Cate's Cormac O'Connor gets his hand in to break up a pass intended for Laguna Blanca's Austin Rusack.
Cate's Kyler Jae (82) gets ready to set the lead block for Greg Mak, who took the handoff from Mackie Greason to score.
Cate’s Greg Mak found the endzone three times against Laguna Blanca on Saturday, yet it wasn’t enough to be Cate’s leading point-getter. That distinction goes to Cormac O’Connor, who hit paydirt four times in Cate’s 47-13 Condor League rout of the Owls.
“We’re lucky to have the talent,” said Rams head coach Ben Soto, who has his team off to a 6-0 start. “We can just rotate.”
The Rams’ backfield rotation was a bit tighter without the services of sophomore Kyle Mayfield, but still had heavy doses of O’Connor, Mak, Blake Wands and quarterback Mackie Greason. Even big tight end Jackson Mauze had a carry in the fourth quarter.
The Rams also secured their first league win. The No. 4-ranked Rams have only two games remaining on their regular-season schedule: Dunn, then Thacher.
“It’s really nice to get a win over Laguna. They’re kind of our other rival, and Thacher,” O’Connor explained.
Three of O’Connor’s touchdowns came in the first quarter, when Cate knocked Laguna back on its heels and took a 21-0 lead.
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Troy Ritter's pass finds Kevin Drew between two Cate defenders for a touchdown.
Mak converted his first touchdown on an 11-yard run with 7:57 left in the second quarter. The score capped a 40-yard drive and gave the Rams a 27-0 lead.
“It happens every time we come over here. We never play well here,” said Owls head coach Ray Robitaille, whose team is ranked No. 9 in the latest CIF poll.
Laguna struggled to gain any traction on offense for much of the first half, finally breaking the ice with a long pass play late in the second quarter. Pascal Karam hauled in a Troy Ritter pass – one of three long pass plays between the two – that set up Laguna’s first touchdown.
Laguna Blanca’s two touchdowns were produced by a Ritter-Kevin Drew partnership. Ritter found Drew on a crossing pattern and placed the ball between two Cate defenders for the 8-yard TD completion. Drew and Ritter hooked up again in the fourth quarter for a 5-yard scoring play.
“We knew they were going to play four quarters against us,” Soto said, citing the Owls’ strong second half in their last game, a 56-44 thriller with No. 5 Thacher.
Laguna started the season 3-0 but has lost its last three to ranked opponents to even its record.
Robitaille still likes the Owls’ chances of making the playoffs if they can win out against Ojai Valley and Dunn.
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CATE 47, LAGUNA BLANCA 13
Cate 21 12 7 7 – 47
Laguna 0 7 0 6 – 13
First Quarter
Cate – O’Connor TD run (Lowe Kick)
Cate – O’Connor 7-yard run (Lowe Kick)
Cate – O’Connor 6-yard run (Lowe Kick)
Second Quarter
Cate – Mak 11-yard run (Kick blocked)
Laguna – Ritter 8-yard pass to Drew (Ritter Kick)
Cate – Mak 1-yard run (Kick fail)
Third Quarter
Cate – O’Connor 5-yard run (Lowe Kick)
Fourth Quarter
Laguna – Ritter 5-yard pass to Drew (Kick fail)
Cate – Mak 5-yard run (Lowe kick)
