The Moreau Catholic Mariners football team beat the Ferndale Wildcats 21-19 in Hayward on Saturday, Nov. 30 in the North Coast Section (NCS) Division 7 Championship. The win marks the first Division 7 championship in the city of Hayward history just three years after new head coach Keith Minor took over the program.
“The toughest team wins and we came out here proving that by persevering and playing hard all night,” said coach Minor. “We just made history tonight and it took a lot of work to do that so hats off to our whole team and program for making this happen.”
After receiving the opening kickoff, Mariners’ wide receiver Jalen Arnold ran 70 yards on their first possession for a touchdown to give Moreau an early 7-0 lead. Ferndale’s rushing attack on offense was their focus which helped them score their first touchdown in the first quarter. Moreau’s starting quarterback Jeremiah Charles took command of the offense early, adjusting to cover three defenses that the Wildcats were playing. Arnold caught another pass from Charles in the second quarter, completed for another Mariners touchdown to go up 14-7 at halftime.
“At halftime the message in our locker room was to just keep playing our game and we had the lead so we felt confident we would win,” said Charles.
The Wildcats came out in the third quarter and put together a drive that resulted in another touchdown, but after a point after attempt the Mariners held on to a 14-13 lead. Ferndale didn’t stop their consistent ground attack that proved to be effective all night. They scored a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to take their first lead of the night at 19-14. However, they missed a 2-point conversion to keep the Mariners lead heading into the final minutes of the game. Arnold came up big for the Mariners when he returned a kick 90 yards for his third touchdown of the night to retake the lead for Moreau at 21-19 with eight minutes left in regulation.
“Credit to our defensive line for coming through tonight especially on the forced fumble in the fourth quarter because we wouldn’t have won without Eric Fields making the hit to create that turnover,” said Arnold.
Moreau’s defense was the deciding factor in this game because they were able to control Ferndale’s ground rushing offense. Ferndale was looking for a comeback on their last drive marching downfield finding themselves in the red zone when they fumbled the ball and the Mariners recovered. The Mariners ran the clock out on that last possession to win the game.
“We were 16-point underdogs and I love being the underdogs when people doubt you because we know our capabilities and came out here proving them wrong,” added Charles. “This win feels amazing right now.”
Arnold scored all three touchdowns for Moreau to add to his 18 total touchdowns and 1,429 total receiving yards this season. He currently has multiple college offers to play football, including several Division 3 schools. Charles now has 2,483 total passing yards and 26 total touchdowns this season with a quarterback rating of 135.2 percent. Moreau advances to 8-4 overall to play San Jose’s Leland High School Chargers Friday, Dec. 6 at home in the Division 7-AA regional finals.
Watching this Moreau football team with their never give up attitude is amazing and thrilling to watch.
So proud of each and everyone of you Mariner’s, your hard work ethics, and giving 100% of yourself will follow you through out your life.
Let’s go, you got this!