San Marin does a tad bit more on offense to beat Vintage in defensive struggle

By Kyle Foster

Kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

When you play good defense that keeps you in the game, it’s important to have some offense to back it up. After all, you can only ask so much from the defense in a game between two very evenly matched teams. 

In a rare Thursday night game at Memorial Stadium, San Marin-Novato beat Vintage 14-3 in a Redwood Empire Conference – Adobe League matchup filled with defense.

The Mustangs (7-2, 2-2 REC-Adobe) were able to win this game by being just a tad bit better on the offensive side of the ball. They took the lead with a 1-yard passing play to the back corner of the end zone when quarterback Daniel Rolovich found Anthony Elwell. This score came with just 21.2 seconds left in the first half. 

From there, San Marin had a hard time scoring. They put the game away when Rolovich scrambled and scored on a 25-yard rush with just 1:36 to go in the game. He carried the ball 13 times for 78 yards. The quarterback also extended plays, which were just enough to keep the chains moving at key times.

“I thought he hurt us more with his feet more than he did with his arm,” Vintage head coach Dylan Leach explained of Rolovich’s scrambling and how it changed things.

In the game, Rolovich also completed 18 of 22 passes for 167 yards. This gave him a total of 245 all-purpose yards in the contest. Throw in the fact that Rolovich is a San Jose State University commit, and that’s a heck of an effort on the defensive side of the ball from Vintage. 

“Defense played great,” Leach pointed out. “They played awesome.”  

The game began when Vintage (6-3, 1-3 REC-Adobe) took the opening kickoff and drove all the way down to the San Marin 21 before the drive stalled out. The Crushers would get their only score in the game when Henry Drozdowicz made a 38-yard field goal. 

“Adrenaline versus discipline,” Leach said of what led to the strong first drive and why the offense fizzled out afterwards. “So adrenaline’s up first series, we’re at home, (it’s) Senior Night, we’re ready to go. Then the discipline factor has to kick in, where the adrenaline’s gone and habits kick in, and discipline kicks in. In that case, we started blocking high, taking false steps, and doing the things that we can’t do in order to beat a quality program like the San Marin Mustangs.” 

After the first drive of the game, the Crushers had a hard time even moving the ball past the 50. The offense going cold over the last three weeks is also a reason they haven’t been able to win the close games in the monstrous Adobe league. 

“The way we’ve gone offensively is pretty pathetic,” Leach emphasized. “Since we got in the league, I mean, we knew what was coming. We knew how tough all these defenses are, including ours. I think defensively, this league is probably one of the best I’ve seen. But we can’t muster yards, let alone points.” 

In the second half, the only Vintage performer who moved the ball was Bo Lode. He finished the game with 20 yards on 5 carries. 

This game was also Senior Night for the Crushers. Before the contest, they honored their 21 seniors in what could be their final home game. 

The Crushers will finish the regular season next Friday night at 7 pm when they head to Santa Rosa to face Cardinal Newman. After that, playoff brackets will be announced next Sunday in the afternoon.