Cate’s 8-man football team bent but did not break in its first real test of the season on Friday night, finishing off No. 7 Lancaster Baptist 39-26 after experiencing their first deficit in five games.
Cate’s Mackie Greason scored first on a 34-yard dash but Lancaster answered to take a 7-6 lead. It was the first time the sixth-ranked Rams (5-0) had been behind all season.
Cormac O’Connor came back and rushed for two touchdowns in the second quarter as the Rams grabbed a 20-7 advantage at halftime. Cate continued to open it up in the third quarter with touchdowns from Blake Wands and another from Greason that resulted in a 33-7 lead.
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“I like the way we responded (to being behind),” said Rams head coach Ben Soto, who got one more touchdown from Greason.
Lancaster Baptist did get back into the game in the third quarter on a 9-yard touchdown run followed by a 70-yard punt return that riled their home crowd and made the score 33-20.
Greason’s third touchdown – two rushing, one throwing – put Cate back up 19 with little enough time to mostly run the clock out.
Coach Soto’s focus shifts to the Condor League, where the Rams open up against Laguna Blanca next Saturday.
