TIMELY PICK SWINGS GAME FOR NOVATO
DB Mulvaney makes one-handed pick as Hornets roll past Kennedy
Novato defensive back Connor Mulvaney still doesn’t know how he came down with the football.
Mulvaney delivered the biggest play of the game for the Novato High football team on Saturday, making a one-handed interception and returning it for a touchdown right before the half as the Hornets rolled to a 34-0 home win against Kennedy (Richmond).
“I don’t know how I caught it but I did it,” Mulvaney said. “I felt confident going into it and I kind of just wasn’t thinking. My athletic ability took over and I just took it to the house.”
The play came on the heels of a Samaje Featherstone touchdown run late in the half to push Novato’s lead to 14-0. Kennedy had 50 seconds or so to come up with a response and almost did.
A Kennedy receiver used a double move to get behind the defense and could have been home free if Mulvaney hadn’t intervened.
“Having the sight to sniff that out from where he came from on the field — all the way out into someone else’s coverage — to pick that thing off with one hand and run it down the sidelines was nothing short of amazing,” No
vato coach Amil Hall said.
The interception wasn’t the only spectacular catch Mulvaney had on the day but it was the only one that counted. A few series earlier, Mulvaney appeared to make a spectacular catch along the sideline to pick up a first down on third-andlong but he was ruled just out of bounds.
“(The interception) put me in a really confident position,” Mulvaney said. “That put the rest of our team in a really confident position and I think we’re just going to build on this win.”
Novato’s confidence was also boosted by Featherstone’s ability to pick up yards on the ground on the team’s opening drive. Featherstone carried the ball on Novato’s first five offensive plays as the Hornets (1-1) moved from their own 41yard line to a first-and-goal at Kennedy’s 8-yard line.
“(The first drive) was very important because it was setting the tone,” Featherstone said. “Our team is usually down in the first half so we don’t really pick up energy. When I make big plays we pick up energy so that was a big energy booster for us.”
Kai Patel took a pitch on the next play and scored to put the Hornets up 7-0 — his first of two touchdown runs on pitch plays.
“Patel had a huge game offensively and defensively,” Hall said. “He probably played the best game of anyone out there.”
Novato was unable to get points on its second drive but got its rhythm back on the third drive, in part because the Hornets featured Featherstone who carried the ball four times and scored to make it 14-0.
“He’s a catalyst,” Hall said. “He’s a tremendous athlete. He’s definitely a Division I talent. He’s a hardnosed kid and he loves the sport. Tremendous openfield runner, he reads his holes exceptionally well. We rely on him quite a bit.”
Novato received the ball to start the third quarter. Featherstone touched the ball on three of the four plays and scored on a 20yard run to make it 28-0 early in the third quarter. Patel scored on a 19-yard run to cap the scoring early in the fourth quarter and activate the running clock.
Kennedy (0-3) managed to put together its best drive of the day at the end of the game but ran out of time. The Eagles have yet to score this season. Novato secured its first shutout since the first game of the 2020 season — a 13-0 win against then-Drake.
“I’m very happy,” Hall said. “Shutouts are rare. The opposing team always seems to get something at the end.”