SAN DIEGO SECTION PLAYOFFS : San Marcos Wears Down El Capitan, 24-9

An 85-yard scoring drive to open the second half, capped by a 34-yard field goal, was exactly what the San Marcos High School offense needed as the Knights beat El Capitan, 24-9, in the second round of the San Diego Section 2-A playoffs at El Capitan Saturday night.

“That big drive put the momentum back in our pocket,” San Marcos Coach Ken Broach said. “That was the swing point of the ballgame for us.”

San Marcos (6-4-2) will play La Jolla next week in the semifinal. El Capitan ended its season at 6-5.

The score was tied at the half, 6-6, before San Marcos drove to Joel Neri’s 34-yard field goal. And once El Capitan fell behind, its offense fell apart.

El Capitan’s first possession of the second half ended when defensive back Sam Rivera intercepted a Dan Freeman pass at the El Capitan 26.

Four plays later, San Marcos quarterback Rick Ebert threw a 14-yard scoring pass to Travis Beasly. After Ebert passed to Vaughn Webb in the end zone for the conversion, San Marcos led, 17-6.

Broach said he knew turnovers would be important in this matchup of ball-control offenses. Freeman threw three interceptions Saturday night.

“(Turnovers) played a big part (in) it,” Broach said. “That’s always a tell-tale sign.”

Ball control was definitely the style for both teams in the first half. San Marcos used up nearly 16 minutes (15:50) during its two possessions in the opening half. El Capitan had three possessions totaling 8 minutes, 10 seconds.