San Marcos football secured its first Tri-County League win of the season with a 30-13 victory over Santa Paula on the road on Friday night.
The Royals (3-4, 1-1 TCL) had a big special teams night in the win, with Austin Downing converting three field goals longer than 35 yards and Isaac Murillo running back a kickoff for a touchdown.
Santa Paula opened the game on a high note, marching down the field and scoring on a 12-yard touchdown completion for an early 7-0 lead.
The Royals then made their way into Cardinal territory but were stopped on fourth down. They turned to the left leg of Downing, who split the uprights on a 47-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.
After the two sides exchanged punts, San Marcos forced and recovered a fumble deep in Santa Paula territory as the game flipped to the second quarter.
The Royals turned the fumble into points quickly as Tommy Diaz rushed in for a short touchdown. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the lead at 9-7.
San Marcos and Santa Paula then swapped stalled possessions until the final moments of the first half, when Downing nailed a 36-yard field goal to give his team a 12-7 lead heading into halftime.
The Royals then came out of the break with a bang, as Murillo took the opening kickoff all the way to the end zone for a touchdown. Griffin Cooney scored the ensuing two-point conversion to take a 20-7 advantage.
The Cardinals then punted before Downing continued his big night, drilling a field goal from 37 yards out to expand the lead to 23-7, which held into the fourth.
An interception by Murillo early in the fourth quarter set up a short rushing touchdown by Diaz to grow the advantage to 30-7.
Santa Paula scored on its next possession, but the extra-point attempt was missed to make it a 30-13 game.
The Royals then took the kickoff and drained the clock to secure the road Tri-County League win.
San Marcos will return home to host Hueneme next Friday at 7 p.m. at Warkentin Stadium.
