San Marcos football secured its second straight victory on Friday night, taking down Buena by a score of 28-7 at Buena Stadium in Ventura.
The Royals evened the season-long record to 2-2 with the win ahead of the Big Game next week. San Marcos will roll out the welcome mats to longtime rival Santa Barbara High next Friday at 7 p.m. at Warkentin Stadium.
The San Marcos defense stood tall in the first quarter, while senior Tommy Diaz rushed in the first touchdown of the night to give his team a 7-0 lead heading into the second.
Buena got on the board and evened the score at 7-7 early in the second quarter on a punt return touchdown.
That score held until there were just 30 seconds left in the opening half, when San Marcos senior Hayden Feleay connected with senior Isaac Murillo for a 60-yard touchdown to jump out in front 14-7.
While that seemed to be the score heading into halftime, the Royals had a chance at a Hail Mary in the final seconds. Feleay floated a deep pass into a crowd, and it tipped into the hands of sophomore Caden LaPlante, who scored to make it 21-7 at halftime.
The halftime break proved crucial for both defenses, as the 21-7 San Marcos lead held for the vast majority of the second half.
In fact, it held until the Royals added one final touchdown with 4:51 left in the game on Diaz’s second rushing score of the night.
The San Marcos defense held on for one more drive to secure the comfortable 28-7 win.
