SAN FRANCISCO -- Mitty brought its passing game up the peninsula, and beat the Archbishop Riordan Crusaders 42-21 in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon.
The Monarchs (6-4, 4-3 WCAL) threw early and often with senior quarterback Brett Foley completing 7 of his 11 attempts for 189 yards and three touchdowns.
The win keeps the Monarchs alive for a possible divisional seed, which may come down to a coin toss. Regardless, the team is guaranteed a playoff spot, while the exact division is unknown at this point.
The tone of the game was set early on when Mitty junior linebacker Blake Flovin returned an interception for a touchdown just two minutes into the game. Archbishop Riordan never had the lead.
Mitty picked up most of their yardage on big plays, including three touchdowns of over 40 yards, and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Ben Granberry had four catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
“Some of the big plays we had today were things set up by the run,” says Mitty head coach Dave Brown. “We were trying to hit the edge a lot today, and they got really conscious of it. That brought their corners in to force the run, and once that happens we could run play action and get a guy loose.”
Senior Monarch running back Dakari Monroe rushed 11 times for 72 yards and returned an interception for a touchdown. He also added a 43-yard touchdown catch to his impressive day late in the third quarter.
“We’ve been trying to get that play for a while this year," Monroe said. Brett threw a great ball like he always does and I just came down with it in the endzone. It was a good play-call by the coach.”
This was the final game of the season for the Crusaders (1-9, 1-5 WCAL).
“Our entire offensive line was brand new,” says Riordan head coach John Lee. “Every kid that played O-line for us last year graduated. Our quarterback was new. Our receivers were new. Our backs were new. Every game we played this year, we were right in the thick of it.”
Despite the rough season for the Crusaders, their quarterback, Jack Luavasa, ran 18 times for 109 yards in the game, and their wide receiver, Aidan Verba-Hamilton, caught five passes for 74 yards and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Both players are juniors and will be back next year.
Lee adds, “Jack [Luavasa] was doing some nice things. I’m hoping we can build on that. We have some nice kids from junior varsity coming up, but we need to sit down as a staff in the offseason and see where we want to go offensively and defensively.”
