildcats Friday night in a game with plenty of Rio Hondo League implications. The Spartans managed a couple of second half scores and went on to beat the Wildcats 14-0 at La Canada High School.
Joe Bell scored both Spartan touchdowns on one yard plunges to lead La Canada to the victory.
Neither team looked very sharp from the get go and La Canada turned the ball over on their first drive on a Bell interception.
Set up with good field position in Spartan territory, Monrovia turned the ball over on downs after going for it on fourth and 10.
La Canada was a gracious host on their next series, going for it on fourth and three and Bell only managing two yards.
The Wildcats were in the giving mood as well when Troy Grise fumbled on the next play from scrimmage.
Neither team found any traction or success the rest of the first half.
Fortunes turned for the Spartans with 3:39 left in the third quarter when Bell called his own number from one yard out to cap a 10-play, 70-yard drive. Jayden Corfeine added the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
The score remained the same until 9:55 left in the final frame as Bell once again scored on a one yard plunge.
From there the La Canada defense put the clamps on the Monrovia offense and Bryson Bond sealed the game with an interception of Angel Morales.
The Wildcats will now return to Monrovia and try to get back in the win column against San Marino.
The Spartans will get a week off in preparation of their regular season finale against San Marino.
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@ Jack,
It will happen. It took South Pas 47 years to claim an outright Rio Hondo League crown last year and still waiting on a CIFSS championship since 1975. LC’s program has really grown under Coach A, and they are looking a lot better than just even a few years ago. My biggest concern is that they will be slotted in the high tier of the new Super League next season which means they will have to face the likes of Muir, Burbank and PHS. As I said before though, they seem the most ready of the RHL teams for the jump by looking at their JV development vs the other RHL teams.
I’m still waiting to see what I saw back in 1979. It seemed like a perfect storm with the city coming together to back their undefeated CIF Championship team. Every Friday night the stands were overflowing of people
@RHL Historian,
All true. It’s great that LC has turned the program around with Coach A. Out of the 5 RHL teams, LC looks to be in the best position to be successful in the new Super League starting next year. They have established a solid program through and through.
Everyone talking about Monrovia but nobody talking about the turnaround and consistency now obvious at LC. Took them a few years but they play like a cold weather team. Solid defense, they tackle really well, and run the ball right at you. Looks boring. But they stay persistent running the ball. Remind me of the great TC teams in the mid-2000s.
Nobody talking about how the LC community went to work building something different. Got the right head coach. They built it from the ground up. Got kids to play again. Competitive with their homegrown kids. Just a totally different vibe and program. Lots of confidence. Bet they work hard.
Program was real bad not that long ago. 0-10 in 2017. 1-9 in 2018. Not competitive at all and nobody went to their home games.
Props to all the people that built LC back. Probably wasn’t very easy.
Coach Dave was a great assistant coach at SM for a long time. Kid’s love him. Really good OL/DL coach. He knows what a real competitive program should look like. Whoever else is helping LC build it, congrats. You’ve all earned it.
Hope the LC program sees some playoff success this year. They’ll always be a tough out.
The program has fallen so far. The coach is a jerk. Ran off a bunch of the great guys around the kids and program. Losing kids to other schools now. The lower level team is bad too. These things come in cycles, but not sure we’ll ever rebound, especially with the current district leadership. Sad to see how far we’ve fallen.
Monrovia still reeling from the loss of their QB 1. Now they have to hope for a wild card CIF playoff birth. When was the last time they didn’t get an Auto qualifier spot?
When was the last time Monrovia was bagel?