Malibu Sharks come up short in first loss of the seasonThe Malibu High School football team was unable to hold off St. Genevieve in the final minutes of their contest Saturday, losing to the Sentinels by a score of 22-17. The disappointing loss moved the Sharks’ record to 2-1 for the young season.
The game began with a loss for the Sharks, with star fullback and linebacker Lars Edman sitting out the game after injuring his left knee while returning the opening kickoff. Edman is a key player on both offense and defense for Malibu, with the team counting on him to run the ball for tough yardage. Edman gained more than 100 yards in each of his first two games this season.
With a suddenly altered game plan, Malibu mixed runs by tailback Jeremy Kent with passes by quarterback Karsten Demers to move the ball downfield, capping their opening drive with a 42-yard field goal by Harrison Wills.
With St. Genevieve threatening to score on the fourth down from the Malibu four-yard line in the second quarter, Sharks linebacker Daniel Curtis stepped up with his first of three key sacks of the Sentinels’ quarterback. Later, as time wound down in the first half, St. Genevieve scored a touchdown following a dropped punt by Malibu. The half ended with Saint Genevieve leading 7-3.
After St. Genevieve scored another touchdown late in the third quarter to take a 13-3 lead, Malibu moved the ball downfield with runs by Kent and passes from Demers to Tomasso Trento for a touchdown to close the gap to 13-10.
In the fourth quarter, offensive lineman Daniel Curtis took the ball on a trick play, the “fumble-roosky,” for a 35-yard touchdown run to give the Sharks the lead at 17-13. On the ensuing drive, Curtis delivered with sacks of the St. Genevieve quarterback on consecutive plays to push back the Sentinels. After a St. Genevieve punt, the Sharks took over on offense near their own end zone. Malibu strategically took a safety on fourth down, giving up two points but gaining the ability to free kick the ball to St. Genevieve with just barely two minutes remaining in the game.
With time winding down, St. Genevieve stunned the Sharks with a 39-yard catch and run for a touchdown. The game ended with the score 22-17 in favor of the Sentinels.
Victorious beginning
The Malibu High team began the season with two victories: a 43-0 rout of Ribet Academy and a hard-fought 40-30 win over Bell-Jeff in a bruising game. The Sharks will play all of their remaining six games on their home field with Rosamond, the next opponent, to visit Malibu on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. The Malibu High coaches and players invite the public to cheer on the Sharks at all of their games.
JV wins
In an earlier game, Malibu’s Junior Varsity squad walloped the St. Genevieve team by a score of 38-8. Sharks quarterback Jonathan O’Neal led the team to score seemingly at will with Chris Callahan and Miles Edman each scoring two touchdowns. Edman gained a total of 208 rushing yards on 18 carries, including touchdown runs of 60 and 76 yards. Callahan gained 20 yards including two touchdowns.
The Sharks Junior Varsity will play the remainder of their schedule at home, with all games beginning three hours before the Varsity contests.
The next JV game will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12.
Sports Calendar
Boys Water Polo V/JV Culver City 10/10/02 3:15 p.m.
Girls Tennis Varsity Oaks Christian 10/10/02 3:30 p.m.
Girls Volleyball ALL Nordhoff 10/10/02 4 p.m.
Girls Golf VARSITY Oaks Christian 10/10/02 8 p.m.
Cross Country V/JV Dos Pueblos Invit.10/11/02
Boys Water Polo FR/SO Westlake 10/12/02
Football V/JV Rosamond 10/12/02 11 a.m./2p.m.
Cross Country V/JV League Meet #2 10/15/02 4 p.m.
Girls Volleyball ALL Santa Clara 10/15/02 4 p.m.
Boys Water Polo ALL Peninsula 10/15/02 3:15 p.m.
Girls Golf varsity Santa Barbara 10/15/02
Girls Tennis varsity Nordhoff 10/15/02 3:30 p.m.