The Moreau Catholic Mariners advance to the second round of the NCS Division 7 football playoffs by beating the St. Bernard Crusaders 49-14 at home in Hayward last Friday, Nov.15. Moreau keeps their postseason drive alive and advances to the North Coast Section (NCS) Division 7 semifinals. The Mariners have now won six of their last seven games and improved to 7-4 this season.
“Our mentality tonight was come out here playing well and execute,” said Mariners head coach Keith Minor. “You have to give our quarterback Jeremiah Charles credit for commanding our offense and holding this team together.”
The Crusaders struck first after receiving the opening kickoff capitalizing off two Mariners offside penalties to set up their wide receiver Michael Manzi for a touchdown to go up 7-0 in the first quarter. The Mariners responded with a 20-yard touchdown catch by Miles Moore followed by an unsuccessful PAT to make it a 7-6 Crusader lead. Moreau started their next possession at the St. Bernard 24-yard line after a great kick return. Jayden Bryant scored a touchdown followed by a successful 2 PAT to give the Mariners their first lead of the game at 14-7 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
In the second quarter Jalen Arnold ran 80 yards on a first down play making it a 21-7 Moreau lead. The Mariners capitalized off their defense making an interception on the next Crusaders possession to give their offense the ball back. Bryant followed by scoring his second touchdown of the night making it a 28-7 Moreau lead. The Mariners defense came up big again recovering a Crusader fumble at the 45-yard line. On a first and goal at the nine-yard line Jameson Ransburg ran in for another Mariners touchdown to give Moreau a 35-7 lead. Bryant scored again on a 30-yard touchdown run to make it a dominating 42-7 Moreau lead at halftime.
“Our offensive line deserves the credit for making the right blocks and creating the gaps for me to run through,” said Bryant. “It means a lot for me as a senior to finish my final season strong.”
The referees agreed to make the entire second half a running clock because of the overwhelming domination by the Mariners. Moreau took out most of their starting players at the beginning of the third quarter to give freshman and sophomores a chance for quality playing time. Running back Peyton Collins scored again for the Mariners to make it a 49-7 lead with 8:35 remaining in the third quarter. Moreau decided to run the ball and wind the clock out for the rest of the game knowing they had this win secured. The Crusaders scored one last time in the fourth quarter to make the final score 49-14.
“We play every game from this point on like it’s our last game,” said Arnold. “Our defensive line stopped the run game tonight and I think they deserve a lot of recognition for that.”
A combination of solid defense and dominating offense helped Moreau secure this huge playoff victory. Bryant had a team high of four touchdowns on a great performance the entire night. The Crusaders fall to 6-5 to end their season while the Mariners move on to the second round of the NCS Division 7 playoffs. Moreau plays the 9-2 Del Norte Warriors of Crescent City on Friday, Nov. 22 at home in the NCS Division 7 semifinals.
“We want to stay present in this moment because these memories last a lifetime for our players,” added coach Minor. “When you play with love, joy and positive emotions things will work out especially when you know you put everything you have into the game.”
