It will be an intriguing matchup of offenses in today’s Class 2A state championship between No. 2 Monrovia (14-0) and No. 14 Bishop Luers (9-5).
The Bulldogs like to run the ball the same way over and over again until a defense stops them, and in the playoffs no team has done that. The “belly” formation offers a steady diet of running backs Austin Parks (1,692 rushing yards), Jake Hadley (824), Garrett Johnson (588) and Tim Conner (342) in a straight-ahead style that seems simple in concept but isn’t easy to stop.
“They are another team who wants to dominate the ball and the clock and not let you have it,” Luers coach Matt Lindsay said. “We have to find ways to not let them do that. That was our fear with Rensselaer (Central) where you look up in the first quarter and there is a minute left after only one possession, and you haven’t seen the ball. That’s the kind of game we don’t want to get into.
“They have four kids who run the ball very hard and very well. They don’t do a whole lot; … four or five formations, max. But what they do, and they do it awfully well.”
A big offensive line has keyed the Bulldogs’ attack.
“When you have an athletic line, it usually turns out well,” Monrovia coach Kevin Hutchins said.
“They are the heart and soul of our team. They move people out of there, and that’s the key to running the football.”
Monrovia has rushed for 3,792 yards and passed for only 516 yards.
“They are a powerful team, and they like to run the ball a lot and control the clock,” Luers junior cornerback DeAngelo Fincher said. “They are going to try to keep the ball out of our hands so we can’t get a lot of offensive possessions.”
The Knights, on the other hand, get it done with speed.
A lot of the Knights’ drives go less than a half-dozen plays and end up with Kenny Mullen (28 touchdowns) or Michael Rogers (328 receiving yards) getting downfield in a hurry.
“They are very athletic,” said Hutchins, whose defense is giving up a state fourth-best 5.4 points per game. “We realize they are going to provide a huge challenge. The Mullen kid is a dynamic player.
“Our kids feel like they can play with them. Speedwise we feel like we are right there. We feel like we have played some good competition. No, it isn’t the 5A schools Luers plays, but we feel like we have played some quality teams.”
The Knights also have speed in DeAngelo Fincher, Evan Blackmon and Jaylon Smith, who have helped the Knights score 50.8 points per game in the postseason.
“You tend to have a lot of speed in the city, and you will structure their offenses around getting their kids the ball out in spaces,” Lindsay said.
The goal for both defenses will be to take the offenses out of their comfort zones.
“We have to contain and not give up big plays,” Lindsay said. “We also have to execute when you have the ball, so they don’t have the ball because once they get going, they can be tough.
“We have taken some of our opponents out of their game by scoring quickly and getting on top, and they are forced to do things they don’t want to do. They are fast, but I would guess we are faster. We are going to do what we do as well as we can and not worry about what they do.”
