St. Vincent falls to Willits in NCL I

St. Vincent had one of its best offensive games of the NCL I season, but it wasn’t good enough to beat Willits.|

St. Vincent High School’s football team continued to find things tough in the North Central League I, losing at Willits, 54-14, on Friday night. The Wolverines built a 23-6 first-quarter lead and never looked back.

The result left St. Vincent with a 1-6 record and 0-5 in league play.

Among the bright spots for St. Vincent was an 86-yard rushing night by junior Marcus Matthias. He had the Mustangs’ season-high runyardage on just five carries, breaking one run for 48 yards. Mathias also had four receptions for 47 yards and played some at quarterback.

St. Vincent had 280 total yards, its most in a league game this season and second only to the 360 yards it compiled in a win over Portola. The Mustang team rushing total of 151 yards was a season’s best.

Daniel Burleson also had a good rushing game for the Mustangs, carrying 14 times for 86 yards.

Trent Free completed nine of 17 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Matthias and A.J. Fetter for scores and throwing a 58-yarder to Tyler Cunha.

Gino Antonini continued his outstanding defensive play with 11 tackles. He was credited with 1.5 tackles for loss and now has 16 for the season, three behind Derek Murphy, who had 19 in 2012. Antonini also was in on a St. Vincent safety in the fourth quarter. Matthias and Fetter each had five tackles.

Reno Nalducci returned five kickoffs for 74 total yards.

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