Marin Holds De La Salle in NorCal
Marin Holds De La Salle in NorCal
The Marin Highlanders pulled off a big result over the weekend, holding well-regarded single-school team De La Salle to a 10-10 tie.
Needless to say, although we're still saying it, it was a defensive battle.
And yes, certainly, DLS has some injuries and unavailabilities, but they expected to beat Marin ... which may have been the issue all along.
"Disappointing to say the least but Marin has always played us tough," said DLS Head Coach Derek Holmberg. "They are always set up and ready to tackle and we weren’t able to capitalize on the big runs we made."
Marin's goal line defense did a good job and some impatience on De La Salle's part near the goal line didn't help.
"Marin was fired up and we looked flat," said Holmberg. "We had a great week of training and felt confident with the group we brought in, but it goes to show there are very few easy matches in NorCal’s Premier league."
Marin got an early penalty goal from flyhalf Ian Ross but DLS responded with a try to make it 5-3 for the Spartans at the break.
Just after halftime De La Salle scored again, but midway through the second period Marin No. 8 Rowe Stodolnic went over and with Ross's conversion it was 10-10, which is how it ended.
"This was a great result for us," said Marin Head Coach John Vantress. "Coach Holmberg and his staff do an amazing job with the De La Salle boys. They are well coached and a disciplined squad. We are always grateful that we play in northern California and regularly get the opportunity to compete against some of the country's top programs. We are a young team, don't have the numbers of some of the larger clubs and tend to struggle with the Tier 1 teams. Knowing we are only graduating 5 seniors this year should give our boys some confidence to finish this season strong and know they have a lot to look forward to next year."