NOVATO, Calif. – The path to victory last Friday night in the CIF North Coast Section Division 5 title game was really no secret.
Top seed and Prep2Prep NCS No. 21 San Marin (12-1) made a statement in their lone loss when they tested NCS No. 9 Marin Catholic in MCAL action this season with a combination of running and passing. Prep2Prep NCS No. 22 and No. 2 seed Del Norte came into the game with a running game that had rolled past its first two playoff opponents.
The scenario looked pretty obvious. The team that could control the trenches would win the game, and not only did host San Marin address that challenge, they had the best running back and quite frankly the best player on the field that led the Mustangs to an impressive, running clock 36-0 victory.
The player we refer to is Justin Guin, a 5-11, 190-pound senior that dominated both on offense and defense. Guin ran for 175 yards on 15 carries with three TDs, and as a free safety he had two fumble recoveries and 12 total tackles on defense.
“Justin Guin is the kind of kid you get every 10 years,” said San Marin head coach Dominic DiMare. “He has the heart of a lion, he runs hard and he’s fast.”
Even though Guin came into the game as the leading rusher in the NCS by over 350 yards with 1,923 yards and 29 touchdowns, the talk was all about the Del Norte running game. In the end the Mustangs would ride the shoulders of Guin to the win.
“Yes, I felt like I had something to prove, particularly with some of the rankings, not Prep2Prep, projecting us to lose,” Guin said with a grin. “We wanted to show them we come to play.”
The teams exchanged punts on the first two series but on the second San Marin possession Guin took a handoff from junior quarterback Joey Cook and blasted right up the gut and then blew past the remaining defenders for a 67-yard TD run that gave the Mustangs a 6-0 lead and all the points it would need.
San Marin extended the lead to 9-0 on an early second quarter 26-yard field goal from sophomore Jimmy Hughes
Not only did San Marin dominate the running game they had a quarterback that came through when his number was called.
After a Del Norte possession that followed the Mustangs field goal ended in a fumble recovery by San Marin senior DJ Bishop, Cook found junior tight end Ben Langford for a 13-yard TD pass and the lead was 15-0.
The next Del Norte possession was a three-and-out and after a punt that went dead at the San Marin 39, Cook orchestrated another scoring drive that culminated in an 11-yard TD pass to senior Andy Garcia with 1:23 left in the half and it was a 22-0 lead heading to intermission.
Del Norte (10-2) got the second half kickoff but on the second play Guin recovered a fumble. San Marin didn’t cash in but by that point the defense had taken control of the line of scrimmage.
After getting a punt at the Warriors 40 the Mustangs went right back to work and on the sixth play Guin took it in from 1-yard out and it was 29-0. Guin closed out the scoring with 1:45 left in the third quarter on a 16-yard run.
At that point, and after what many had thought would be a close game, the contest went to a running clock to begin the fourth quarter.
“We put in a new defense this week to stop the run and the line played great,” Guin said.
Not only did they play great they loaded the box and basically stuffed the Warriors running game. Del Norte came into the game having rushed for an average of 360 yards a game with two 1,000 yard rushers, junior RJ Lofton and senior Caleb Dawson. Against San Marin the duo plus other runners including junior quarterback Cooper Maxwell, was only able to muster 109 yards on 28 carries.
“We came out in a 54 defense which is a really unconventional,” San Marin co-head coach Dominic DiMare remarked. “We dared them to throw the ball.”
Maxwell attempted six passes and completed none.
“It wasn’t out night,” said Del Norte head coach Nick White. “We played the best team and we played our worst game, but I’m still proud of my kids.”
With the victory the Mustangs won their first NCS title since 2001 and fourth in school history.
San Marin now moves on the CIF Northern Regional Bowl Game playoffs. The Mustangs were placed in the 5-AA and will meet Sutter on Friday night as the visiting team at River Valley High in Yuba City.
