By Rich Whittington
(El Monte) The El Monte Lions’ 2025 football season came to an end Friday evening as they fell to the visiting Western Christian Fighting Lancers 21-14 on a very wet night at Lions’ Stadium.
Scoring was at a premium in this contest. The teams moved the ball well, but simply could not find the end zone. El Monte got on the scoreboard first when running back Aaron Rivera scored on a 5-yard touchdown blast with :36 remaining in the opening half. Rivera also added the PAT, making the score 7-0 at the halftime break.
Western Christian tied the contest on their first possession of the third quarter when Yoan Chairez scored on an 8-yard rush. The PAT was added by Jake Burchelle making the score 7-7 with 9:21 remaining in the third quarter.
The score remained tied until the 3:12 mark of the fourth quarter, when El Monte’s Isaiah Standley found the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown pop. A second successful Rivera PAT made the score 14-7.
This is where disaster struck for the Lions. With less than two minutes to play, and the Lancers facing a fourth and 12, the Lions were called for holding. The penalty made for a more manageable fourth and two. On the next play, Western Christian’s Chairez scored his second touchdown of the evening – 60-yard run. Chairez also ran in the 2-point conversion making the score 15-14 with 1:19 remaining in the contest.
The Lions had a final attempt. Unfortunately for El Monte, the game ended with a fumble by quarterback Alex Aleman being returned for a 65-yard touchdown by defensive lineman Connor Scofield. The “scoop-and-score” made the score 21-14 as the game came to an end.
Western Christian improved to 12-0, 5-0 in Mesquite League play, and will host the
Baldwin Park Braves in the CIF Division 11 Semi-Finals next Friday night. El Monte
finishes the 2025 season schedule with a record of 9-3, 6-0 in Mission Valley League
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