Football teams shine in league openings

Nearly half of the county’s football teams started league play last week, and all but one encounter between local teams were victorious.

Novato picked up a close win in a low-scoring fight against Archie Williams. Tam defeated former MCAL rival Justin-Siena at home on Saturday. Redwood and San Rafael came off with wins against Petaluma and Healdsburg, respectively. Terra Linda had a league bye and rallied for a win against Washington (San Francisco).

Elsewhere, the Marin Academy girls’ water polo team won a tournament, the Redwood girls’ golf team once again showed it is the team to beat this season, and a handful of girls’ volleyball teams notched some notable victories.

John DeMartini, Novato football

DeMartini was the strongest player as the Hornets pounded the ball to a 10-7 victory for both teams against Archie Williams in the Redwood Empire Mountain opener. DeMartini carried the ball 19 times for 114 yards and added two catches for another 17 yards.

Josie Campo, Terra Linda girls volleyball

Campo averaged 18.5 kills as the Trojans picked up two big MCAL wins against San Marin and Archie Williams last week. With the expanded six-team play-off field reintroduced this season, two teams from the TL trio, San Marin and Archie Williams, were expected to participate in the qualifiers this season. Campo had 18 kills and nine digs against San Marin and 19 kills and 17 digs in five setters against Archie, helping TL sit in pole position for a mid-season playoff berth.

Haden Berlinsky, San Rafael football

Berlinsky made the two biggest plays of the game as the Bulldogs started the Redwood Empire Mountain game with a 18-13 win over Healdsburg. Berlinsky took the first kick of the third quarter, 75 yards for a touchdown that pulled San Rafael to 7-6. The receiver then caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from San Rafael quarterback Lachlan Royston, helping to increase the lead to 18-7.

Abby Sims, San Rafael girls volleyball

Setter had a pair of strong games as San Rafael put together its best week of the league season by beating Novato in five sets on Friday and picking up its first win after battling Archie Williams in a tough four-setter on Wednesday. Sims produced a career-high 39 assists plus six kills and a block in the win over the Hornets. Sims had 35 assists, six kills and six blocks against the Peregrine Falcons.

Sean Cunneen, Redwood football

Redwood’s star runner had his best game of the season in a 31-14 Redwood Empire Valley victory over Petaluma on Friday night. Cunneen only carried the ball 11 times but recorded 227 yards and three touchdowns. Cunneen scored on runs of 11, 42 and 72 yards.

Elle Parisi and Gabby Reichley at Marin Academy girls water polo

MA won 4-0 on the weekend and claimed its third consecutive Gulf War tournament title. While Parisi was the leader with 14 goals, Reichley was right behind him with 12 goals. While Kelly Kurtzig also scored 13 goals, MA outperformed its opponents with a total score of 61-12. MA beat College Park and Heritage on Friday and then defeated TL in the semifinals. MA defeated Moreau Catholic 18-3 in the championship game. Reichley also threw a team-high six goals in an MCAL win against Marin Catholic earlier in the week.

Reed Edwards and Timo Ural, All football

Tam’s potent quarterback-receiver combo connected twice for touchdowns and added a third score each as the Red-tailed Hawks defeated Redwood Empire Valley 47-0 on Saturday against Justin-Siena. Edwards completed 10 of 14 passes for 285 points and three points; the other went to Cole Kramlich. Ural caught only two passes, but they totaled 120 yards and both went for scores. Ural also returned a punt for a touchdown.

Carolina Delaney, Marin Catholic girls volleyball

The freshman hitter had 14 kills and 15 digs as the Wildcats picked up their most important MCAL win of the regular season. MC began league play with a four-set loss to Branson on September 13. The Wildcats needed a win against Redwood to keep their hopes of a first-round bye alive, and they did just that, rallying by a score of 18-25, 25-25. 14, 25-18, 25-21 victory on Friday.

Mateo Pattani and Josh Milani, Terra Linda football

TL’s receiver-quarterback combination had a quarter for the ages to help the Trojans rally from a 12-point halftime deficit to earn a 27-18 non-league victory over Washington (San Francisco) on Saturday. Pattani turned the game in TL’s favor by scoring three goals from Milani in the quarter. Pattani finished with 13 catches for 169 yards. Milani completed 27 of 39 passes for 241 yards.

Katherine Lim and Maddie Lim, Redwood girls golf

Redwood took a big step towards winning the MCAL regular season title with its second victory over Branson. At Peacock Gap, Maddie Lim led the undefeated Giants with a score of 35 (-1), and Katherine Lim led the undefeated Giants with a score of 36 (-36).