Sports briefs: Novato posts shutout victory at Healdsburg

The defense stood extremely tall for the Novato High football team on Friday night. Not only did the unit post a shutout but it also accounted for one of the touchdowns in a 22-0 victory against Healdsburg.

C.J. Castro returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to put Novato up 16-0. Special teams had accounted for the scoring up until that point with Oliver Garcia kicking a field goal for a 3-0 lead then Dominic Scafani returning a punt 45 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

Scafani scored again, this time on a 15-yard pass from quarterback Trevor Cleary, as the Hornets took a 22-0 lead into the half.

Leo Hernandez was among the defensive standouts with four sacks, five tackles, and one forced fumble. Scafani also had an interception. Elian Escalara had seven tackles.

Running back John DeMartini ran for 123 yards on 13 carries. Cleary completed six of 19 passes for 57 yards.

Tam falls

Quarterback Reed Edwards and receiver Timo Ural had big games as the Red-tailed Hawks made a game of it after falling behind early in a 38-25 road loss to American Canyon on Friday night.

Edwards had 323 passing yards and threw for four touchdowns. Ural had six catches for 227 yards and a pair of scores.

American Canyon led 24-6 in the second quarter before Ethan Koo scored a touchdown just before the half to cut it to 24-13. The Wolves kept on scoring though and Tam (1-5, 1-1 Valley) scored a cosmetic touchdown as the game ended to pull within two scores.

American Canyon running back Andre Lopez had over 200 yards as the Wolves (5-0, 2-0) stayed unbeaten.

St. Vincent rolls

Novato’s Gabe Casanovas, the starting quarterback for the Petaluma-based Mustangs, threw for six touchdowns and ran for a seventh in a 62-28 win over Fortuna on Saturday.

The Mustangs, who also got touchdowns from Novato residents Jack Ellis and Tyler Chelew, were up 28-0 late in the first quarter. Casanovas completed 17 of 22 passes for 323 yards.

Girls volleyball

Brianna Nottingham had eight kills and three aces as San Marin secured a 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 25-13 win against Novato on Friday night. Alison Hoburg added five kills and two blocks for the Mustangs (21-9, 2-3). Brooke Brumley had 10 digs and three aces. San Marin faced Novato again on Saturday as part of the NorCal Invitational, beating the Hornets 2-1. The Mustangs also picked up a win over Oakland Tech en route to an appearance in the silver bracket championship game.

• In other MCAL action Friday night, Redwood swept past Archie Williams 25-9, 25-17, 25-18. Redwood hosts Branson in a crucial league game on Wednesday night. Marin Catholic needed four sets to get past Tam, 25-20, 25-17, 12-25, 25-22. San Rafael and Terra Linda’s match got moved to Tuesday due to San Rafael’s Homecoming.

Girls tennis

Mirabel Arlander, Katie Warrin, Audrey Gilmor, and Paloma Vano-Rice claimed singles victories for Branson in a 7-0 victory against San Marin on Friday. Arlander defeated Deepti Bhat 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 at No. 1 singles.

Boys water polo

Bern Kent scored a team-high six goals as Tam raced past Monte Vista 17-10 on Saturday. Reed Hanna added four goals and four steals and Fields Palmer scored three times for the Red-tailed Hawks (4-3), who play three games in three days starting on Monday at home against Marin Catholic and ending with another home game against Terra Linda.

Originally Published: October 5, 2024 at 7:19 p.m.