The San Marcos Royals secured their first win under first-year head coach Ralph Molina against the Morro Bay Pirates on Friday, 25-14.
“The kids have been working hard,” Molina said. “They’ve had a few rough years and they want to turn things around. We needed to get off to the right start and we did.”
Senior quarterback Joaquin Sandoval and junior running back Andre McCollough led the way for the Royals on offense.
Sandoval threw for 125 yards, completing 6 of 8 passes, including a 20-yard TD pass. He also added 9 yards on the ground, including a rushing touchdown.
“It was amazing,” Sandoval said about being back on the field. “We haven’t been out here for two years and to start out as a win in front of our home fans is phenomenal.”
Meanwhile, McCollough dominated the rushing attack, racking up 141 yards and adding two touchdowns, including a 51-yard scamper to secure the win.
“You can’t teach what [McCollough] does on the field,” Molina said of his star running back. “He’s a true natural and I believe he’s going to keep getting better and better.”
San Marcos opened up the night with a long drive that ended in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Sandoval to senior tight end Benji Rodriguez for an early 6-0 lead. The extra point was a missed.
Morro Bay bounced back on offense and capped off a long drive with a touchdown of its own with 2:13 left in the first quarter. The Pirates converted the extra point attempt for a 7-6 lead.
The lead didn’t last long. On a drive highlighted by a 47-yard completion from Sandoval to senior wide receiver Jackson Murillo, McCollough extended over the goal line from the 1 for his first touchdown of the day and a 13-7 San Marcos lead.
With about eight minutes left in the first half, Morro Bay began a 17-play drive that ended with a turnover on downs after senior defensive lineman Dylan Galbrath came down with a sack.
“We settled down on defense and saw what they were doing in the first half,” Molina said. “The fourth-down stop was huge and set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Going into the half leading 13-7, the Royals made a switch at the quarterback position. For the first half, Sandoval and junior quarterback Josh Engel were splitting time behind center. However, Sandoval took the bulk of the load for the second half of play.
“[Sandoval] had the hot hand,” Molina said about the switch. “He was making things happen and I went with that. He’s been a leader day in and day out and he was a leader out there tonight. I went with my gut on this decision.”
The third quarter was a defensive slugfest, as neither team could get points on the board in their first drives. However, after a punt from Rodriguez pinned the Pirates at their own 2-yard line and a defensive stop, the Royals took advantage of great field position.
With 17 seconds left in the third quarter, Sandoval scrambled to the left for a 1-yard rushing touchdown to extend San Marcos’ lead to 19-7.
“We saw holes opening up and they were going after our run game, but we were still powering through,” Sandoval said about the second-half play. “Our lineman absolutely dominated them in the second half, which was great to see.”
After a fumbled snap for the Pirates gave the ball back to the Royals, McCollough broke the game open with a 51-yard touchdown run that included multiple broken tackles. His second touchdown of the night gave San Marcos a dominating 25-7 lead in the final quarter of play.
When asked what was going through his head during the play, McCollough responded, “Just keep going, and that’s what I did.”
Morro Bay was able to score a second touchdown with 1:12 left in the game to make the final score 25-14.
The Royals are on the road next Friday as they take on Santa Maria.