OAKLAND — McClymonds showed how tough it will be to contend with this season as it defeated previously undefeated Marin Catholic 33-22 on Friday night.
Marin Catholic, which had allowed only seven points in its first three games combined, were unable to put the clamps down against the Warriors.
“It was a very competitive game,” Marin Catholic coach Mazi Moayed said. “One thing we did better is we cut down on penalties. We had too many self-induced errors and there’s still some things we have to clean up, be more disciplined in what we do. McClymonds is a great team, great program, so they really test your mettle there.”
McClymonds (3-0) — ranked seventh in the Bay Area by the San Jose Mercury News — was dominant through the air in the first half as quarterback Dreyan Paul passed for 180 of his 223 yards and two of his three touchdowns. The Warriors led 19-14 at halftime.
But in the second half, the Warriors rushed for 128 of their 224 yards on the ground to hold the visiting Wildcats at bay. McClymonds did not trail in the second half.
“We did a good job of adjusting to their defense,” said Paul, who also ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns. “They started to put more people inside the box, so we had to make sure we ran the ball.”
Marin Catholic (3-1) opened the scoring. Set up by a 55-yard opening-kickoff return by Charles Williams and a 21-yard pass from Ingrassia to Robert Tuttle, Williams scored on a 5-yard run.
But McClymonds immediately answered. A 49-yard pass from Paul to McDougle set up a 22-yard touchdown reception by Cole from Paul.
The game remained tied at 7-7 until the first drive of the second half when Paul reached the end zone on a four-yard run. But this time MC immediately answered, as Ingrassia threw a 60-yard pass to Williams to set up his own four-yard touchdown run.
McClymonds’ offense achieved something rare – it had two players catch more than 100 yards in receptions. Dwayne McDougle caught eight passes for 110 yards and Jay’Vion Cole added seven receptions for 108 yards, two that went for TDs.
Cole’s second touchdown catch and Paul’s throw were highlight-reel material. On first-and-10 from the Marin Catholic 33, Paul saw Cole open in the end zone and lofted the ball. Cole slipped and fell on his back as he turned outside. But the pass was so precise that it landed right on Cole, who grabbed it for a 19-14 McClymonds advantage.
“When the ball was in the air, I slipped and fell, but it fell right in my lap,” said Cole. “(Paul is) a great player. He executes everything and makes it happen for us.”
Paul threw his final touchdown pass of the game in the third quarter, a 5-yarder to Michael Dansby in which the senior got out of the grasp of one defender, then bounced off another to reach the end zone.
A three-yard TD run by Andrew Ramos and a two-point conversion pass from Ingrassia to Matthew Greco narrowed the score to 25-22 in the third quarter. A sack by Clayton ended Marin Catholic’s next drive, then McClymonds drove 65 yards to score on a 20-yard run by Paul.
“Those guys are a lot to handle and we hung in there and played a competitive game against a top-tier team,” Moayed said.
Williams led MC with 24 rushing yards and 60 receiving yards. Cooper Haswell caught three passes for 48 yards.
McClymonds’ Tajir Golden led all rushers with 98 yards on the ground.
