The West County High School (WCHS) football team weathered their first setback of the fall campaign on Friday at San Marin, falling to a formidable Mustangs’ squad, 57-20.
West County (WC) played the Mustangs on even terms through the first two periods, but the No. 1 ranked NCS Division 5 Mustangs gained separation with a 36-point third-quarter explosion that would effectively ice the game. Â
“We made some mistakes in the third quarter and they capitalized,” WCHS head coach Dan Bourdon said, assessing the game. “We couldn’t recover after that.”
The loss evened West County’s season record to 1-1, with a Friday, Sept. 10 clash with visiting Vallejo next on the docket. Kickoff times at Karlson Field for the JV and varsity are 4:30 and 7 p.m.
Explosive third quarter
The final score of Friday’s visit to San Marin belied an otherwise competitive game, as the teams waged a good battle for the first 24 minutes.
The Mustangs got things started midway through the opening period on a 23-yard scoring run. The point after kick was blocked and San Marin led 6-0. The Mustangs drove to the visitor’s three-yard line on their next possession but WC senior linebacker Cassius Bradbury recovered a fumble to kill the threat.
WC junior quarterback Sammy Long went to an effective hurry-up offense and quickly drove his team the length of the field before junior running back Jaden Brady finished the deal with a four-yard scoring burst for a 7-6 lead.
West County continued to move the ball in the second quarter, but a promising drive stalled at the Mustang’s 15-yard line. San Marin quickly mounted an 85-yard drive culminating in a pass from quarterback Joey Cook to receiver Justin Guin. The two-point conversion was good and the Mustangs led 14-7.
But the WC offense was not done for the half, mounting a long scoring drive, highlighted by a 60-yard pass play to junior receiver Soloman Hall. Brady finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown dive and an Aden Noethig PAT boot knotted the contest at 14-all at the break.
It proved the high-water mark of the night for the visitors, as the Mustangs reeled off a series of big plays, finding pay dirt on a 90-yard punt return, and scoring runs of 41, 50 and 16 yards. San Marin added scoring passes of 25 and 33 yards, while WC managed just a five-yard touchdown strike from Long to senior Joshua Kidd as the Mustangs powered to a 57-20 romp.
Long ended the night with 19 completions on 32 pass attempts for 285 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. WC rushing leaders were Brady (14-42 yards, 2 TDs) and junior Jack Izzarelli (2-6 yards). Top receivers included Hocheder (3-90 yards), Hall (3-77 yards), Kidd (4-66 yards), Brady (5-25 yards), Gio Visintin (3-18 yards) and Izzarelli (1-9 yards).    Â
