Braves win 43rd straight game, streaking to 52-0 halftime lead; Welch wins his second state jewel with different squad
CIF State Bowl Game
Small Schools: St. Margaret's (San Juan Capistrano) 59, Hamilton Union (Hamilton City) 7
Star: QB David Mothander 231 yards passing, 1 TD pass, 2 TD runs, 1 FG, 8 XPs
Streak: St. Margaret's wins 43rd consecutive game, second state crown for coach Harry Welch.
Other Bowl Game Stories: Open, D1, D2, D3, Small Schools.
Game previews: Open, D1. D2, D3, Small schools.
Final MaxPreps National Rankings: 6. Centennial (15-0), 14. Grant (14-0); 15. Long Beach Poly (14-1); 19. De La Salle (12-2); 20. Bellarmine (12-1); 22. St. Bonaventure (14-1); 23. Tesora (13-1).
Final California rankings: Click here.
By Mitch StephensMaxPreps.com
CARSON, Calif. – St. Margaret’s football coach Harry Welch was legitimately concerned this week.
Could his Tartans from San Juan Capistrano match the intensity of his opponents in Friday’s initial CIF State Bowl Smalls Schools Division championship game with the Hamilton Union (Hamilton City) Braves?
“You can see they are extremely focused and tough farm boys from rural Northern California,” he said. “They play as harder or harder than any team we’ve faced.”
But it took less than 10 minutes for Welch’s worries to be scrubbed clean as the Tartans raced to a 24-0 lead en route to a downright hard-to-watch 59-7 victory Friday night before about 5,000 fans at the Home Depot Center.
It was the 43rd consecutive win for the Tartans (15-0), which finished with 406 yards to 177 for Hamilton (10-3).
The Braves, who hadn’t played in almost a month because the Northern Section ends play early, looked rusty and absolutely overmatched as it committed five turnovers in the first half leading to a 52-0 deficit.
Welch became the first coach in the three-year history of the Bowl Game series to win two Bowl games and interestingly, he did it with two different teams.
He won the Division I (large school) Division in 2006 leading Canyon Country defeated De La Salle (Concord) 27-13.
“I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Welch said. “Winning a first one is a dream for any one. To win two in three years is beyond what anyone should expect. I’m excited and proud.”
Johnny Murayama, a 5-foot-3, 135-pound senior personified the small-school championship, with a huge first half when he rushed 13 times for 72 yards and four touchdowns. He scored on runs of 3, 2, 3 and 2 yards.
Wide receiver Alex Brolick scored on a 29-yard reverse play and Travis Anderson hauled in a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback David Mothander, who ran for a touchdown and kicked seven extra points and a 38-yard field goal.
“Our goal was the put four quarters together and that’s just what we did,” said Murayama, a junior.
Said Welch: “We played with a great deal of intensity and we got some breaks. We capitalized on them. It was a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. When the opportunities presented themselves we were prepared to capitalize.”
Still, a 52-point margin? It was 59-0 early in the third quarter before Welch called off the troops.
“The kids just came to play,” Welch said. “But no, no, no, I never would have expected this.”
Hamilton, which got on the board with 5:06 left in the game on a 9-yard pass from Brad Lohse to Kyle St. Louis, couldn’t overcome six turnovers. Coach Mark Cooley wouldn’t offer the long layoff as an excuse or the 509-mile haul from near Chico.
St. Margaret’s is a 40-minute bus ride south from Carson.
“We might have had some rust, but that had little to do with what happened,” Cooley said. “We lost to a very, very good football team and unfortunately we didn’t play very well.”
Mothander was pin-point sharp, completing 12 of 19 for 231 yards, all in the first half. He didn’t throw a pass the second half and added a four-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Murayama finished with 21 carries for 97 yards and four scores.
As good as the offense was, Mothander pointed to his defense.
“They won the game for us,” he said. “They gave us one chance after another.”
Alex Brolick, Conner Edgecomb and Alfredo Valencia had interceptions for the winners and Adam Miyawaki, Michael Schmall and David Edwards added fumble recoveries.
“I thought our defense was nails all night,” Welch said.
Asked how it felt to win each championship, Welch was philosophical.
“Let’s put it this way, I have two children and I love both dearly,” he said. “I love that 2006 team and this team as well. I’ll take my last breathe loving them both.”
St. Margaret’s 59, Hamilton Union 7
Hamilton Union 0 0 0 7 - 7
St. Margaret’s 24 28 7 0 0 59
First quarter
SM – Marayama 3 run (Mothander kick), 7:30
SM – Brolick 29 run (Mothander kick), 5:59
SM – FG, Mothander 28, 2:35
SM – Mothander 1 run (Mothander kick), 2:22
Second quarter
SM – Anderson 43 pass from Mothander (Mothander kick), 11:41
SM – Murayama 2 run (Mothander kick), 7:47
SM – Murayama 3 run (Mothander kick), 3:06
SM – Murayama 1 run (Mothander kick), 1:45
Third quarter
SM – Mothander 5 run (Mothander kick), 3:11
Fourth quarter
H – St. Louis 9 pass from Lohse (Pineda kick), 5:06
Team Statistics
First down, HU 9, SM 22
Rushes-yards HU 23-81, SM 4-175
Passing HU 15-26-3-96, SM 12-19-0-231
Total yards: HU 177, SM 406
Turnovers: HU 6, SM 2
Individual Statistics
Rushing, HU – Lohse 7-49, Diaz 10-17, Knight 3-7, Smith 1-3, McCorxie 1-2, Schmike 1-3. SM – Murayama 21-97, Mothander 14-34, Duwnes 8-18, Smith 2-0, Brouick 1-29, Team 1-(-3).
Passing, HU – Lohse 15-35-3-96, Schimke 0-1-0-0. SM – Mothander 12-19-0-231.
Receiving, HU – Diaz 5-12, Knight 3-15, Smith 2-32, Thomas 1-14, St. Louis 1-9, Knight 1-6, Van Houtte 1-6, Watson 1-2. SM – Carpeter 4-77, Anderson 3-110, Brolick 3-29, Murayama 2-15.
Tackles, HU – Schimke 13, Diaz 8, Thomas 4, Jacobo 4, Ligas 4, Laglaire 4. SM – Miyawak 9, Brolick 7, Adams 6.
