KENTFIELD, Calif. – Host Marin Catholic came into the first of its five games against Marin County Athletic League opponents knowing it was facing a Tamalpais quarterback that was one of the leading reported passers in the state.
In the end, Tamalpais signal-caller Braden Young did get a fair chunk of yardage through the air, but a lot of it came well after the game was decided.
The deciding factor in the game was a Wildcats defense that shut out the Red-Tailed Hawks in the first quarter and the first half running of Wildcats star running back Charles Williams that propelled Prep2Prep Northern California No. 10 Marin Catholic (6-0, 5-1 MCAL) to a 35-14 victory.
Williams, a 6-1, 175-pound 247Sports three-star recruit with offers from Oregon State, San Diego State, San Jose State and Wyoming, rushed for 127 yards on 18 carries with four TDs that all came in the first half and allowed Marin Catholic to jump out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and 28-7 at the half.
Young, a 6-2, 185-pound senior, finished with 319 yards passing and two TDs, but he was sacked five times, intercepted once, and was only 22-of-46. Also, by the time he completed a pass and Tamalpais got its initial first down, Williams had already busted loose twice to give Marin Catholic a 14-0 lead. Also, 141 of his passing yards came on the two TDs, and 67 came against reserves on the game’s final drive with the result long decided.
Young’s counterpart, Marin Catholic quarterback Caeden Afsharipour, didn’t have his sharpest day throwing the ball with several wobblers and overthrows. However, even with an injury early in the game that forced the coaches to make some adjustments to the offensive line that allowed Tamalpais to sack Afsharipour four times, the 6-2, 200-pound sophomore was still a very respectable 18-of-26 for 201 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, the star for Marin Catholic was 6-2, 220-pound senior edge Mario Crocitto. Among his numerous tackles were 2.5 sacks, plus he forced a fumble that ended a second-half drive that came after Tamalpais had cut the lead to 21-7.
Even in what turned out to be a solid win, Marin Catholic head coach Mazi Moayed, like many coaches of other top-level programs, saw room for improvement, particularly in the second half when all but one drive failed. The one that succeeded came with 3:47 remaining when Afsharipour connected with junior wide receiver Braiden Bachich-Dixon on a 10-yard TD pass that at the time gave the Wildcats a 35-7 lead.
“We were inconsistent and at times we weren’t very disciplined,” Moayed said. “We weren’t tight in all the things we need to be tight in.”
“Charles had a nice day and we were able to make some plays, but we just need to play cleaner football,” Moayed continued. “Hats off to Tam but we need to do a better job.”
There are no moral victories on the football field, but going back to the last five meetings between the two teams, it was the best Tamalpais had done against Marin Catholic. On two occasions the Red-Tailed Hawks score 14 points against the Wildcats, but those came in 49-14 and 47-14 losses. This was the first time in those last five meetings that they held Marin Catholic under 40 points.
“There certainly is not,” was the answer of Tamalpais head coach Matthew LemMon about moral victories in football. “But I’m happy with how most of my guys competed and we just have to keep going and get ready to play some more football.”
Tamalpais (5-2, 2-1) held Marin Catholic on five plays in the game’s opening drive, and then tried to run the ball on its first possession. But on third-and-seven, Young threw his first incompletion.
Marin Catholic got the ball after a punt on its own 48 and six plays later Williams scored on a 2-yard run that gave Marin Catholic a 7-0 lead it would never relinquish.
The second Tamalpais drive ended like the first with a third-and-seven incomplete pass, and the ensuing Marin Catholic drive mirrored the first with a five-play drive that saw Williams score on a 9-yard run to give the Wildcats a 14-0 lead.
The third Tam drive saw them pick up a first down, and Young complete his first pass. But there were only three minutes left in the first half and the drive stalled on an incomplete pass on fourth-and-seven giving Marin Catholic the ball on the Tam 35.
This time it only took one play as Williams raced around right end and outran everyone to the end zone for a 35-yard TD run and a 21-0 lead.
After getting the kickoff,Tamalpais finally scored when on third-and-seven Young found Andrew Gordon all alone over the middle and the senior wide receiver scored on a 68-yard pass play.
Williams got his fourth score with 1:28 to go in the first half when he lined up in the Wildcat formation and scored on a 6-yard run.
After the TD pass from Afsharipour to Bachich-Dixon gave the Wildcats a four touchdown lead, Gordon hauled in a 73-yard pass from Young for the game’s final tally with 3:24 left. Gordon finished with nine catches for 219 yards receiving and the two scores.
With the passing yardage for Young, he is currently the No. 2 reported passer in the state and No. 1 in the CIF North Coast Section with 2,359 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Young will get a chance to pad those numbers at home against Prep2Prep Northern California No. 19 San Marin in two weeks after a bye next week.
Marin Catholic now faces Archie Williams (1-5, 0-3) on the road next Saturday afternoon in what could be lopsided affair.
