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Complete effort for Mustangs in 32-16 win
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| COURTESY OF RICH LEWIS Marcelo Hernandez stretches as he’s tackled by a Trojan defender. The Mustangs put in a respectable day’s work and came away with a 32-16 win. |
By Bruce Meadows
Contributor
After seven games this season, San Marin High’s football squad had not exactly earned the reputation for being a second-half team.
The Mustangs (2-6, 2-3) took a big step in changing that image Saturday, outscoring host Terra Linda (4-4, 2-2) in the second half, 12-6, on the way to a 32-16 victory.
The 32 points were the most scored by the Mustangs this season, and TL’s 16 points were second only to 10 points scored by San Rafael in a 13-10 loss to SM as far as least points allowed.
“How did that feel?” SM coach Dan Hickey asked players rhetorically after the game. “TL is the best passing team in the league, and you shut them down.”
In fact, the Mustang defense slowed down QB Dan Higgins, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 195 yards and two scores. One of the TD tosses went for 66 yards in the fourth quarter. He was intercepted twice and sacked twice as well.
SM’s offensive line played well, as did the defensive line, which held the Trojans to just 43 yards, including a 41-yard scramble by Higgins on a broken play in the second quarter that set up a TD to keep TL close at halftime, 20-10.
Meanwhile, the Mustang offense led by the hard running of Marcelo Hernandez (14x123 yards) and Patrick McIntosh (22x63) rolled up 221 yards and allowed SM to maintain ball control.
“We wanted to control the ball as best we could,” said Hickey. “That made the difference.”
Hernandez, explaining how he ran “the gauntlet” in practice all week, called the effort “my best game ever,” adding, “it’s great to see all that hard work pay off.”
The Mustangs, who host Drake this Saturday, started quick when McIntosh intercepted a pass from Higgins to set up the SM offense on the TL 32. Hernandez burst over center for a TD on the next play.
TL drove to the Mustang 19 to set up a 35-yard field goal by Tim Namnath, but QB Ryan Zirkle then led SM on an 80-yard, 13-play drive, with Hernandez bulling his way into the end zone from the 8 on fourth down.
After Ben Bryant returned a punt 13 yards to the TL 32, the Mustangs scored in six plays, including Zirkle’s 22-yard completion to Nick Driscoll at the Trojan 3. Zirkle, who had several clutch short runs, ran it in from the 1 for a 20-3 lead.
But Higgins got his team back in the game before halftime with a 74-yard, 5-play drive that included his 41-yard scamper. He completed 4x4 passes, including one for a 15-yard TD to Joe Guice.
“Stopping them in the second half was big,” said Hickey. “We know we have to learn how to put four quarters together like we did today.”
He said the victory “means a lot to the coaching staff and a lot to the players because we want to teach these guys how to win.”
Zirkle played with a brace on his non-throwing left elbow for an injury suffered in a loss to Marin Catholic last week. He completed 5x10 passes for 94 yards and a TD pass to Driscoll.
“It (his elbow) really didn’t bother me,” said Zirkle, who preferred talking about a gimmick play where Driscoll, the backup QB, took a handoff then completed an 11-yard pass to Zirkle to open the fourth quarter.
“We put it in this week,” said Zirkle, who said Driscoll had a little trouble getting the pass off because he was wearing gloves.
“This was a big win for us,” added Zirkle. “Now we know what we can do.”
The Mustangs can make it two in a row with a win Saturday over Drake (2-6, 1-4), which lost to MC Saturday, 42-7.
Drake’s defense gave up 345 yards on the ground and 101 passing against MC.
“This game validated what we have been working towards all season, and now we want to put two wins together,” said Hickey, whose team finishes the regular season at Novato Nov. 14.
SAN MARIN 32, TERRA LINDA 16
San Marin 14 6 0 12 - 32
Terra Linda 3 7 0 6 - 16
SM-Hernandez 32 run (Zirkle kick)
TL-Namnath 36 field goal
SM-Hernandez 6 run (Zirkle kick)
SM-Zirkle 1 run (kick failed)
TL-Guice 15 pass from Higgins (Namnath kick)
SM-Driscoll 25 pass from Zirkle (kick failed)
TL-Aguerrebere 66 pass from Higgins (run failed)
SM-Stanfel 10 run (kick failed)
PASSING-San Marin, Zirkle 5-10-0 94, Driscoll 1-1-0 11. Totals 6-11-0 105 Terra Linda, Higgins 16-23-2 195.
RUSHING-San Marin, Hernandez 14-123, McIntosh 22-63, Stanfel 6-17, Zirkle 7-10, Bryant 1-5, Driscoll 1-8, Totals 51-221; Terra Linda, Aguerrebere 3-(minus-4), Higgins 5-47, Totals 8-43.
RECEIVING-San Marin, Stanfel 1-18, Driscoll 2-48, Bryant 1-14, Hickey 1-16, Zirkle 1-11. Totals 6-104. Terra Linda, Charlton 1-10, Griffith 4-38, Manoli 5-42, Ohmart 1-(minus-3), Guice 2-25, Aguerrebere 3-81, Totals 16-193.
