Marina football blows out rival Westminster in Battle at Boswell

It’s been a gradual climb for the Marina High football team and coach Jeff Turley. When Turley took over in 2014, the Vikings suffered a winless season.

Six seasons into Turley’s tenure, patience and persistence have paid off.

With their 78-6 blowout victory over rival Westminster on Friday in the 51st edition of the Battle at Boswell game, the host Vikings clinched their first winning season since 2000. The win at Boswell Field also evened the all-time series with Westminster at 25-25-1.

The Vikings, ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division 11 poll, improved to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big 4 League.

Turley was quick to credit his fellow coaches and his seniors for Marina winning six games for the first time in 19 years.

“It’s been a lot of work going into it, and I had a lot of help to get it to this point,” he said. “Those were all seniors on both sides of the ball, and they took the game and put it away quick. It says what kind of special group this senior class was.”

Marina spread the offense around in the win.

Pharoah Rush led the way in the run game, rushing five times for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Junior quarterback Jack Miller completed three of four passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns.

Westminster (1-7, 0-1) struggled on offense, managing just 92 yards. The Lions scored their only touchdown on a Richard Molina 65-yard fumble return in the second quarter.

Marina jumped ahead early. On the Vikings’ first play from scrimmage, Rush zigzagged the field for a 42-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion gave Marina an 8-0 lead.

Rush struck again on Marina’s second possession, breaking a 32-yard run to the one. The play set up a one-yard touchdown run by Shyheim Lloyd.

Marina continued the onslaught on its third possession. Dane Brenton fielded a bouncing punt at the 50-yard line and streaked down the left sideline for a touchdown. That made it 21-0.

Brenton caught his breath quickly and intercepted a Justin Grey pass just two plays later, returning it 45 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings took a 29-0 lead after a two-point conversion.

“I was a little winded,” he said. “I feel like I overheated a little bit, but I shrugged it off right away. It’s good to be a part of a team like that, winning that much. It’s fun.”

Rush then added his second touchdown, a one-yard run, to bring the score to 36-0 with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The Vikings didn’t slow down in the second quarter. Miller connected for two quick touchdown passes, a two-yarder to Eric Church and a 13-yarder to Gavin Dykema, stretching the lead to 50-0 with over seven minutes left in the first half.

Westminster broke through with 5:03 remaining before halftime. Molina scooped up a Marina fumble and dashed 65 yards to the end zone, causing the Westminster crowd to erupt.

“It sucks, it’s not what we anticipated at all,” Westminster coach Willy Puga said. “They are good, but I think we made them look better. There’s no quit in our guys, though. We’ve been like that all year. They don’t quit; they stick together.”

Marina would score four more times, on rushing touchdowns from Brantt Riederich and Ayden Lastra, a receiving touchdown from Dylan Paculba and an interception return from Riederich to bring the final score to 78-6. The win was the most lopsided in the series between Marina and Westminster, who have been playing each other since 1964.

With two games to go in the regular season, Marina is closing in on its first eight-win season in 34 years and first playoff appearance in 18 years.

Big 4 League

Marina 78, Westminster 6

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Westminster 0 – 6 – 0 – 0 — 6

Marina 36 – 22 – 20 – 0 — 78

FIRST QUARTER

M – Rush 42 run (O’Rourke pass from Dykma), 11:44.

M – Lloyd 1 run (Church kick), 9:41.

M – Brenton 50 kickoff return (kick failed), 7:49.

M – Brenton 45 INT return (Dykema run), 5:43.

M – Rush 1 run (Velasco kick), 1:51.

SECOND QUARTER

M – Church 2 pass from Miller (Church kick), 10:39.

M – Dykema 13 pass from Miller (Church kick), 7:11.

W – Molina 65 fumble return (run failed), 5:03.

M – Riederich 45 run (Church pass from Dykema), 4:22.

THIRD QUARTER

M – Lastra 7 run (Church kick), 8:35.

M – Riederich 43 INT return (Velasco kick), 5:33.

M – Paculba 2 pass from Del Toro (kick failed), :45.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

W – Rosete, 2-25.

M – Rush, 5-123, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

W – Grey, 6-14-2, 17.

M – Miller, 3-4-0, 64, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

W – Molina, 2-10.

M – Church, 2-52, 1 TD.

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