Prep football: Sophomore gives Mustangs reason to dance in homecoming win

Wesley Timmel wanted to do something special for San Marin’s homecoming game and, even though he is only a sophomore, he made it a memorable night for the Mustangs on Friday.

Timmel produced his second consecutive game with at least 60 receiving yards and two touchdowns to help his San Marin squad to 37-0 victory over MCAL foe San Rafael. Timmel now has a string of three consecutive games with 60 or more receiving yards.

“I had a lot of fun out there,” Timmel said. “I was doing it for my seniors to win in their homecoming, and for the community as well.”

Timmel, who finished with four catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns, put San Marin on the scoreboard in the first quarter the first chance he got. The Mustangs (4-1, 2-0 MCAL) started their first drive on the Bulldogs’ 40, and quickly closed ground with Charlie Singleton carrying the ball. Then, Dominic Ingrassia delivered an 18-yard pass to Timmel to give San Marin a 7-0 lead.

“I watched tape of him on the freshman team last season, and I said I’m playing him on varsity,” San Marin head coach Dom DiMare said of Timmel. “He’s earned his stripes on the field for sure.”

Ingrassia then showed off his arm strength with a 35-yard pass to Frankie Quinci, who was racing through the end zone, for a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.

Ingrassia completed 13 of 24 passes for 208 yards and four touchdowns but a hard-rushing San Rafael defense kept Ingrassia on the run all night long. San Rafael’s defense tallied one interception and six tackles for a loss.

“We had a little trouble with the passing system, but their defense gave us fits,” DiMare said.

San Rafael (2-3, 0-2) also held San Marin’s ground game in check as the Mustangs gained 75 yards on 30 carries, led by Singleton’s 14 rushes for 54 yards.

“Credit to the Mustangs and the discipline they showed,” San Rafael head coach Casey Sully said. “They showed up and they executed.”

Timmel picked up his second touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Ingrassia to give San Marin a 20-0 lead late in the second quarter. The Bulldogs blocked the extra point, but Rudy Rodas made up for that a few minutes later with a 27-yard field goal to send the Mustangs into the break with a 23-0 lead.

San Marin extended the lead in the third quarter when Ingrassia scrambled before spying Ben Langford in double coverage in the end zone. Ingrassia managed to get the pass off just before he was driven to the turf and Langford rose above the defense for the 17-yard scoring reception that gave San Marin a 30-0 lead in the third quarter.

Jonah Lozano put the final touches on the celebration with a short dive from 2 yards out for a touchdown with 2:43 left to play.

San Marin’s quest for the MCAL title could see its biggest challenge yet when the Mustangs (2-0, 4-1) travel to Larkspur to play Redwood on Oct. 8. The winner could be up in the air — literally — with two teams that love to pass the ball. That means Timmel might be in the spotlight again.

“I knew coming in we’re going to have a great season,” Timmel said. “I think we have it in us for sure to have a great season, to make the playoffs.”

San Rafael has a chance to earn its first MCAL win when the Bulldogs host Novato on Friday.

“That’s a really good San Rafael team,” DiMare said. “It’s good to see they’re getting better.”

For the second season in a row, the Mustangs held the Bulldogs scoreless, but it was significantly closer this time around. San Marin won 49-0 in last year’s go-around.

Faced with a team that fielded more than twice as many healthy players, the Bulldogs knew they’d be in for an uphill battle.

“The guys weren’t scared. They weren’t going to back down,” Sully said.

While San Rafael’s defense kept up the pressure, the offense rarely gave the Bulldogs a chance to build any momentum.

“We started to get some rhythm and we made a couple of nice drives where we’re moving the ball, and then we’d have a false start or a negative play and that would get us out of the rhythm,” Sully said. “We need to hold on to the ball.”

Mustangs defensive end Jacob Pearce, along with Ben Ducharme and Ryan Jensen didn’t give San Rafael quarterback Charlie Grant many openings as he completed 11 of 27 passes for 60 yards. The Mustangs defensive front held the Bulldogs’ ground game to just 6 yards on 10 carries.

Brendan Davidson caught seven passes for a team-high 43 yards to lead the Bulldogs. Harry Pocock stepped up for an interception.

“We have some things we can be encouraged about,” Sully said. “We have some games that we can still win. We just have to ratchet it up.”

San Marin 37, San Rafael 0

MCAL

San Rafael 0 0 0 0 — 0

San Marin 7 16 7 7 — 37

SCORING SUMMARY

SM — Timmel 18 pass from Ingrassia (Rodas kick)

SM — Quinci 35 pass from Ingrassia (Rodas kick)

SM — Timmel 7 pass from Ingrassia (kick blocked)

SM — Rodas 27 FG

SM — Langford 17 pass from Ingrassia (Rodas kick)

SM — Lozano 2 run (Rodas kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — San Rafael, Jordan 10-6, Grant 10-(minus-2), Pocock 1-4, Shipley 2-9. Totals 23-17. San Marin, Singleton 14-54, Lozano 8-23, Ingrassia 7-(minus-2), Hart 1-0. Totals 30-75.

PASSING — San Rafael, Grant 11-27-1 60. San Marin, Ingrassia 13-24 1 208.

RECEIVING — San Rafael, Davidson 7-43, Shipley 2-9, Pocock 1-9, Jordan 1-(minus-1). Totals 11-60. San Marin, Timmel 4-60, Goodin 2-37, Langford 3-44, Scheppler 2-27, Quincy 1-35, Desilva 1-5. Totals 13-208.

Records: San Rafael 2-3, 0-2. San Marin 4-1, 2-0.