Prep football: Marin Catholic’s offense stalls in loss to Cardinal Newman

Early indicators were all green-light-and-go for the Marin Catholic High football team offense Saturday.

The Wildcats scored on the second snap of the game – a 61-yard jaunt by running back Jarred Geissberger – and rolled up 111 yards of offense before the first quarter ended.

And then Cardinal Newman planted a stop sign.

The Cardinals held the Wildcats to a total of 44 yards over the final three quarters and pulled away for a 20-7 victory in an opening round North Coast Section Open/Division I playoff game in Kentfield

The Cardinals (10-1) not only avenged a 13-3 setback in a regular-season game two weeks ago, they also snapped a four-game losing streak to Marin Catholic dating back to 2019.

In fact, Marin Catholic had ended Cardinal Newman’s season in NCS playoff finals each of the previous three years.

The Cardinals tasted sweet revenge as they closed the curtain on the Wildcats’ season Saturday.

“We just did not execute on offense,” MC wide receiver Jude Baker said. “They just out-executed us today and played at a higher level than us. They are a great team and they have a great program.”

In many ways, the game resembled this season’s previous meeting between the North Bay powers – especially in the early going.

The Wildcats scored early and played stout defense, much as they had done in the regular season meeting.

But midway through the second quarter, the game took a radical turn in Cardinal Newman’s favor.

The Cardinals fashioned a 14-play, 76-yard drive exhausting the remainder of the half. Only a lost fumble – recovered by MC’s Colin Lovette – allowed the Wildcats to hold their tenuous 7-0 lead at intermission.

Cardinal Newman received the second half kickoff and picked up exactly where they left off.

The Cardinals drove 60 yards on nine plays and ended a more than six-quarter drought of not scoring a touchdown against the Wildcats when behemoth ball-carrier Kahlio Vaetoe carried would-be tacklers into the end zone on an eight-yard touchdown run.

Newman ties the game on the first drive of the third. 7-7. #marinfootball pic.twitter.com/jyjGFRVw0X

— Ian Ross (@IRossMIJ) November 16, 2024

After the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats went three-and-out for the second consecutive possession and the suddenly unstoppable Cardinal Newman offense strung together a 13-play drive which produced zero points but ate up the remainder of the third quarter.

After the teams traded punts, MC seemed on the verge of reigniting its offense when quarterback Caedon Afsharipour – despite playing with a heavily wrapped broken thumb on his non-throwing hand – scrambled for 24 yards.

But two plays later the game took a final turn for the worse for MC when it lost a fumble deep in its own territory.

Four plays after that, Cardinal Newman running back Brody Estrela shrugged off at least three defenders on a run up the middle and rumbled into the end zone from 13 yards out as the Cardinals took their first lead against the Wildcats this season.

Newman cashes in on the mistake by MC. Lead 13-7 with 4:24 to play. PAT blocked. #marinfootball pic.twitter.com/yELyXM9Wna

— Ian Ross (@IRossMIJ) November 16, 2024

With a little more than four minutes remaining, MC had one final opportunity to answer back. But it was not to be. Another lost fumble deep in its own territory shut the door on the Wildcats.

The Cardinals deadbolted the door six plays later when Estrela scored his second touchdown on a nine-yard run with 49 seconds remaining.

The most glaring differential in the second meeting in two weeks between the two teams was Cardinal Newman’s ability to run the ball.

After rushing for 87 total yards two weeks ago, the Cardinals racked up 213 yards on the ground Saturday.

Also, MC’s passing game was nearly absent.

The Wildcats, who gained 136 yards through the air two weeks ago against CN, passed for just 36 yards on Saturday.

“We put the ball on the ground too many times and it seemed like we were in third-and-long situations almost every drive,” MC coach Mazi Moayed said. “But Cardinal Newman has a great defense and they had a lot to do with that.”

Cardinal Newman freshman quarterback Tino Retamoza, who had two interceptions two weeks ago against the Wildcats, did not throw any picks Saturday.

Cardinal Newman 20, Marin Catholic 7

NCS Open/Division 1 playoff

Cardinal Newman  0  0  7  13  –  20

Marin Catholic  7  0  0  0  –  7

SCORING SUMMARY

MC – Geissberger 61 run (Carroll kick)

CN – Vaetoe 8 run (Gardner kick)

CN – Estrela 13 run (kick blocked)

CN – Estrela 9 run (Gardner kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – CN, Gentry 16-55, Retamoza 18-91, Estrela 8-50, Vaetoe 3-17. Totals: 45-213. MC, Geissberger 14-94, Conroy 2-10, Afsharipour 9-14, Serafin 1-1. Totals: 26-119.

PASSING– CN, Retamoza 13-18-0 60. MC, Afsharipour 3-8-1 36. Totals: 3-8-1 36.

RECEVING – CN, Strain 3-18, Gentry 5-11, Cargill 2-6, Guevara 1-9, Bertoli 2-16. Totals: 13-60. MC, Rogers 2-28, Baker 1-8. Totals: 3-36.

Records – Cardinal Newman 10-1; Marin Catholic 8-3.