Mullen hangs on against Regis Jesuit
Muistangs get oast arch-rival Raiders 28-21
Go ahead. Exhale!
A year ago almost to the day, Mullen turned in one of the great comebacks in its fabled parochial rivalry against Regis Jesuit, going for 26 points in the fourth quarter to win 40-39.
On Friday night, the Mustangs almost found themselves on the other end before fending off the Raiders’ furious rally in front of a very well-attended Brother Bernard Kinneavy Field at de La Salle Stadium, the best crowd of the first month of the season. Mullen nearly blew a 21-point lead before turning in two large defensive stands, one at its 2-yard line, the other at the 30 with just 36.5 seconds to play.
So the Mustangs’ 28-21 decision of the Raiders in Class 5A nonleague was particularly big on Homecoming weekend, came after a physical pounding in a wipeout loss to Cherry Creek, pushed them to 3-1 and perhaps proved to a beaten-up roster that it can win when almost everything appears bleak.
“They found a way to finish, a way to get it done, which is really important,” Mustangs head coach Vincent White said. “They played their tails off down the stretch and did a great job.”
After the Mullen offense stalled, Regis Jesuit, now 1-3 and dealing with inexperience of its own, rode a terrific performance by senior running back Kiahn Martinez that almost led to victory. He ended up rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for another off a double-reverse play, although he twice nearly tied the game.
However, the first of two Mullen defensive stops led to deciding the matter. On the first, after Mullen’s Wilson Yee couldn’t handle a low snap in punt formation and it resulted in first-and-goal at the Mullen 10-yard line with 6:50 remaining for the Raiders, Mustangs defensive back Vaughnn Stitt came up and halted Martinez at the 2 on fourth-and-1.
“I just went and reacted, and everyone got to the ball and we made a play on it,” Stitt said.
And on the second, after a clutch punt by Yee form the back of the end zone, a couple of missed kill sots by Mullen (it tried to pass deep twice) and a Regis Jesuit penalty, the Raiders couldn’t get it done from the Mullen 38 beginning with 2:07 to go. They managed a first down, but junior Matthew Ells finally tracked down elusive-and-effective Raiders freshman quarterback Nicco Marchiol for a game-ending sack.
“I just stayed home, cut back and took him down,” Ells said. “It was nice. It felt good.”
Mullen took possession and knelt in victory formation.
Its collective sigh of relief was hard-earned.
“Anything can happen in a rivalry game,” Stitt said.
A lot did. Mullen looked good as well as in command through three quarters. Junior running back Damien Cearns ran for a couple of touchdowns to highlight the ground game and Isaac White grabbed six catches through the air attack that was augmented by a big effort by Ben Marcoux, who had two scoring receptions, the second a 27-yarder in which he outfought a Regis Jesuit defender for the ball and gave Mullen a 21-7 lead just seconds before halftime.
Even the thin Mullen fronts enjoyed assorted moments in a matchup that tested more than a few wills.
Linebacker Trevor Kirking said, “it was pretty intense, it was a fight. It was getting pretty close there for a while, but we rallied up.”
Wilson Bialecki, another linebacker, called Martinez “the No. 1 back in the state.”
He also appreciated how the Mustangs seemed to take turns making plays on both sides.
“Absolutely,” he said. “When our offense was down, our defense picked it up. When our defense was down, our offense picked it up. This is the game we had to win and we pulled it out.”
For Coach White, the two defensive stops told him something about his team.
“They made a play down on that first drive, then the second time they made another play,” he said. “That’s playing good team football. I’m proud of them and we found a way to win.
“And they played hard. They did a great job of just hanging in there.”
Next up for Mullen: It will host Grandview in a week, the fourth game at home in five weeks for the Mustangs and the cap to the nonleague season.
MULLEN 28, REGIS JESUIT 21
Regis Jesuit 0 7 0 14 – 21
Mullen 7 14 7 0 – 28
First quarter
Mullen – Ben Marcoux 30 pass from Dom DePizzol (Wilson Yee kick), 7:31.
Second quarter
Mullen – Damien Cearns 5 run (Yee kick), 9:47.
Regis Jesuit – Nicco Marchiol 34 pass from Kiahn Martinez (Mariano Adame kick), 2:37,
Mullen – Marcoux 27 pass from DePizzol (Yee kick), 0:07.4.
Third quarter
Mullen – Cearns 6 run (Yee kick), 0:18.6.
Fourth quarter
Regis Jesuit – Martinez 16 run (Adame kick), 9:57.
Regis Jesuit – Martinez 2 run (Adame kick), 6:50.
TEAM STATISTICS
Total plays
Mullen 65, RJ 68
Total yards
Mullen 303 ,RJ 247
Passing yards
Mullen 187, RJ 185
Rushing yards
Mullen 116, RJ 62
First downs
Mullen 16, RJ 12
3rd-down efficiency
Mullen 2-12, 17%, RJ 2-13, 15%
4th-down efficiency
Mullen 1-3, 33% RJ 1-5, 20%
Turnovers
Mullen 1, RJ 1
Fumbles lost
Mullen 0 RJ 1
Interceptions thrown
Mullen 1, RJ 0
Penalties
Mullen 6-25, RJ 9-65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Passing
Mullen – DePizzol 13-23, 187 yards, 2 TD, 1 int., 62 long.
Mullen – Cearns 24-108, 2 TDs, 22 long; DePizzol 8-12, 18 long; C. Smith 3-3 5 long; White 2-minus-7.
Receiving – White 7-100, 62 long; Marcoux 4-79, 2 TDs, 30 long; Cearns 2-8, 8 long.
Tackles (T-A-S-TFL) – Apodaca 8-1-0-0, Kirking 5-6-1-1, Keanaaina 5-6-1-3, Stitt 4-1-0-1, Nolte 4-2-1-1, Bialecki 3-8-1-1, White 2-1-0-0, Riley-Combs 2-0-0-0, Thompson 2-0-0-0, Hearty 2-4-1-1, Daffin 1-3-1-1, DeNezza 1-2-1-1, Mitchell 1-1-1-1, Difeo 0-2-0-0, Martinez 0-1-0-0, Barden 0-1-0-0, Rogers 0-2-0-0, Stanford 0-1-0-0.
Fumble recovery -- Riley-Combs.
Kickoff returns – Cearns 1-15 avg., 17 long; Barden 1-8, 8 long.
Punts – Yee 6-31 avg, 48 long; Lehman 3-37 40 long.
Kicking -- Yee, 4 PATs.
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