Mary Star’s 5th Shutout Stops Daniel Murphy, 32-0

One block south of Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame, Mary Star High School’s football team made a lasting impression on Daniel Murphy, shutting out the Nobles, 32-0, at Hollywood High on Saturday afternoon.

It was the Stars’ fifth shutout of the year, improving their record to 6-3 overall, 4-2 in the Santa Fe League. Murphy remained winless, dropping to 0-9 and 0-6.

The win puts Mary Star in a second-place tie with El Segundo, which lost to Cantwell on Friday, 14-13. First-place St. Monica leads the league with records of 8-1 and 6-0.

The Stars scored on their first two possessions of the game. The first touchdown came on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Anthony Racaza to receiver Nick Rugnetta. Shawn McEachern’s extra-point attempt was no good, one of his three misses for the day.

The next score came on a one-yard run by Vince Orlando, set up by a 21-yard pass play from Racaza to McEachern. Racaza finished the game with six of 12 completions for 80 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

Rugnetta scored again in the second quarter on a 20-yard reverse to give Mary Star a 19-0 lead. The Mary Star defense limited Murphy to 106 total yards, intercepted Noble quarterback Jesus Williams three times, and recovered two fumbles.

“When you go into a game, you want your defense to shut (the opponent) out,” Mary Star Coach Mike Marinkovich said. “Defense is what wins games, and that’s what won the game today.”

Marinkovich praised sophomore linebacker Mike Baker, who delivered some ferocious hits at the expense of Murphy ballcarriers. “We had some good, crisp hitting today,” the coach said.

Fullback Ernie Gregg and McEachern tallied second-half touchdowns to finish the scoring for Mary Star.

Mary Star completes its regular season next week at Daniels Field against Cathedral.