By Aaron Valdez
With summer just clearing its halfway point, 24 high school football teams honed their skills and chemistry at the San Gabriel Valley Shootout 7on7 Passing League Tournament hosted by Arroyo High School on Saturday.
Players, coaches and fans alike gathered to catch a glimpse of what their teams and rivals have to offer come season time in the fall. The 24 teams were split into six pools of four, competing in a round robin within their respective pool. Depending on the results in pool play, the top 16 teams qualified for bracket play and were seeded accordingly.
Because of the scorching conditions, Arroyo Head Coach and event coordinator Jim Singiser bumped the start time to 8 a.m. rather than the usual 9 a.m.
Overall, the Monrovia Wildcats and new Head Coach Chris Williams made a decent impression on the rest of the San Gabriel Valley. Monrovia came out unscathed in pool action, sweeping the competition by beating South El Monte 18-12, San Gabriel 21-18 and Bonita 24-21.
Monrovia’s first-place finish in their pool qualified it for bracket play as the No. 6 seed. The Wildcats met up with No. 11-seeded Shurr High School and were upended by the Spartans.
Despite the early exit, Monrovia is showing tons of promise being that the team finished with a winning 3-1 record on top of finishing last weekend’s Bonita Assault Shootout with a 3-2 record.
