San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
KNIGHTS TAKE OVER IN 2ND HALF, WIN EASILY
Why in the world would Division IV Coronado High, a football team that rarely travels north of the 56 freeway, motor more than an hour up the 5 freeway and across the 78 to tackle Division I San Marcos?
“I’d like to say it was friendship, but really it came down to we both needed a game,” San Marcos coach Derek Stank said after his Knights improved to 2-0 on the COVID-19 shortened season with a 38-7 win over the Islanders after leading just 10-7 at the half.
“We both had an opening and spent four days looking for a game. Finally, we said, ‘Let’s play each other.’ For both of us, it was about the kids, letting them play.”
But it goes deeper than that. Stank coached the offensive line at Bedford High in New Hampshire for seven years, working for — then succeeding — Kurt Hines, who is now the Coronado coach.
“It’s weird how it all worked out,” said Hines, who was introduced to San Diego when his daughter was attending San Diego State.
Stank is married to Sarah Rehn, a former field hockey star at Vista High. Wanting to be closer to family, the Stanks moved west when Derek got the San Marcos job.
Hines is now in his fourth year at Coronado. Stank is in his second at San Marcos.
“We’re really close friends,” Stank said. “We talk all the time. And our families spend a lot of weekends together. It’s a friendship that goes back a long way.”
The Knights and Islanders played like friends for a half, then San Marcos took over.
Pounding the ball behind Kaden Vohnout and Cullen Shea, the Knights put together a pair of thirdquarter drives with Vohnout carrying six times for 50 of 59 yards on an eight-play drive, capping it with a 9yard TD run.
After San Marcos recovered an Islanders fumble, Vohnout went 26 yards, and Shea finished it with a 15yard scamper.
The Knights put the game away early in the fourth quarter when Vohnout ripped off a 23-yard run and Shea finished the drive with a 3-yard TD run.
After a Coronado fourth-down try failed, Thomas Muller gained all 26 yards and scored from 3 yards out.
San Marcos 38, Coronado 7
San Marcos rushed 39 times for 284 yards.
Vohnout finished with 20 carries for 177 yards, only his second career 100-yard game.
“We were a little complacent in the first half,” Vohnout said. “We couldn’t get it going.”
At the half, Vohnout said, Stank’s message to the team was to “get serious.”
“Honestly, if we play the way we played in the first half against Avocado League teams, we’re going to have problems,” Vohnout said. “If we play like we did in the second half, we can play with anyone.”
Determined to make it a game of it, Coronado went for it five times on fourth down and twice tried fake punts, neither of which worked.
San Marcos intercepted a pair of Coronado passes and recovered a fumble.
After finishing 4-7 last season, San Marcos is off to a 2-0 start.
“Hey, 2-0 definitely feels great,” Vohnout said. “So much has changed from last year. The chemistry is much better. Last year, we were a bunch of individuals. This season we’re a family.”
john.maffei@sduniontribune.com