A stout defense, a fumble recovery and a touchdown grab by wideout Indiana McAlpine were the staples of the Malibu High School (MHS) Sharks’ opening-season win.
First-year Sharks football coach Terry Shorten is expecting that and a bit more when Malibu takes on the Saddleback Valley Christian School Warriors for their home opener on Friday.
Shorten said the key to a win over the Warriors will be the Sharks working hard in practice the days leading up to the contest.
“Learn every day, believe in yourself and your teammates, and execute the game plan on Friday night,” he said.
Malibu heads into the game with a 1-1 record. The Sharks beat Windward High Wildcats 7-6 in their Aug. 28 season opener and were downed 54-6 by the Brentwood School Eagles last Friday, Sept. 4.
Shorten said starting the season with a win sets a good tone.
“Huge for the entire program and the boys,” he said.
MHS was down 6-0 to Windward most of the game after Wildcats running back Josh Chambers scored a touchdown a few plays after a Malibu turnover.
Malibu’s defense got the Sharks back into the game late in the contest.
Logan Moore, a junior Malibu defensive end, stripped the ball loose from a Windward ball carrier with a little over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, and Sharks senior linebacker Matt Rafeedie — also the team’s tailback — snatched up the loose ball to give Malibu possession at the Wildcat’s 14 yard line.
On the next play, McAlpine hauled in a pass in the end zone from sophomore quarterback Chase Kapler to tie the game. Shark Fisher Hansen kicked in the extra point to give Malibu the one-point win.
Senior wide receiver Luca Marinaro caught a touchdown pass from Kapler to put the Sharks on the board in their loss to Brentwood.
Malibu’s opposition this Friday has a 1-0 record. The Warriors defeated SVCHS 40-21 on Sept. 3.
Malibu started the 2014 season with a 1-2 record. The second of those losses was a 14-7 loss to Saddleback Valley Christian.
Malibu finished with a 3-7 overall record and 1-5 record in the Frontier League last season.
Shorten was a coach for the Oak Park High School (OPHS) Eagles for 12 years. During his six seasons as the Eagles head coach, OPHS reached the CIF playoffs from 2008 on. He is the third head football coach in Malibu history. Rich Lawson coached the Sharks from 1996 to 2004, and Ray Humphrey led the football program from 2004 to 2014.
Shorten said the Sharks need to grow on the gridiron each week.
“[They are] young but eager to win football games,” he said. The coach added that working hard and building trust are some of the things the Sharks will need to work on in order to do so.
The Sharks are light on seniors this season, so Shorten said he will be leaning on his returning players.
“I expect seniors like Matt Rafreedie, Indiana McAlpine, Luca Marinaro, Chris Taras to be leaders,” he said, “and they all are going to have an outstanding year.”
Shorten said Malibu’s offense this season will be a combination on power football and getting the pigskin to playmakers in open spaces in order to make big plays.
McAlpine, the 2014 All Frontier League player, is one of them.
“Indiana is the best athlete in the Frontier League and should have a record breaking year,” said Shorten.
The former OPHS coach also expects good things from the Sharks’ sophomore signal caller.
“[He] is very mature for his age and will do great things at QB,” he said.
Shorten said Sharks fans can expect one thing for certain on Friday night.
“They will see a team that will fight hard on every down for four quarters,” he said.