Continuing to improve in all aspects of the game, San Marino High School’s varsity football team shook off some early mistakes before dominating the second half – and scoreboard – against outnumbered Viewpoint last Friday night in Titans Stadium, improving to 3-1 with a 41-12 win.
All’s well that ends well, according to the Bard, and Titan quarterback Blake Cabot is happy for that statement. Cabot’s first pass of the evening was picked off by the Patriots, which led to a field goal and 3-0 Viewpoint advantage.
To be successful, quarterbacks and pitchers need short memories – and Cabot is both. The lefthander rebounded to connect with junior Jake Leftwich for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 5:37 left in the opening quarter. Aloisio Figueira’s extra point made the score 7-0.
The Patriots answered with a long scoring drive that was capped by an 8-yard pass from Niko Candido to Donovan Robertson.
But Titan senior Greyson Garcia foiled a two-point conversion attempt to keep the score at 9-7.
Cabot hooked up with Sean Richardson for a 57-yard scoring play that saw the junior receiver outrun half the Patriots defense to the end zone for a 14-9 lead that the Titans carried into the locker room. Viewpoint wished they would have stayed there.
Cabot scored on a 7-yard run to extend the advantage to 20-9, but the Patriots added a 22-yard field goal to draw within a score at 20-12.
Then the floodgates opened.
Cabot made the correct read on an option play and rambled untouched for a 56 yard scoring run and 27-12 lead.
Less than two minutes later, junior Beau Hobbie took part in the fun with a 42-yard scamper and 34-12 advantage.
On the ensuing kickoff, San Marino’s Ryan Sabin stripped return man Pablo Macias of the pigskin with Leftwich recovering at the Viewpoint 14 yard line. Cabot cashed in on the good field position on the next play, dragging a half dozen Patriots into the end zone and win column for a 41-12 victory.
Cabot ended the evening with 145 yards on 18 carries in the rushing department and added 119 yards through the air on 10-of-19 passing. Hobbie carried 13 times for 156 yards and ended the night with 188 all-purpose yards.
Defensively, Garcia made ten tackles, including a head-turning 8 soloes. Defensive backs Keaton Heimerl and Wheeler Smith pitched in with 8 stops apiece, followed by Caleb Shohfi, Chris Wicke and Jack Hornberger with 7 each, Sabin and Figueira with a half dozen and Kade Wentz and Thomas Ary, each of whom were credited with five tackles.
Figueira was five of six on extra points and his improved punting kept the Titans ahead in the battle for field position.
For Coach Hobbie, there was a lot to like as the Titan bagged their third straight win.
“I thought our defense played very well, all game,” said Hobbie “Offensively, the first half we were having trouble with our decision-making and pass protections, but we got that ironed out in the second half and were able to put them away.”
Hobbie told The Tribune it’s “hard to name names” on the defense when it comes to top performances “because the entire unit played well.”
On offense, the coach had words of praise for his quarterback.
“Blake had a really good game statistically and in the second half he played very well,” Hobbie said. “Beau had some nice runs and Sean did too. Lefty [Leftwich]had a nice catch as well. The line blocked much better in the second half and Blake did a better job of getting rid of the ball, which also helped.”
Line On the Lancers
For the third installment in the Titans’ six-game homestand, San Marino welcomes a familiar foe in former Rio Hondo League apartment-mate Bell Gardens, who are 1-2 with a 50-36 win over Azusa sticking out of their cap.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Hobbie said. “They have some athletes and they are much better than they were a year ago. They can pose some problems for us because their offense is like El Monte’s, but with a lot more finesse. They will try to run more misdirection from multiple formations. This will cause some problems as far as being disciplined and reading sets. They execute well and are very physical. We are going to have to have some big plays and it will be tough to finesse them.”
