Lineman’s TD highlights Lincoln’s win
By Mitch Stephens
The bus to transport the Lincoln football team to Balboa arrived late on Saturday — way late — but the Mustangs got off to a fast start, hit a rough patch in the middle and used an unlikely fourth-quarter touchdown run by lineman Ronald Phelps to post a 43-26 Academic Athletic Association openingday win.
The victory took a little sting out of a season-ending 52-34 loss to Balboa in last year’s playoff semifinals at Kezar Stadium. But Lincoln coach Phil Ferrigno said that was the last thing on his mind heading into the game.
“We literally got off the bus right at game time” at 2 p.m.,Ferrigno said. “It was pretty frantic. But the kids kept their poise and played well. I like this group. They show great resolve. We’re getting better.”
It was the second straight win for Lincoln (2-4) after starting the season with four nonleague losses. In each game the Mustangs allowed at least 40 points. “We tackled a lot better today,” Ferrigno said. “We had a lot of big plays.”
Quarterback Roel Marania accounted for 207 yards and four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing).
Running back Josiah CalvoMartinez rushed 18 times for 100 yards and caught an 18-yard TD pass.
Defensively, Lincoln intercepted four passes, including one by safety Alex Chan that he returned 45 yards for a touchdown just before half.
Other interceptions came from linebackers Ellis Moye and Juan Castro and cornerback Jackson Walker. Walker also caught a touchdown pass.
The most notable score came in the fourth quarter while Lincoln held a 37-26 lead. Ferrigno inserted his short-yardage package, putting the 6-foot, 285-pound Phelps in the backfield. He took the handoff from Marania and broke free for a 20-yard touchdown.
It was the first career TD for Phelps, last year’s AAA lineman of the year.
Balboa, which got a 50-yard fumble return for a touchdown by 6-3, 255-pound, two-way lineman Nicholas Sagaiga, dropped to 0-5.
St. Ignatius 21, Riordan 7:
In the Gil Haskell Trophy Game at Kezar Stadium, Nicolas Menchero, David Woodruff and Patrick Brosnan scored touchdowns and the defense largely did the rest for St. Ignatius (3-2, 1-1 West Catholic Athletic League). A fumble deep inside Riordan territory led to an 8-yard TD run from Menchero, breaking a scoreless tie with four minutes left in the first quarter. On the first drive of the second half, quarterback Brosnan hooked up with Woodruff on a 67-yard score and after Dearan Roche’s second extra point, St. Ignatius led 14-0. Riordan (2-3, 0-2) closed to 14-7 with nine minutes to go on a 67-yard pass from Joshua Boone to Donny Bendo. But St. Ignatius chewed up almost six minutes on its next drive, going 80 yards, capped by a fourth-down, 16-yard TD keeper from Brosnan to put the game away. Brosnan seemed stopped at the line of scrimmage, but slipped loose and sprinted untouched the last 14 yards for the score with 3:19 left.
Redwood-Larkspur 63, Terra Linda-San Rafael 26:
Nick Calzaretta rushed for 313 yards and five touchdowns as the host Giants (5-1, 2-1 MCAL) led start to finish against Terra Linda (2-3, 1-2), which got a huge game from running back Jackson Zabierek. Down 48-19 at halftime, Zabierek opened the second half with an 80-yard TD scamper after rushing for 165 yards in the first half. Terra Linda QB Matt Peters completed TD passes of 10 yards to Robert Simkins and 60 yards to Corey Swenson. The latter TD pass cut Redwood’s lead to 32-19 midway through the second quarter, but Calzaretta busted off TD runs of 45 and 40 yards before halftime to essentially put the game away. “Our ground game was very good today,” Redwood coach Allen Talley said. “Our offensive line and wide receivers blocked very well and left lanes open for all our running backs.”
#18 Marin Catholic-Kentfield 56, Novato 0:
Anthony Marino rushed for three touchdowns and Spencer Petras passed for two as the Wildcats (4-2, 3-0 MCAL) cruised to a 56-0 halftime lead against host Novato (2-3, 1-1).
Late Friday: While most Central Coast Section fans had an eye on the 70th Holy War game — St. Francis broke an 11-game skid in the series with a 21-13 victory over Bellarmine — the most notable result was Los Gatos pulling off a 23-13 upset over No. 7 and host Milpitas (5-1, 1-1 SCVAL De Anza). Quarterback Kyle Reid and receiver Ryan Wilcox hooked up on touchdown throws of 65 and 25 yards for Los Gatos (2-3, 1-0).