OAKLAND — McClymonds showed how tough it will be to contend with this season as it throttled previously undefeated Marin Catholic 33-22 on Friday night.
The Warriors shredded Marin Catholic, which had allowed only seven points in its first three games.
McClymonds (3-0) was dominant through the air in the first half as quarterback Dreyan Paul passed for 180 of his 223 yards and two of his three touchdowns. The Warriors led 19-14 at halftime.
But in the second half, the Warriors rushed for 128 of their 224 yards on the ground to hold the visiting Wildcats at bay. McClymonds did not trail in the second half.
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“We did a good job of adjusting to their defense,” said Paul, who also ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns in a dynamic performance. “They started to put more people inside the box, so we had to make sure we ran the ball.”
McClymonds’ offense achieved something rare – it had two players catch more than 100 yards in receptions. Dwayne McDougle caught eight passes for 110 yards and Jay’Vion Cole added seven receptions for 108 yards, two that went for TDs.
Cole’s second touchdown catch and Paul’s throw were highlight-reel material. On first-and-10 from the Marin Catholic 33, Paul saw Cole open in the end zone and lofted the ball. Cole slipped and fell on his back as he turned outside. But the pass was so precise that it landed right on Cole, who grabbed it for a 19-14 McClymonds advantage.
“When the ball was in the air, I slipped and fell, but it fell right in my lap,” said the 6-foot Cole. “(Paul is) a great player. He executes everything and makes it happen for us.”
McClymonds, which has only 27 players on varsity, also stood out defensively. It contained Marin Catholic quarterback Michael Ingrassia, sacking him eight times, including four in the fourth quarter. Tayshon Clayton had two sacks for Mack.
Marin Catholic (3-1) opened the scoring. Set up by a 55-yard opening-kickoff return by Charles Williams and a 21-yard pass from Ingrassia to Robert Tuttle, Williams scored on a 5-yard run.
But McClymonds immediately answered. A 49-yard pass from Paul to McDougle set up a 22-yard touchdown reception by Cole from Paul.
The game remained tied at 7 until the first drive of the second half when Paul reached the end zone on a four-yard run. But again a team immediately answered, as Marin Catholic used a 59-yard pass from Ingrassia to Williams to set up a four-yard TD run by Ingrassia.
But the amazing 33-yard touchdown pass from Paul to Cole gave McClymonds the lead to stay at 19-14 in the second quarter. Paul threw his final touchdown pass of the game in the third quarter, a 5-yarder to Michael Dansby in which the 6-0 senior got out of the grasp of one defender, then bounced off another to reach the end zone.
A three-yard TD run by Andrew Ramos and a two-point conversion pass from Ingrassia to Greco narrowed the score to 25-22 in the third quarter, but a sack by Clayton ended Marin Catholic’s next drive, then McClymonds drove 65 yards to score on a 20-yard run by Paul.
“We’ve still got work to do. We’re still young. We’re getting better by the weeks. We’ve got two hard, hard games coming up,” said McClymonds coach Michael Peters, referring to the matchups against Menlo-Atherton on Sept. 24 and Pittsburg on Oct. 1.
McClymonds’ Tajir Golden led all rushers with 98 yards on the ground.
