2-A FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFFS : Frazier Pours It as San Marcos Wins, 35-14

It appeared as though Friday would be a night off for San Marcos fullback Mark Frazier, the county’s fourth-leading rusher.

In the first quarter, he gained only five yards in two carries. Halfback Matt Lentz, meanwhile, was doing just fine, gaining 32 yards in his first two carries.

But just as Frazier, 6 feet, 180 pounds, was getting comfortable with his decoy role and the Santana defense began looking for Lentz to run outside, the ball started coming his way.

And once Frazier got started, he never stopped. Before he was done, Frazier had carried 18 times for a career-high 215 yards and five touchdowns in San Marcos’ 35-14 victory over Santana in the first round of the 2-A section playoffs before 1,200 fans.

San Marcos (7-3-1) of the Avocado League will play at Kearny (9-1-1) on Friday in the quarterfinals.

“This is a dream game,” Frazier said. “Not too many of these games come around.”

Frazier’s rushing total was almost matched by Santana fullback Jason Lewis, who ran for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

But Lewis and his team’s biggest problem was holding onto the ball. Santana (4-6) lost five fumbles, two of the drops by Lewis and had one punt blocked.

“If we don’t put it on the ground, we’re OK,” Santana Coach Doug Coffin said. “You can’t give a good team like that momentum.”

Coffin was asked if he had seen anyone the likes of Frazier this year. “Yeah, my fullback,” he said, “but Frazier’s damn good. The problem with him is, he’s only a junior.”

Four of the six Santana turnovers were converted into San Marcos touchdowns. But the turnovers didn’t begin to hurt until the second half. At halftime, San Marcos led, 14-6, and it had capitalized on only the blocked punt by the Knights’ Randy Calloway, which came with 2:10 left in the half.

Frazier ran for 85 yards in the third quarter, but his fumble with seven minutes left prevented San Marcos from scoring.

However, Frazier held on to the ball in the fourth quarter, scoring on plays of five, 14 and 45 yards. Meanwhile, Santana fumbled twice in the first six minutes.

In the first half, Frazier scored on runs of two and 47 yards.