PLAYA DEL REY — The St. Monica Mariners dominated the eight-man powerhouse Windward Wildcats Saturday at St. Bernard High School, 42-8.

The Mariners (4-2) recorded their first homecoming win in six years, Head Coach Larry Muno said, and kept the Wildcats (3-3) at bay throughout the night.
The victory gives St. Monica four wins on the season, topping last season's three.

During the game's opening possession, St. Monica struggled to find its rhythm. In a drive that included a delay of game penalty and a fourth down conversion on a quarterback keeper, the Mariners were dismayed to end their first possession with a fumble by quarterback Matthew Partyka.

"That first fumble on that pitch, that was a miscommunication there," Partyka said. "We weren't really too worried because we knew if we executed, the play would have worked."

The miscues ended there, as St. Monica made a defensive stop on the following drive and Partyka led the offense on a three-play touchdown drive. Running back Sean Martinez capped off the drive with a 57-yard run to the endzone.

"We started off the game with a lot of energy and played with great pace," Muno said.

St. Monica's defense was airtight from there on out with the exception of an 87-yard passing touchdown by Windward quarterback Jordan Wilson. After a false start on the extra point attempt, the Wildcats converted a 2-point try from seven yards out to make the score 14-8, St. Monica.

St. Monica scored three more touchdowns in the first half to make the score 35-8 at the break.

Muno and Windward Head Coach Scott Napier agreed to a running clock for the second half. In a sluggish second frame, however, St. Monica had three turnovers before scoring its first touchdown of the half with 2:35 to go in the game.



