Novato Sports Blog: Novato Stingers vs Rancho Cotate 2

Mark Alvarez (21) on his way to six with a little help from Robbie Cassée (16)

Danny Dreher (5) upends a flying Cougar in the second-half

The photos from this Novato Stingers game are now available on the 2009 Novato Stingers Shutterfly site.

Game Summary

The Stingers hosted the Rancho Cotate Cougars at the Novato High School field for a rare home-and-home opportunity. While the teams have played twice in 15 days, this time the chilly, overcast playing conditions in Novato were in stark contrast to the 100°scorcher in Rohnert Park on September 27th.

The Stingers won the coin toss and elected to take the ball first. The Novato offense wasted no time at all as quarterback Tommy Sanz (13) quickly teamed up with Mark Alvarez (21) for a 42-yard catch and run for at touchdown. Angelo Lagomarsino (9) followed it up with a run for the extra point and the Stingers were up 7-0 after two plays.

Things only got better for Novato as Johnny Viezcas (82) recovered an onside kick-off and the Stinger offense was at it again. After a quick drive down the field, Alvarez ran the ball in from the 3-yard line for his, and the team's, second touchdown of the day.

With Novato up 13-0 the second quarter proved to be a tight defensive struggle, with the teams exchanging the ball on downs a few times before the Stingers broke through again after a long drive. Lagomarsino walked into the end-zone for a score at 2:30 left in the half and Sanz hooked up with tight-end Robbie Cassée (16) for a catch and run for the PAT. The teams left the field at half-time with Novato up 20-0.

Novato came out strong again in the second-half, with the defense giving up only two more first down, for a total of three on the day. After holding the Cougars on their opening drive, Novato quickly scored again, this time on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Sanz to a streaking Cassée who was wide-open down the middle of the field. Alec Ball (12) ran the ball in for the PAT and a 27-0 lead.

The Stingers closed out the scoring with 1:30 left in the third-quarter on a 15-yard touchdown run by Ball. With the score at 33-0 the "mercy" rule was invoked for the fourth straight game and the game wound down quickly under a running clock.

"I'm really proud of the guys today," said head coach John Jones. "We were down a couple of key players today and the team really stepped it up to cover for them. Some of our regulars elevated their game and a few others filled in with some great play. Like I told the kids all week, we have good players and even though we have a few guys out, we can continue to win if we work together."

Final Score: Novato Stingers 33*, Rancho Cotate Cougars 0
* Mercy rule invoked with just over a minute left in the third-quarter

2009 Stingers Record: 6-0

Defensive Points Allowed So Far: 0 !!!!!