Sylmar Carries Sign to Monroe

NORTH HILLS —  Nobody knows who spray-painted the championship sign at the Sylmar High football field.

Sylmar blamed Monroe. Monroe thought it was a ploy by Sylmar.

Only one thing was for certain Friday night at Monroe: Sylmar defeated another Valley Pac-8 Conference opponent, 28-0.

Angered that somebody had vandalized their football field, the Spartans took out their aggressions on Monroe.

The sign celebrates the Spartans’ 1992 and 1994 City championships. It was defaced with red spray paint.

“Total disrespect,” Sylmar running back Errol Bowen said of the vandalism. “Nobody’s ever done that to us.”

Monroe, which was this season’s best bet to unseat Sylmar in the conference, was derailed by a poor first quarter.

Sylmar (7-1, 5-0 in conference play) scored on its first three possessions--all of which started in Monroe territory--and took a 20-0 lead.

Sylmar’s first three scoring drives, which were set up by a Monroe fumble and two short punts, totaled only 92 yards.

When Shaun Avalos scored on a 15-yard screen pass over the middle at the end of the first quarter, the Spartans held a three-touchdown lead.

Sylmar made it 28-0 when Joey LaPorte blocked a punt by Eric Hernandez with 8:35 left in the second quarter. Cedric Anderson scooped up the ball and went 39 yards for the score.

Making matters worse for Monroe was the loss of running back Vinny Walker, who left in the second quarter with a sprained left ankle. Walker finished with 28 yards in nine carries.

The Vikings, who entered the game with the most prolific offense among City teams in the region, gained only 158 yards.

“We’ve got a lot of things to work on,” Walker said. “They jumped out pretty quick. But we’ll be back.”

The Vikings improved in the second half and had the best shot at scoring early in the fourth quarter.

But a 26-yard field goal by Liz Nemeth went wide right.

“We challenged our players at halftime,” Monroe Coach Sloan Bunting said. “It shows what kind of team we could be. We needed to step it up and play like a championship team.”

Avalos had seven catches for 104 yards for the Spartans. Bowen ran for 80 yards in 12 carries for the Spartans, who were playing without all-conference two-way starter Ray Solis.

Solis had to sit out the game because he got in a fight last week against Grant.

Both Sylmar quarterbacks were effective as they took turns throughout the game.

Noah Albiston completed eight of 15 passes for 91 yards. LaPorte, who started, completed five of seven passes for 80 yards and a touchdown for the Spartans. Donald Carpenter, who moved from tailback to fullback, rushed for 42 yards in seven carries for Sylmar.