Monroe beats Auburn Riverside 48-28 to advance to state tourney

Published 10:45 pm Friday, November 4, 2016

MONROE — Friday’s tri-district playoff game between Auburn Riverside and host Monroe was filled with big plays and crucial mistakes.

Fortunately for the Bearcats, they were able to turn in more big plays and fewer mistakes than the Ravens, especially in the second half. As a result, they posted a 48-28 win to clinch a berth to the 4A state tournament.

Even though the Bearcats struggled at times, they were able to rebound nicely from their first defeat of the season, which came last Friday in a 4A Wesco showdown against Lake Stevens.

“We tried to put last week behind us and not focus on it,” said Monroe coach Michael Bumpus. “We haven’t been to the first round (of state) for around 30 years, so that was our motivation tonight.”

Monroe will travel to play Sumner in a first-round state game next Friday or Saturday.

Running back JJ Jerome and quarterback Zach Zimmerman led the Bearcats’ offense. Jerome ran for 216 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns, and added 62 yards on five catches. Zimmerman threw for 177 yards, ran for 107 yards, and tallied four touchdowns — three rushing and one passing.

“With those two athletes in the backfield, we can (succeed) even when things break down,” Bumpus said. “With our offensive line getting a strong push, even if (the opposition) puts seven or eight in the box, we still have a chance for success.”

Monroe was able to overcome some sloppy play — it committed 11 penalties for 130 yards, and committed two turnovers. Two of those penalties negated touchdowns.

The Bearcats didn’t play especially well in the first half, but ended the second quarter with a 28-21 lead.

“The boys came out with emotion, and sometimes that emotion can be a little unpredictable,” Bumpus said. “We shot ourselves in the foot several times.”

After the Ravens tied the game at 28-28 in the third quarter, Monroe began to pull away. Jerome’s 54-yard run gave the Bearcats a 35-28 lead. Later on, Jake Avraham snared a 23-yard pass from Zimmerman to give the Bearcats a 42-28 advantage.

Monroe’s defense locked down from there, as Auburn Riverside couldn’t move the chains on a consistent basis. Zimmerman finished the scoring with a 20-yard run with five minutes remaining in the game.

“We cleaned some things up and stayed consistent and tried not to panic,” Bumpus said. “We played Bearcat football.”

“We were motivated, and things just clicked for us,” Zimmerman said. “We had this dream, this vision (of advancing to the state tournament) in our heads, and we knew we had to do everything we could to give ourselves a chance.”

The first quarter couldn’t have gone much worse for the Bearcats, who committed three penalties and lost a fumble. Those plays led to a 14-0 deficit.

Things got better for Monroe in a hurry in the second quarter as it took advantage of two turnovers, got its special teams going and started to hit on some big pass plays.

Isaiah Cole had a number of long return runs for the Bearcats, went over 100 yards receiving on five catches and added an interception. Garett Ranz also had a pick for Monroe.

“This was a historical night for us,” Zimmerman said. “It all started in practice last week – we had our best practices of the season. We got in the ‘setback, comeback’ mindset, and that worked for us. We started slow, but we know what we have to do to finish games.”