Prep football: San Marin secures its second state title
The unstoppable force met the immovable object when the San Marin High football team hosted Granada Hills Charter in the CIF State Division 4-A Bowl Game on Saturday night.
The Mustangs loaded the box with 11 defenders — six defensive linemen and five linebackers — against a run-heavy Highlanders team that famously hadn’t completed a single pass this season coming into the game.
The gambit worked as the Mustangs jumped out to a three-score lead immediately en route to a rain-soaked 32-8 victory. The Mustangs (13-2) secured their second consecutive state title after defeating Independence in the Div. 5-AA title game last season.
The Highlanders (12-3) averaged 422 rushing yards across their first 14 games per game this season. San Marin put all 11 defenders around the line of scrimmage throughout the first half and neutralized the Highlanders’ ground game until the late stages of the fourth quarter.
San Marin seized control of the game from the jump, scoring three touchdowns inside the first 7 minutes of the first quarter.
The Mustangs got things rolling when quarterback Jimmy Hughes — starting in place of an injured Dominic Ingrassia — hit sophomore receiver Wesley Timmel for a 50-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive for a 6-0 lead.
San Marin’s first look at Granada Hills’ vaunted Wing-T rushing attack — led by University of Utah commit Dijon Stanley — resulted in a quick three-and-out. The Highlanders lost six yards on the drive and punted back to San Marin.
Sophomore running back Jonah Lozano doubled San Marin’s lead moments later, breaking several tackles while barreling down the right side of the field for an impressive 72-yard touchdown run.
Granada Hills fumbled the ensuing kickoff and San Marin was immediately in business again. Hughes had a long run to set the Mustangs up with a first-and-goal on the 5-yard line. Charlie Singleton scored on the next play and the Mustangs led 18-0.
San Marin had chances to extend its lead even further. Facing a fourth-and-20 inside their own half, the Mustangs ran a fake punt with Hughes and picked up 23 yards and the first down. The drive ended with a fumble inside the red zone.
Both teams turned the ball over twice in the first half. Granada Hills eventually got on the board when Stanley broke a long run to get into the red zone. Granada Hills notably completed its first pass of the year on the drive after going 0 for 7 on pass attempts during the regular season.
Several plays later, Stanley scored on fourth-and-goal then converted the two-point play to slice San Marin’s lead to 18-8 midway through the second quarter.
The Mustangs extended the lead to 25-8 before the half when Hughes hit Frankie Quinci for an 18-yard score inside the last 2 minutes.
Granada Hills threatened to score just before the half, driving inside San Marin’s 30-yard line when Stanley completed a 30-yard pass. The drive ended when the Highlanders’ fourth pass attempt of the half was picked off by Wesley Garton on San Marin’s 1-yard line.
Hughes gained a couple of yards on a quarterback sneak and the Mustangs ran out the clock to take a 25-8 lead into the locker room.
Granada Hills had an opportunity to climb back into the game on the first play of the second half. The Highlanders’ fifth pass of the game fell incomplete with a wide-open receiver behind San Marin’s defense.
With that bullet dodged, San Marin forced a stop and pushed the lead to 32-8 in the third quarter when Hughes found Quinci in the end zone for the second time.
Granada Hills was unable to get anything going on its ensuing drive, punting the ball back to the Mustangs late in the third quarter. From there, San Marin was content to pick up first downs and kill the clock en route to the victory.