San Marin 2-6, 2-3; Terra Linda 4-4, 2-2.
The Mustangs (2-6, 2-3) took a big step in changing that image Saturday, outscoring host Terra Linda (4-4, 2-2) in the second half, 12-6, on the way to a 32-16 victory.
The 32 points were the most scored by the Mustangs this season, and TL’s 16 points were second only to 10 points scored by San Rafael in a 13-10 loss to SM as far as least points allowed.
“How did that feel?” SM coach Dan Hickey asked players rhetorically after the game. “TL is the best passing team in the league, and you shut them down.”
In fact, the Mustang defense slowed down QB Dan Higgins, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 195 yards and two scores. One of the TD tosses went for 66 yards in the fourth quarter. He was intercepted twice and sacked twice as well.
SM’s offensive line played well, as did the defensive line, which held the Trojans to just 43 yards, including a 41-yard scramble by Higgins on a broken play in the second quarter that set up a TD to keep TL close at halftime, 20-10.
Meanwhile, the Mustang offense led by the hard running of Marcelo Hernandez (14x123 yards) and Patrick McIntosh (22x63) rolled up 221 yards and allowed SM to maintain ball control.
“We wanted to control the ball as best we could,” said Hickey. “That made the difference.”
Hernandez, explaining how he ran “the gauntlet” in practice all week, called the effort “my best game ever,” adding, “it’s great to see all that hard work pay off.”
The Mustangs, who host Drake this Saturday, started quick when McIntosh intercepted a pass from Higgins to set up the SM offense on the TL 32. Hernandez burst over center for a TD on the next play.
TL drove to the Mustang 19 to set up a 35-yard field goal by Tim Namnath, but QB Ryan Zirkle then led SM on an 80-yard, 13-play drive, with Hernandez bulling his way into the end zone from the 8 on fourth down.
After Ben Bryant returned a punt 13 yards to the TL 32, the Mustangs scored in six plays, including Zirkle’s 22-yard completion to Nick Driscoll at the Trojan 3. Zirkle, who had several clutch short runs, ran it in from the 1 for a 20-3 lead.
But Higgins got his team back in the game before halftime with a 74-yard, 5-play drive that included his 41-yard scamper. He completed 4x4 passes, including one for a 15-yard TD to Joe Guice.
“Stopping them in the second half was big,” said Hickey. “We know we have to learn how to put four quarters together like we did today.”
He said the victory “means a lot to the coaching staff and a lot to the players because we want to teach these guys how to win.”
Zirkle played with a brace on his non-throwing left elbow for an injury suffered in a loss to Marin Catholic last week. He completed 5x10 passes for 94 yards and a TD pass to Driscoll.
“It (his elbow) really didn’t bother me,” said Zirkle, who preferred talking about a gimmick play where Driscoll, the backup QB, took a handoff then completed an 11-yard pass to Zirkle to open the fourth quarter.
“We put it in this week,” said Zirkle, who said Driscoll had a little trouble getting the pass off because he was wearing gloves.
“This was a big win for us,” added Zirkle. “Now we know what we can do.”
The Mustangs can make it two in a row with a win Saturday over Drake (2-6, 1-4), which lost to MC Saturday, 42-7.
Drake’s defense gave up 345 yards on the ground and 101 passing against MC.
“This game validated what we have been working towards all season, and now we want to put two wins together,” said Hickey, whose team finishes the regular season at Novato Nov. 14.
SAN MARIN 32, TERRA LINDA 16
San Marin 14 6 0 12 - 32
Terra Linda 3 7 0 6 - 16
SM-Hernandez 32 run (Zirkle kick)
TL-Namnath 36 field goal
SM-Hernandez 6 run (Zirkle kick)
SM-Zirkle 1 run (kick failed)
TL-Guice 15 pass from Higgins (Namnath kick)
SM-Driscoll 25 pass from Zirkle (kick failed)
TL-Aguerrebere 66 pass from Higgins (run failed)
SM-Stanfel 10 run (kick failed)
PASSING-San Marin, Zirkle 5-10-0 94, Driscoll 1-1-0 11. Totals 6-11-0 105 Terra Linda, Higgins 16-23-2 195.
RUSHING-San Marin, Hernandez 14-123, McIntosh 22-63, Stanfel 6-17, Zirkle 7-10, Bryant 1-5, Driscoll 1-8, Totals 51-221; Terra Linda, Aguerrebere 3-(minus-4), Higgins 5-47, Totals 8-43.
RECEIVING-San Marin, Stanfel 1-18, Driscoll 2-48, Bryant 1-14, Hickey 1-16, Zirkle 1-11. Totals 6-104. Terra Linda, Charlton 1-10, Griffith 4-38, Manoli 5-42, Ohmart 1-(minus-3), Guice 2-25, Aguerrebere 3-81, Totals 16-193.
San Marin 2-6, 2-3; Terra Linda 4-4, 2-2.
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kimhuff wrote on Nov 5, 2009 9:14 PM:
Thanks!
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