ST. MONICA — A total of seven St. Monica Mariners were named to the All-Santa Fe League first team in football, it was announced this week.
Senior defensive back Melvin Wilson led the pack as he was named defensive Most Valuable Player of the league. He was joined on first-team defense by linebackers Lukas Dretzka and Jonathan Diaz and senior defensive back JP Kaczor.
On offense, both of the Mariners' senior running backs — Kevin Holubowski and Nick Pegnato — made the first team. They were joined by junior offensive lineman Angel Galdamez
St. Monica also had a pair of players named to the second team. Sophomore offensive lineman Alex Padilla and senior linebacker Michael Cueva made the cut.
The awards cap a season that saw the Mariners reach the semifinals of the Northeast Division playoffs where they lost to eventual repeat champion Rio Hondo Prep.
The Mariners finished the season 8-5 overall and 2-2 in league and advanced to the playoffs for a third straight year, second with current head coach Adam Guerra.
"I feel pretty good about what we did," Guerra said. "We hit a mid-season stumble, but we finished strong. This senior class left an impression on the program."
Though he's losing a number of his playmakers, Guerra is confident that the system he's creating at St. Monica will weather the departures and again compete for a division title.
"It feels awesome in the second year in the offense and defense," he added. "We've become much more in sync."
daniela@www.smdp.com
