FULLERTON —  The last team in was nearly the last team standing.

“We played 16 games and just ran out of gas today,” said Monte Vista High School football coach Ron Hamamoto after his Monarchs lost 38-21 to Tuolumne Summerville in the State 6-A championship game at Fullerton Union High School District Stadium.

Monte Vista (10-6) was the last team in the San Diego Section playoffs and only joined the postseason party when Rancho Buena Vista opted out of playoffs, opening a spot for the Monarchs.

Monte Vista rolled through the San Diego playoffs, beating Fallbrook, Hoover, Vista and Bonita Vista. The Monarchs then beat Pasadena to claim a Southern California Regional title and set up Saturday’s showdown.

“I’m so proud of what this group accomplished,” Hamamoto said. “We improved so much over the course of the season.

“But we ran into a good team. I’ve got to tip my hat to Summerville (14-1). They aren’t the biggest team we faced. They weren’t the fastest. But they’re tough and disciplined. And that quarterback sure gets it done.”

The quarterback is Bryce Leveroos, a junior and the son of coach Sean Leveroos.

Bryce Leveroos ran 21 times for 169 yards, with touchdown runs of 13 and 49 yards. He threw just seven passes, completing four of them for 159 yards. All four went to Luke Larson, who had a 75-yard TD catch and run, a 32-yard gain and another for 29 yards.

The Bears rushed 38 times for 252 yards, giving them 411 yards total offense.

Monte Vista, a run-oriented Wing-T team, posted just 84 rushing yards, losing 22 yards on an ill-fated reverse.

Alexander Villanueva had 14 carries for 76 yards. He finishes the season with a San Diego Section single-season record 3,227 yards.

Sean Leveroos said Summerville’s defensive plan was to stop Villanueva. It worked.

Monarch quarterbacks Derrick Taylor and Dayon Bean were a combined 12 of 26 for 224 yards.

Rahshawn Taylor, who was also a force on defense, caught six passes for 101 yards. He would have had more, but Taylor was under pressure and couldn’t connect on several slant routes.

Villanueva had three catches for 36 yards. He turned a screen pass that appeared headed for a big loss into a nine-yard gain on fourth-and- 11 that nearly gave the Monarchs a first down late in the game.

“There were some things that were open, but Derrick was under pressure,” Taylor said. “We had some slants and fades that might have gone for big yards if he had another second or so to throw.

“But we have nothing to be ashamed of. We know what we need to do to get here again.”

Summerville had a pair of 10-point leads in the first half only to see Monte Vista bounce back. Summerville opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD run by Leveroos. The Bears took advantage of a pair of big plays with Leveroos hitting Luke Larson for a 38-yard completion and Isaac Biggs rumbling for 16 yards on the drive.

The Bears recovered a Monte Vista fumble and kicker Bryson Benites booted a 22-yard field goal.

Monte Vista returned the favor with Anthony Gastelo recovering a Summerville fumbled punt.

Three plays later, Alex Villanueva scored on a 2-yard run.

Summerville got the points right back when Leveroos found a wide-open Larson behind the secondary for a 75-yard score.

Monte Vista answered with a five-play, 63-yard drive with Taylor scoring from 9 yards out on a great fake.

The Monarchs had a chance before the half, driving to the Summerville 16 before the drive ended on a sack. They made the score respectable when Bean directed a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with him scoring on a 3-yard run with 49 seconds to play.

“We have a lot to be proud of,” Hamamoto said. “We won a San Diego Section championship.

“We beat a really good Pasadena team to win the Southern California Regional. But we’re all a little bit selfish. We wanted one more.”

Summerville  38, Monte Vista 21

Summerville 10   7   14   7 — 38

Monte Vista  0  14    0   7 — 21

S — Leveroos 1 run (Benites kick)

S — Benites FG 22

MV — Villanueva 2 run (Baca kick)

S — Larson 75 pass from Leveroos (Benites kick)

MV — Taylor 9 run (Baca kick)

S — Leveroos 13 run (Benites kick)

S — Leveroos 49 run (Benites kick)

S — Cash 14 run (Benites kick)

MV — Bean 3 run (Baca kick)

Originally Published: December 14, 2024 at 6:57 PM PST