Monache runs all over East Bakersfield
The stable wasted no time taking charge for the Monache High football team on Friday night.
Monache’s stable of running backs took charge right from the start as the Marauders ran all over East for a 35-7 win at Rankin Stadium.
This wasn’t running back by committee. It was running back by convention. The Marauders had eight different runners carry the football in one way or another, although it should be noted there were runs on long scrambles by quarterback Brsyn Hornsby and a punt return for a touchdown by Tony Castillo.
Hornsby ended up being Monache’s leading rusher on the strength of three long scrambles as he rushed for 72 yards on five carries.
There was also running backs Tyler Ishida, who rushed for 57 yards on seven carries, and David Leyva, who also had 57 yards on nine carries, including a 10-yard touchdown run. Also getting into the act were Damien Espinoza, who gained 26 yards on five carries, including a 1-yard TD run, Jacob Vasquez, who scored on a 4-yard run, and Josiah Perez, who added 17 yards on three carries.
Monache (3-1) ended up with 231 yards on 37 rushing attempts, averaging more than 6 yards a carry. Hornsby also did his part through the air as he completed six passes for 70 yards, including a 13-yard scoring strike to Andrew Martinez. The Marauders ended up with 301 yards in total offense.
Monache scored on all of its first four time consuming drives to build a 35-0 lead late in the third quarter. With the Marauders taking a 35-0 lead into the fourth quarter the final period was played with a running clock. East scored in the fourth quarter against Monache’s reserves.
The Marauders took control with their running attack on their opening drive led by Ishida and Leyva, although it was a 19-yard pass from Hornsby to Mark Cullwel on third and 13 at the East 30-yard line down to the 11 that was the key play of the drive. On the next play, Levya ran for 10 yards to set up Espinoza’s 1-yard TD run and Castillo added the extra point to give Monache a 7-0 lead. Martinez also had a key 18-yard reception from Hornsby on the drive.
Monache marched right down the field on its next drive, with Leyva capping the drive by powering his way into the end zone on a 10-yard scoring run. Castillo added the extra point to give the Marauders a 14-0 lead with less than a minute left in the first quarter.
After the Monache defense stiffened and East ended up missing on a 30-yard field goal try, the Marauder offense went on another time-consuming drive that began at its own 18, although the drive did have two big plays from Hornsby, who scrambled for gains of 22 and 28 yards on the drive. After he scrambled for 28 yards down to the East 16, Monache used a play-action pass on the next play with Hornsby completing his 13-yard scoring strike to Martinez. Castillo’s extra point made it 21-0.
With 1:42 left in the half, Castillo returned the ensuing punt 54 yards for a touchdown and added the extra point to give Monache a 28-0 lead. For good measure, Castillo intercepted a pass on the final play of the half.
Monache scored on another time consuming drive in the third quarter with the highlight coming when Hornsby bounced off of two tacklers on his way to scrambling for a 15-yard gain. The Marauders eventually scored on a 4-yard TD run by Vasquez and Castillo’s extra point made it 35-0.