Schools
Football: Titans Earn Shutout at Home
La Salle coach Antoine Peterson knew San Marino wasn't going to run anything fancy on offense, yet the Titans were still able to pull off a 24-0 win at home.
San Marino used a short passing game and tough running to control the clock, sending La Salle to its third defeat in three games.
Titans quarterback Matt Wofford threw for 136 yards while running back Kwame Do rushed for 84 yards. Both players were efficient, Wofford going 11 for 14 passing while Do chewed up yards with 15 carries.
Wofford also kicked a field goal from 32 yards.
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“He’s a winner,” said of his quarterback. “It doesn’t matter what he does. He kicks field goals, plays safety the whole game.”
Do bounced back from an ACL injury last season against La Salle by scoring two touchdowns this year. Wofford added a nine-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
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La Salle has lost 13 straight games dating back to last season. The Lancers started off by recovering a fumble in the first quarter after a long San Marino drive. But the short passing game and tough rushing attack of San Marino taxed La Salle’s defense.
“We hang our hat on our defense,” Peterson said. “My team had me fooled because I thought we put last week’s game behind us. We didn’t show up. This is a good football team (that we played), nothing fancy about them, they’re just good at what they do.”
The Lancers lost 20-3 last week against Maranatha.
“We knew what we had to do,” Peterson said regarding stopping the run. “That’s what San Marino does. They dare you to stop them and they keep coming no matter what the score is. We weren’t physical enough up front and we didn’t make plays.”
La Salle’s offense sputtered when it had the ball. Quarterback Michael Novell threw the ball 24 times, completing just 12 passes for 102 yards.
The Lancers didn’t get much help from their running game. Israel Lacy was their leading rusher with 26 yards.
La Salle’s punting miscues led to two San Marino scores in the second quarter. The Titans led 17-0 at the half.
“Special teams showed up tonight,” Peterson said. “Ours didn’t, theirs did. That’s the difference in the ball game.
Wofford said that the mindset of this year’s Titans is different from the squad that won just three games last season.
“After last year it’s a clean slate and we came out really wanting to win," he said. "Last year we didn’t always have that.”
Hobbie has changed the culture of San Marino, which is 2-0 and has looked impressive so far.
“I know it’ cliché, but we’ll only think about next week now,” Hobbie said. “Momentum is good from the standpoint because I’m a new coach and as they have success and they believe in what we do is key. They won’t question, they’ll just do things out of blind faith, that’s what winning does.”
Next week, San Marino plays at Rosemead while La Salle visits Pasadena.
La Salle 0 0 0 0 — 0
San Marino 0 17 0 7 — 24
Second quarter
SM Do 5 run (Wofford kick)
SM Wofford 32 field goal
SM Do 3 run (Wofford kick)
Fourth quarter
SM Wofford 9 run (Wofford kick)
Leaders
Passing: La Salle — Novell (12 of 24, 102 yards); San Marino — Wofford (11 of 14, 136 yards)
Rushing: La Salle — Lacy (3 carries, 26 yards); San Marino — Do (15 carries, 84 yards)
Receiving: La Salle — Hall (4 receptions, 35 yards); San Marino — Vargas (3 receptions, 57 yards)
