Photo of Andrew Massino & Duke Mora courtesy of Rand Holdren
Football:
To say the Maranatha football program has made a 180-degree turn for the better in just one year would be quite an understatement.
One season after going 1-7, the Minutemen are off to their best start since 2014, which is when four-time CIF-SS champion Steve Bogan led MHS on an 11-1 run.
Rand Holdren’s program is now 4-0-1 after Friday’s 42-12 victory over visiting Silver Valley.
This is the first time the Minutemen have been undefeated after five games in eight years.
And in reality, MHS should be 5-0 instead of 4-0-1, but Maranatha had to settle for a week-three tie (35-35), because Bishop Montgomery refused to play an overtime period.
Things are going so well right now that the student body is coming out in droves to support the program.
But back to Friday night’s game.
MHS got out to a 14-point, first-quarter lead, and never looked back.
The second half was played with a running clock.
Michael Martin continues to excel in leading the Maranatha offense.
Martin had four total TD’s, including three through the air.
Martin hooked up with Samuel Funches on TD’s of 34 and 4 yards.
He would find Connor Patterson on a 5-yard score, and capped his night with an 11-yard TD run in the third quarter.
Miles O’Malley opened the scoring with a 9-yard rushing TD in the first quarter, and in the second period, he rumbled into the end zone from two yards out.
O’Malley gained a game-high 158 yards rushing on just nine carries.
Defensively, Andrew Massino had a breakout game with seven tackles, two forced fumbles, and one tackle for loss.
Defensive end, JT Lam, played fantastic with five tackles, including one for loss.
At linebacker, Carter Shupper continues to terrorize opposing offenses.
The MHS junior, and son of Maranatha baseball coach, Matt Shupper, had a game-high eight tackles.
Up next: MHS will travel to Whittier Christian on Friday to open Cottonwood League play.
The Heralds (3-2) dropped a 27-14 decision at Arrowhead Christian in their week-five contest.
Quotable:
Maranatha coach, Rand Holdren: “It was great to watch Andrew Massino and JT Lam have breakout games tonight defensively. Andrew was all over the field and JT finally got some payoff. They have been working hard and I know they are pumped about tonight. Offensively, Michael Martin and Miles O’Malley continue to be hard to stop in the backfield. We tell our guys there is going to be someone different every game and this offense is starting to show consistency. It takes maturity for all the guys to buy in even though they aren’t getting the ball sometimes and I applaud the team mentality that is going on right now. We are getting better each week but we still have some things to work on to fulfill our potential. League starts this week against Whittier Christian and just like everyone else, they had our number last year. Our goal continues to remain the same. 1-0 this week.”
Box Score:
SV: 0-6-0-8-(12)
M: 14-21-7-0-(42)
Cottonwood League Standings: (league records take precedent)
Desert Christian Academy (3-3 overall, 1-0 in league)
Santa Rose Academy (5-0, 0-0)
Maranatha (4-0-1, 0-0)
Whittier Christian (3-2, 0-0)
Vasquez (0-4, 0-0)
Hamilton (0-5, 0-1)
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