Cate's Max Vasquez was wide open on his 39-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. (Presidio Sports Photo)
Thacher quarterback Noah Bohnett played a huge role in the Toads’ rivalry win over Cate on Saturday. His biggest play, however, came not on offense but defense, as Bohnett picked off a pass and returned it 73 yards for a touchdown in Thacher’s 42-28 win.
Cate gave up five turnovers on the day to Thacher, which converted three of them into touchdowns. Bohnett’s big play came just as the Rams were threatening to score for the second time to open the game. Bohnett reached out with one hand and pulled in a tipped shovel pass at the line of scrimmage before racing down the sideline for the score.
CLICK HERE to see video of Bohnett’s interception on Presidio Sports’ Facebook Page
Cate's Max Wankner goes up to grab a 10-yard TD pass from Kyle Mayfield in the end zone.
“Too many mistakes, too many turnovers,” said Rams head coach Ben Soto. “Turnovers killed us today.”
Cate’s defense forced two of its own turnovers in the second half and the Rams were still within one touchdown in the fourth quarter after Kyle Mayfield found a streaking Max Vasquez for a 39-yard scoring play. With nine minutes remaining, Cate was down 36-28.
But Thacher took possession and ran the ball 12 straight times. The 12-play, 85-yard drive took almost seven minutes off the clock and culminated with a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Bohnett.
“We got some breaks on some turnovers and our sophomore quarterback Noah Bohnett really just put the team on his shoulders,” said Thacher’s head coach Jeff Hooper. “You don’t see that from a sophomore very often.”
Cate received the kickoff with 2:20 on the clock but not enough time to erase the 42-28 deficit.
“We really pulled it together today and battled to get the win,” Bohnett said.
Kyrien Edwards also had a big day for Thacher, recording touchdown runs of 15 and 49 yards. Derek Gulick-Stutz and JJ Ntshaykolo also scored for the Toads.
For Cate, Mayfield led the offense with four touchdowns. Hawkins, Vasquez and Max Wankner hauled in TD passes from Mayfield. The junior QB also punched in a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
“We made some adjustments at halftime that seemed to really work on those sweeps and those reverses,” Mayfield said. “But we just made too many mental errors, holding onto the football, and just missing blocks, and not being able to make tackles in the open field.
“That just really stung us in the end.”
Thacher evens its record at 3-3 overall but is 2-0 in the Condor League. Cate is 0-1 in league.
Cate defenders Kyle Mayfield, left, Michael Martinez (41), and Willem Vorster (76) converge on Thacher's Kyrien Edwards, forcing a fumble on this play. Edwards was able to recover for the Toads.
THACHER 42, CATE 28
Thacher 14 14 8 6 – 42
Cate 6 8 8 6 – 28
1st QUARTER
8:39 – Mayfield 12-yard pass to Hawkins (PAT no good)
6:28 – Bohnett 73 yard interception return (2 pt. conversion)
1:44 – Gulick-Stutz 1-yard run (2 pt. no good)
2nd QUARTER
9:56 – Mayfield 1-yard run (2 pt. conversion good)
2:03 – Edwards 15-yard run (2 pt.conversion good)
0:48 – Ntshaykolo 10-yard run (2 pt. no good)
3rd QUARTER
8:41 – Edwards 49-yard run (2 pt. conversion good)
7:13 – Mayfield 10-yard pass to Wankner (2 pt. conversion good)
4th QUARTER
8:58 – Mayfield 39-yard pass to Vasquez (PAT no good)
2:23 – Bohnett 2-yard run (2 pt. no good)
