Prep football: San Marin shakes off slow start, rolls past Archie Williams

Better late than never. The San Marin High football team felt that way about both its transport bus – 90 minutes tardy – and its offense.

As it turned out, however, both proved to be nothing more than minor inconveniences.

The Mustangs arrived in plenty of time for their MCAL opener against host Archie Williams and the offense more than made up for its slow start, scoring three touchdowns in the final four minutes of the first quarter en route to a convincing 50-7 victory on a summer-like Saturday in San Anselmo.

“The bus was an hour-and-a-half late to pick us up,” San Marin coach Dominic DiMare said. “It was hot and we were late and we came out kind of lethargic.”

The Mustangs (3-1, 1-0 MCAL), after losing the opening kickoff on a fumble, went three-and-out on its first two offensive possessions.

But after the San Marin defense stymied the Archie Williams offense for the third consecutive set of downs, the Mustangs finally found some rhythm.

After a short punt by the Peregrine Falcons, the Mustangs held excellent field position at the Archie Williams’ 38-yard line.

Four plays later, junior running back Charlie Singleton banged up the middle, veered right and sprinted 13 yards for his first of three touchdowns.

“The first couple of offensive sets we weren’t quite focused yet,” said Singleton, who rushed for 127 yards on eight carries and added a two-point conversion run. “But we finally got the ball rolling. The offensive line played one of its better games. On a couple of those runs I probably could have driven my car through the holes the line made.”

DiMare noticed, too.

“The offensive line played its best game of the season,” DiMare said.

The game turned one-sided in a hurry, mostly because of the Peregrine Falcons’ generosity. They fumbled the ball away on first down on each of their next two possessions.

The Mustangs cashed in immediately on the first miscue when Singleton darted around the end and scored a 26-yard touchdown.

Following the second fumble, junior quarterback Dominic Ingrassia – after completing one of his first five passes and throwing an interception – warmed up to the occasion. Ingrassia fired a strike to Wesley Timmel on a crossing route. Timmel turned up field and romped 16 yards for his first of two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, San Marin’s defense, especially its pass rush, was fierce. Led by linebacker Mason Fullbright – two solo sacks and a fumble recovery – the Mustangs allowed the Falcons just one first down through the entire first half.

“This might be the best defensive line we’ve ever had here,” DiMare said.

Early in the second quarter, the Falcons were forced to punt for the third time.

Ingrassia needed just one play – a 62-yard touchdown pass to Frankie Quinci – to push the Mustangs’ lead to 29-0.

Quinci and Timmel combined for seven of San Marin’s 12 receptions and Quinci matched Timmel with a pair of touchdowns.

Archie Williams was hampered by an injury to starting quarterback Will Roberts, who sat out most of the first quarter. By the time Roberts entered the game, the Falcons already trailed 22-0.

Roberts completed four of his eight passes for 83 yards.

San Marin’s defense kept Archie Williams’ big play running back Nate Karpay-Brody in check, limiting him to 32 yards on eight carries.

San Marin 50, Archie Williams 7

MCAL

San Marin  22  21  0  7  – 50

Archie Williams  0  0  7  0  – 7

SCORING SUMMARY

SM – Singleton 13 run (Rodas kick)

SM – Singleton 26 run (Rodas kick)

SM – Timmel 16 pass from Ingrassia (Singleton run)

SM – Quinci 62 pass from Ingrassia (Rodas kick)

SM – Quinci 27 pass from Ingrassia (Rodas kick)

SM – Timmel 21 pass from Hughes (Rodas kick)

AW – Karpay-Brody 4 run (Lillevand kick)

SM – Singleton 9 run (Rodas kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–SM, Singleton 8-127, Giomi 17-71, Hughes 2-17, Ingrassia 1-(minus-1). Totals: 28-214. AW, Black 2-(minus-4), Karpay-Brody 8-32, Freskos 1-(minus-1), Roberts 9-15. Totals: 20-42.

PASSING–SM, Ingrassia 11-17-1 187, Hughes 1-3-0 21. Totals: 12-20-1 208. AW, Black 2-5-0 17, Roberts 4-8-0 83. Totals: 6-13-0 100.

RECEIVING–SM, Timmel 4-80, Singleton 1-2, Quinci 3-95, Hart 1-6, Scheppler 1-6, Giomi 1-18, Goodin 1-1. Totals: 12-208. AW, Freskos 1-11, Walker 1-16, Karpay-Brody 3-25, Lofrano 1-48. Totals: 6-100.

Records: San Marin 1-0, 3-1. Archie Williams 0-1, 1-3.