Malibu High won its third consecutive game with an exciting 58-40 victory against Bellarmine-Jefferson last Friday at home. The 58 points set a school-record, eclipsing the 56 scored versus Murphy in 2007. With the victory, the Sharks enter Frontier League action this week with a 4-2 overall record.
“That was scary. I get nervous with games like this,” Malibu Coach Ray Humphrey said with a sigh of relief. “We knew they had an explosive offense and you could see they put up 40 points. But we were able to put up our own points and get enough big stops. I’m very proud of our guys.”
The explosive display of offense by both teams was not a surprise. The Sharks came into the contest averaging 26.7 points per game. Meanwhile, Bell-Jeff Guards came in carrying an impressive 39.8 points per game average, but giving up an even more astonishing 42.6 ppg. One look at the defensive points allowed by the Guards through five games (35, 30, 49, 50, 49) will make any opposing quarterback lick his chops.
“We came out knowing it was going to be an offensive game,” Malibu junior quarterback Chase Gardella said. “We have all the faith in our defense, but we knew our offense would have to come through.”
And did they ever, scoring the most points since the inception of the football program in 1996.
In a wild affair where the defenses of both teams all but disappeared, Malibu rolled up a season-high 524 yards of total offense. Gardella completed 21 of 31 passes for 276 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The 21 completions marked a career-high for the signal-caller. He also added 66 yards of rushing on nine carries, including a touchdown run of nine yards that gave Malibu an early 13-0 lead.
“I give all the credit to the [offensive] line today,” Gardella said. “They had great blocks and Matt Vincent ran the ball amazing.”
Sophomore fullback Matt Vincent rushed for 145 yards on a workman-like 28 carries for the Sharks. Vincent plowed his way for touchdown runs of four, 12 and 57 yards and exceeded 100 yards for the first time on the varsity level.
“That was really fun. The adrenaline pumping through my veins was just ridiculous,” Vincent said. “The offensive line played a hell of a game. I wouldn’t have had any of those scores and we wouldn’t have played as well as we did if it wasn’t for them.”
The contest began with fireworks and never let up. On the first possession of the game, the Sharks’ Brennan Cassone intercepted an errant pass on the Bell-Jeff 29. Four plays later, Vincent scored from four yards out for the early 7-0 advantage.
Following a fumble by Bell-Jeff, one of four Guard turnovers on the day, Malibu cashed in again behind Gardella’s nine-yard quarterback keeper for a 13-point lead.
The lead was quickly erased as Bell-Jeff (2-4) converted back-to-back touchdowns highlighted by a 60-yard interception return by Jonathan Gales. After converting two 2-point conversions, the Guards had a 16-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But Gardella regrouped the Sharks and led them on two consecutive scoring drives capped by touchdown passes to Anthony Kodomichalos for seven yards and Cassone on a 52-yard strike. Heading into halftime, momentum had shifted back in Malibu’s favor as the Sharks held a 27-16 lead.
The second half began the same way for Bell-Jeff as the first, with a turnover. The Sharks capitalized and drove 53 yards in four plays capped off by a 25-yard touchdown pass from Gardella to Cassone.
On the ensuing possession, Vincent pounded his way by three Guards for a 12-yard touchdown and a 41-16 lead for Malibu. But the scoring was hardly about to let up; in fact it had just begun.
The fourth quarter featured both teams scoring at will against porous defenses. Vincent closed out his day with a 57-yard touchdown run that had him huffing and puffing as he jogged back to the sideline.
“I was like, ‘I got to get into the end zone,’” Vincent said. “After I did, I was tired. I wanted a break.”
Cassone applied the final blow with a 25-yard touchdown run with 2:11 remaining that increased the MHS total to 58 points and a school-record. He finished with nine receptions for 142 yards and three touchdowns.
Malibu (4-2) now begins league play at Villanova Prep on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“I feel good. We are starting to get healthy and hit our strides. Three wins in a row,” Humphrey said. “All teams in our league are very competitive. But I feel good about where we are going and how we are coming together.”