Madison had to fight off a quality St. Augustine squad for a San Diego Section title last week.
Photo by Kirt Winter
One's a surprise and the other is anything but in the Division III Southern Regional Championship Bowl Game.
Crayvon Gillespie, Monrovia
Photo by Daryl Chan
The Warhawks of
Madison (San Diego) are back in the state playoffs for the second time in three years and were a heavy favorite to make it as the season wrapped up. On the other hand, the 12-2 Wildcats of
Monrovia weren't a shoo-in by any means, and were chosen over the Central Section's Wasco (13-0) in a decision that has elicited second-guessing from some.
The teams will play Saturday at 7:30 p.m., at Monrovia High, a plus for the Wildcats.
The Warhawks will make their second appearance in the state playoffs in three seasons after
losing to Escalon 30-14 in the Division III bowl in 2010. Nearly a dozen current Madison players were on the roster in 2010.
Monrovia, meanwhile, is making its first appearance in the state bowl games after winning its third-straight Southern Section Mid-Valley Division championship with a 23-7 win over Paraclete.
Pierre Cormier, Madison
Photo by Kirt Winter
Madison (12-1) defeated St. Augustine (San Diego) 35-21 for the San Diego Division IV section championship, the second in school history. Madison has won 11 straight games since a 42-28 loss to Valhalla the second week of the season, and has won at least 10 games in each of the past five seasons with three 12-win seasons mixed in.
Pierre Cormier, bound for Arizona, leads the Madison offense with 1,936 yards rushing on 186 attempts with 26 touchdowns. He ran for 157 yards and three touchdowns in the championship game.
Sophomore quarterback
Kareem Coles is also an offensive sparkplug for the Warhawks, as he has thrown for 1,638 yards (90 of 178) with 20 touchdowns. He has also run for 876 yards on the season. His favorite target is
Lee Walker, also bound for Arizona, with 35 catches for 632 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Blake Heyworth, Monrovia
Photo by Vince Pugliese
Like Madison, Monrovia has a very balanced offense that tilts a little more in favor of the passing game.
Blake Heyworth has completed 138 of 260 passes for 2,222 yards and 23 touchdowns on the season, with
Mason Bryant catching 46 of those passes for 753 yards and nine scores. Bryant also does the kicking for Monrovia, booting 48 extra points and eight field goals on the season.
Monrovia can also run the ball, however, with
Ge Vontray Ainsworth powering for 1,286 yards and 15 touchdowns and
Darione Jones adding 856 yards and 10 scores.
Ainsworth is also one of the mainstays on defense for Monrovia with 1
4.5 sacks. Linebackers
Brett Walsh and
David Gallegos have 135 and 129 tackles, respectively.
In the
Freeman Rankings, Madison is ranked No. 68 in the state and Monrovia is No. 133.
Watch more videos of Madison football
