Prep football: Novato grinds out win against Archie Williams

If running back John DeMartini is the train for the Novato High football team, then backfield mate Alexander Felchin is at least an important sidecar.

While DeMartini carried the load with 114 yards on 19 tries Saturday, Felchin made the most of his three carries with a touchdown run and a game-sealing first down run as the surprising Hornets (3-1, 1-0) upset Archie Williams 10-7 in a Redwood Empire Mountain league opener Saturday in San Anselmo.

“We wanted to practice hard this week and bring the train on Saturday,” said DeMartini, who is referred to as the train by his teammates for his straight-ahead, hard-churning style. “We thought we could run up the middle against this defense, establish the run, and that would open up our passing game.”

It was not surprising the Hornets game-planned a relentless rushing attack after the Peregrine Falcons yielded nearly 300 yards on the ground in a lopsided loss to Concord last week.

“We watched film of (Archie Williams) last two games,” Novato coach Joseph Simmons said. “They had trouble stopping the run in those games and we thought we could have success on the ground. But what it came down to was we just went back to our bread and butter.”

By bread and butter, Simmons meant a ground-and-pound attack featuring DeMartini running behind a big, athletic offensive line.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere if not for my offensive line,” DeMartini said. “They did a great job of opening holes today.”

While DeMartini rightfully received most of the accolades for the Hornets, who have already equaled last season’s win total, Felchin’s contributions were not not lost on Simmons.

“Felchin is a great change-of-pace back,” Simmons said. “He adds some contrast to our running game with his speed and he’s small enough to get lost behind the offensive line near the goal line.”

That is exactly what happened when Felchin scored the game-winning touchdown to cap the opening drive of the second half.

The Hornets drove 65 yards on six plays in a little less than four minutes and Felchin scampered around the right side for the final six yards to the end zone.

The big play of the drive, however, came courtesy of Novato quarterback Trevor Cleary’s arm and legs.

Under extreme pressure from a heavy pass rush on a third-and-12, Cleary eluded pressure by sprinting left and unleashed a 31-yard completion to Sal Carrow, who led Novato receivers with three catches and 55 yards.

Early on, Archie Williams’ defense stood strong, forcing four-and-outs on Novato’s first two possessions.

The second Novato punt was returned 31 yards to midfield by Gianni Testa, setting up a short field for the Falcons’ only points of the contest.

Archie Williams quarterback Ronan Foley, who accumulated 123 passing yards and also led the Falcons (2-3, 0-1) with 59 rushing yards, capped the scoring drive with a seam-route, 20-yard strike to Testa in the front of the end zone.

Testa led all receivers with four catches for 78 yards.

Novato scored its only points of the first half on the ensuing drive – the Hornets gained 74 yards on nine plays before stalling on fourth-and-goal – when Oliver Cordero-Garcia booted a 23-yard field goal.

The game was decided in the final minutes.

Archie Williams’ promising potential game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter ended abruptly at the Novato 10-yard line when the Falcons’ were called for a holding penalty and Dominic Scafani picked off a third-down pass on the next play.

The Hornets iced the victory with less than two minutes remaining when Felchin converted a third-and-one with a five-yard run for a first down.

Novato 10, Archie Williams 7

Redwood Empire Mountain

Novato  0  3  7  0  –  10

Archie Williams  0  7  0  0  –  7

SCORING SUMMARY

AW – Testa 20 pass from Foley (Maury kick)

N – Cordero-Garcia 23 FG

N – Felchin 6 run (Cordero-Garcia kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – N, DeMartini 19-114, Scafani 1-4, Castro 2-15, Cleary 6-1, Felchin 3-12. Totals: 31-146. AW, Foley 11-59, Mosher 9-30, Wells 2-7, Testa 1-0. Totals: 23-96.

PASSING – N, Cleary 7-16-0 99, Scafani 1-1-0 25. Totals: 8-17-0 124. AW, Foley 8-18-1 123.

RECEIVING – N, Stonefelt 2-27, DeMartini 2-17, Carrow 3-55, Yeager 1-25. Totals: 8-124. AW, Pierce 1-12, Hurd 2-29, Testa 4-78, Maury 1-4. Totals: 8-123.

Records – Novato 3-1, 1-0. Archie Williams 2-3, 0-1.