Football:
Something just didn’t seem right.
And the opinions in this story are those of the 210 Prep Sports website, not the Maranatha High School football program.
When you make the 80-mile drive from Pasadena to Menifee to battle Santa Rosa Academy in a Cottonwood League contest, there are always chances that it might get a little chippy and you expect to incur a few penalties.
League games tend to bring out more emotion, and keep in mind, the Minutemen hadn’t played in three weeks thanks to a forfeit and a bye week.
But when the game ends with 10 penalties on MHS and none on SRA, something just isn’t right.
Thankfully, Maranatha headed home with a 49-34 victory, which means they improved to 3-0 in league games.
MHS is now 7-1 and they’ve gone 19-2 in their last 21 games.
Game Recap:
In the first quarter, and on the first series, Maranatha drove down and missed a field goal attempt.
The defense would get a stop and get the ball back.
After one of the many questionable penalties, and on 3rd-and-33, Luke McNulty threw a 54-yard TD strike to Bradley Loiacono to give MHS a 6-0 lead.
In the second quarter, SRA drove down and petered out on the 30-yard line after Maranatha’s defense held its ground on a fourth-down play.
Miles O’Malley scored on a 70-yard TD run, which was his first of five last night.
After a few back-and-forths, and an 18-yard facemask penalty on MHS, which doesn’t make sense, because that’s a 15-yard infraction, McNulty hit Nico Vergara on a 60-yard pass, and he was tackled at the 1-yard line.
O’Malley would score TD No. 2 and Maranatha led 21-6.
Just before the end of the half, McNulty and Loiacono hooked up for a 55-yard TD.
In the second half, SRA scored twice to pull to with 28-21.
But O’Malley had three second-half TD runs, including two 65-yarders.
Coach Holdren’s Thoughts:
Andrew Massino and Jayan Anvekar played fantastic in the trenches.
Bradley Loiacono had a great night at wide receiver (2 catches for 130 yards & 2 tds) and on defense.
Miles O’Malley had 5 TD’s and 230 yards rushing.
Multiple of those were set up by DeJohn Jones (113 yards rushing) carrying it down the field.
Luke McNulty continues to be consistent at quarterback.
Up next: Maranatha welcomes Desert Christian Academy on Friday night for Homecoming.
Quotable:
Maranatha coach, Rand Holdren: “It was a long night for us after having a three week break, but I am proud of our team for fighting through and coming out 1-0 on the night. We have a lot of guys making positive contributions, but a couple standouts were Andrew Massino and Jayan Anvekar, who played tough all night in the trenches. Bradley Loiacono and DeJohn Jones are finding their stride in the offense, while Nico Vergara continues to grind.”
Box Score:
MHS: 7-21-14-7-(49)
SRA: 0-6-22-6-(34)
Cottonwood League Standings:
Maranatha (7-1, 3-0)
Whittier Christian (5-3, 3-0)
Santa Rosa Academy (5-3, 2-1)
Desert Christian Academy (2-5, 0-2)
Vasquez (0-7, 0-2)
Hamilton (0-8, 0-3)
Maranatha’s Remaining Schedule:
10/20: Desert Christian Academy at Maranatha
10/27: Whittier Christian at Maranatha
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