Schools
Prep Football: Monte Vista Kicks Off Season vs. Serra
The Monarchs look to snap a string of losing seasons behind seven returning starters.
After back-to-back 2-8 finishes and six losing seasons in succession, coach Page Culver and his Monte Vista Monarchs believe they are about to turn the corner for the better.
Culver isn’t predicting a Grossmont Valley League crown for the Pride, but he's forecasting notable improvement.
“We’ve got 35 to 40 kids, but we are still a little thin,” said Culver as he prepared his Monarchs for Friday’s 7 p.m. season opener against Serra in Spring Valley.
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Based on their preseason scrimmage performance against Central Union and Mt. Carmel, the Monarchs should be a little mightier on offense and youthful on defense.
Seven starters return from last year, including hard-nose running back-corner James Sykes (5-11, 177).
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“He played well in our scrimmage,” Culver said. So did senior RB-LB Eric Owens (5-11, 172).
No question Monte Vista’s ground game should have more depth than in recent years as well.
Even so, most of the Monarchs will be playing both ways. Senior Demonte Rivera and Adreion Kay will provide respectable passing targets for junior quarterback Gordy Juarez.
Senior Kurt Voigtritter (6-3, 215) is the key Monarch in the trenches.
Whether the Monarchs have the horses to make a run at Mount Miguel, El Capitan and Santana for the title remains to be seen. Finishing third should be a reasonable goal, but barring injury, this squad might climb even higher.
Monte Vista Football on MaxPreps
Special to Patch.com from East County Sports.com
