After early Tomales score, SV takes charge

St. Vincent took a firm grip on first place in the North Central League II football race with a convincing 40-6 win over rival Tomales in front of a large crowd at Andy Azevedo Field in Marin County Friday night.

Both teams went into the contest with a 2-0 record in league play, and they will clash once more in Petaluma in the final game of the season. It was the third consecutive win by coach Gary Galloway’s Mustangs in the long series between the two schools. The victory was the seventh league win in succession for the defending NC II champions.

Following an game-opening scoring drive by the Braves, this one was owned by St. Vincent. Paced by senior running back George Sammon, who ran for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 15 carries, the Mustangs took the play away from Tomales after the first quarter.

For the most part, St. Vincent was able to contain another determined effort by spectacular running back Willy Lepori of the Braves by bunching its defense close to the line of scrimmage. Lepori did manage to break away for a key 34-yard run on a reverse in the opening series to keep the drive alive.

Later, Lepori got good blocking up front to sprint into the end zone to give Tomales a 6-0 lead after only three minutes of play. The senior workhorse finished with 132 hard-earned yards on 26 carries and a 51-yard kickoff return.

St. Vincent opened the game with an onside kick to keep the ball away from Lepori, but the boot was topped, leaving the Braves to begin play in Mustang territory.

The Mustangs wasted no time bouncing back to take the lead in less than two minutes. A 31-yard pass from Dominic Pedersen to Sammon moved the ball into scoring position.

Three plays later, junior running back Manny Reyes got some running room over the left side of the line and he sprinted 14 yards untouched to pay dirt.

Michael Gross added the PAT on a kick, and St. Vincent would never lose its scoring advantage.

In the second quarter, Sammon took a handoff deep in St. Vincent territory and bolted past the Brave defenders for 84 yards in the longest play of the night to make the score 14-6.

The Mustangs appeared to be pinned deep in their own territory after a long 48-yard punt by Jacob Sampietro was downed inside the 10-yard line. Sammon reversed those fortunes with his quick-hitting gallop.

St. Vincent was able to gain more of a cushion later in the second quarter when the teams exchanged turnovers.

Tomales took over the ball in Mustang territory when a fumble was recovered by defensive lineman Joseph Stocker.

One play later, a pass by Brave quarterback Joel Gutierrez was short circuited by Gross, who rambled 56 yards to set St. Vincent up for another touchdown before intermission.

Following a 16-yard strike from Pedersen to Kyle Dannewitz, the Mustangs nudged the ball into the end zone in the posession of Sammon. He ripped off a scoring run of six yards behind solid blocking up front. Dannewitz has stacked up 11 catches for 233 yards in his last two games.

The normally efficient Brave running game was held in check by a well-devised rush defense by the Mustangs. Tomales was forced to throw the ball, and Gutierrez connected on only one of nine throws in the first half. Three pass attempts were under heavy Mustang pressure, and fell harmlessly into the end zone.

St. Vincent (3-4) scored three times in the second half to make the contest a rout. Two scoring passes to Dannewitz from Pedersen moved the Mustang advantage to 33-6 heading into the final quarter. The first strike was for 58 yards and it appeared to take most of the resolve from the Braves.

Reyes got most of the work on the ground in the final minutes, and finished with 59 yards rushing for the Mustangs. Sammon had limited running plays the rest of the way with the game solidly in hand.

The final score was set up on a tumbling interception by big lineman Paul Gregorian to give the Mustangs a short field on the Tomales 32 yard line.

Pedersen connected on his third touchdown pass of the night by hitting Zach Sitchler from 20 yards out.

Pedersen finished with 7 for 18 for 160 yards in the air, including three touchdowns.

Gregorian had a solid defensive effort for the Mustangs with 15 tackles and Sean Healy chipped in with nine.

Ivan Gomez got some late carries for the Braves, and accounted for 42 yards on eight tries despite a bad ankle.

Gutierrez had another busy night on defense for the Braves, and came away with an interception.

Prior to the game, Tomales coach Leon Feliciano was honored by the residents and administration of Tomales with a ceremony of appreciation after his 19 remarkable years as the Brave mentor. With his family and many of his former players standing in support, the coach was honored for his nearly 20 years of coaching success. Feliciano is stepping away from coaching after this season with a present record of 135-67-3 and numerous league crowns and three NCS titles despite limited roster numbers.

Tomales slipped to 5-2 overall, but the Braves might have an opportunity to tie for the league top spot with a win over St. Vincent in the rematch at Yarbrough Field on Nov. 8.