San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
DONS POST AN OPENING SHUTOUT
Falcons can’t solve Cathedral Catholic’s stout defense
Cathedral Catholic football coach Sean Doyle would like to open every season — spring or fall — with Torrey Pines.
And why not?
In the long-awaited spring opener, Doyle’s No. 2ranked Dons routed their No. 6-ranked Del Mar Heights Road rivals 41-0 on a cold, rainy night at Cathedral Catholic.
“This is a great game to open the season, any season,” said Doyle. “When Ed Burke was at Torrey Pines, we always opened with Torrey Pines.
“It’s a great rivalry, two great schools, two great teams. We open with them next year, and I hope we do it for years after that. I wish we were allowed to have more fans, but that will come as things get back to normal.”
Cathedral allowed each player four tickets.
The game was originally scheduled for Torrey Pines, but was moved to Cathedral Catholic so the Dons could honor Mario Fierro, a teacher and special teams coach at the school who was murdered last month.
Cathedral Catholic and Torrey Pines have now played 23 times with Cathedral holding a 12-11 edge.
The Dons, however, have dominated lately, winning nine of the last 10, going back to 2009.
Fittingly, the game’s first score came on special teams when Dee’shon Swafford fielded a punt and went untouched 59 yards for the score.
“It was almost like he was on the sidelines with us,” Swafford said. “He was our guy, our special teams coordinator.
“We just want to carry on his legacy.”
Cathedral Catholic quarterback Charlie Mirer completed 5 of 9 passes for 173 yards and three TDS — two to Jack Kilpatrick, one for 41 yards, the other for 35.
Mirer also hit a wideopen Rex Haynes for a 69yard score.
“It has been a while since we’ve been out here, and it felt great,” Mirer said. “With the short season, we’re trying to go 6-0, and then win a state championship next year.
“I have tremendous respect for Torrey Pines and Coach (Ron) Gladnick. He’s the one who got us here.”
Gladnick was the head of the Golden State Coaches Community and a backer of the Let Them Play CA movement that helped get football teams back on the field.
Summing up the game, Gladnick said, “We got our butts kicked.”
Cathedral’s Lucky Sutton led all rushers with 17 carries for 139 yards and a fourth-quarter TD.
Cathedral’s defense held Torrey to minus-14 yards rushing, including a bad snap on a punt, which counts against the team’s rushing totals, five sacks, recovered two fumbles and had two interceptions.
Notable
Torrey Pines linebacker Marco Notarainni played both ways, finishing with eight carries for 36 yards and three receptions for 26 yards. He also had nine tackles.
• Thomas Notarainni, Marco’s brother, played for Cathedral. A star basketball player, Thomas was playing football for the first time at Cathedral and made several nice plays, including breaking up a pass intended for Marco.
• The Dons have won six in a row in the series. It’s the first shutout since a 10-0 win in 2013.
• The Cathedral Catholic defense had five quarterback sacks, recovered two fumbles and had two interceptions.