Riding a five-game winning streak, the San Marino High School football team looked to add one more victory to seal its first outright Rio Hondo League title since 2018.
The only thing standing in the Titans’ way was league rival and reigning champion Monrovia.
Monrovia’s passing game provided the spark for the Wildcats to snap the San Marino streak as the Titans fell 29-24 on Oct. 26 at San Marino High, splitting the Rio Hondo League crown between three teams.
“I know these guys can play a lot better,” San Marino coach Nate Turner said. “They got off to a slow start, and teams that can score the ball like Monrovia are a dangerous team and we knew that. We knew that these guys could put up points and we couldn’t stop their main weapon. They got after us a little bit, we tried to keep up just to keep the score going and we didn’t do a good job.
“I’m very proud of our team and what they’ve been able to accomplish thus far, but I know we’re way better.”
The first-year coach helped guide San Marino (8-2 overall, 4-1 league) to a share of the league title following a losing 2022 campaign. The Rio Hondo League title is shared between San Marino, Monrovia and South Pasadena, which defeated Pasadena Poly on Oct. 27 to force the three-way tie. The Titans finished last season in another three-way tie behind league winners Monrovia with a 3-2 league record.
Up next for San Marino is the CIF Southern Section Division X playoffs. The Titans will face Redlands, which got into the playoffs as an at-large team from the Citrus Belt League.
The first-round matchup kicks off Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. at San Marino High.
“I already know our team is going to bounce back,” said Titans senior Sid Danenhauer of the playoffs. “We’re going to probably bring even more focus and energy into this next week and we’re going to make the biggest run that we’ve ever made before and I’m excited to see it.”
Danenhauer produced on both sides of the field against Monrovia, hauling in two interceptions to go along with his five catches for 57 yards and one touchdown.
Titans senior Coleman Morning also made an impact on offense and defense. Morning carried the ball six times for 33 yards rushing and one touchdown to go along with four catches for 20 yards. On defense, the senior forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter, which was recovered by lineman Mitch Mooney and converted into points.
San Marino quarterback Brady Beck was 26 for 42 passing for 223 yards and one touchdown, and Titans senior Mikey Yessaian led the Titans receivers with 10 catches for 79 yards.
Monrovia relied heavily on its passing game spearheaded by quarterback Brian Salazar Jr. The Wildcats senior threw for 357 yards, three interceptions and one touchdown on 20 of 27 passes.
Wildcats senior Noah Ellison hauled in seven catches for 171 yards, and junior Vincent Paez tallied five receptions for 108 yards receiving.
Monrovia running back Davonte Jones scored twice on 11 carries and 15 yards rushing, and senior Iziaih Ainsworth and junior Joshua Griffiths both scored for the visitors.
Monrovia received the opening kickoff and quickly made its way down the field to the San Marino 7 before Titans senior Carson Herren intercepted a pass near the end zone and returned it to the opposite end of the field to give the hosts the lead at 9:42 in the first quarter.
The Wildcats responded on their next drive with an 8-yard touchdown catch by Ainsworth, and Monrovia took an 8-7 lead with 5:18 to go in the frame following a two-point conversion by sophomore Troy Grise.
The Titans offense finally got on the field on the third possession of the game and started to get momentum as Beck completed his first four passes of the game to position the hosts in Wildcats territory. However, the drive ended when Morning’s pass was intercepted by Griffiths in the end on the first play of the second quarter.
A 31-yard pass from Salazar Jr. to Ellison converted a fourth-and-1 situation on the ensuing drive, and Griffiths punched in a 1-yard carry to extend Monrovia’s lead to 15-7 with 9:16 left in the half.
With 2:51 remaining in the second quarter, Danenhauer grabbed his first interception of the game to put the Titans in scoring position. However, San Marino settled for a 31-yard field goal attempt that freshman kicker Nick Acuna scored to cut the Monrovia lead to 15-10 with 1:22 remaining in the frame.
Acuna had another field goal attempt at the end of the half, but his 47-yard kick was just short of the goal post, and the Titans entered the break with a five-point deficit.
San Marino made its way down to the Monrovia 27 in its opening drive of the second half, but turned the ball over on downs at 7:43 in the third.
Danenhauer grabbed his second interception of the game in the following two plays into the Monrovia drive to set the Titans up near midfield. The San Marino offense stalled once again as the Wildcats defense forced another turnover on downs at 4:49 in the third.
Facing third-and-20, a 42-yard completion from Salazar Jr. to Ellison put the Wildcats deep in Titans territory, and Jones ended the possession with his first 1-yard rushing touchdown to give Monrovia a 22-10 lead with 1:45 left in the third.
San Marino quickly responded on its ensuing drive when Beck rolled out to the right and lofted a pass to Danenhauer for a 17-yard score to cut the Monrovia lead to 22-17 with just a minute gone in the fourth quarter.
“This whole season, we were kind of working up to this game,” Danenhauer said. “This is exactly where we wanted to be and I’m really proud of this team because we’ve never really even been close to where we’re at right now and it’s amazing we’ve made it this far and I’m just really proud of our guys.”
The Titans forced Monrovia to punt for the first time in the game at 9:07. However, pegged at its own 26-yard line, the San Marino offense stalled and turned the ball over on downs a minute later.
The Wildcats capitalized on the turnover as Jones trotted into the end zone for his second 1-yard score and the 29-17 Monrovia lead with 7:37 left in the game.
The Titans again turned the ball over on downs with 5:17 remaining, but Morning provided the hosts with a lifeline when he sacked the Monrovia signal caller to force the ball out, which was recovered by Mooney with 4:04 left in the contest.
Morning capped the drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown to put the Titans within reach at 29-24 with 1:48 remaining.
San Marino opted for an onside kick on the kickoff and succeeded as junior Tomas Bilvado hopped on the ball to put the Titans near midfield. The Titans failed to convert and turned the ball over on downs with 53 seconds remaining in the contest.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Turner said. “We didn’t do that today. We tried to come out and play against a team that just did a good job at what they do. They didn’t change what they’ve done offensively. They’ve done it all year long. They tried to throw the ball down the field, and they were successful at it. We didn’t do a good job at covering down the field. We didn’t do a good job with controlling the quarterback and keeping him in the pocket, so as far as I’m concerned, that’s something we’ll address opponent to opponent.”
First published in the Nov. 2 issue of the San Marino Tribune
