Game of the Week: Cardinal Newman puts NCS on notice with 45-13 thrashing of Marin Catholic

Posted on Author Joan Tabb

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Cardinal Newman takes the field against Marin Catholic, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)

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Cardinal Newman showed the entire North Coast Section why it’s the third-ranked team in the region on Friday night, thrashing Marin Catholic 45-13 on the Cardinals’ home field in Santa Rosa.

With starting quarterback LT Retamoza returning to play his first game since suffering a collarbone injury in Week 1, the Newman offense put up its highest point total since a 49-0 win over Armijo in Week 3. It’s also one of the largest margins of victory in the overall series between the two teams.

The Cardinals now hold a huge advantage in the title race in the Redwood Empire Conference Adobe division, and the pennant could be theirs if they beat Vintage at home next week.

How it happened

In a game expected to be a defensive battle, it certainly started out that way — neither team could do anything on their opening drives.

The Wildcats (4-5, 3-1 REC-Adobe) drew first blood, taking advantage of a roughing-the-passer penalty on third down and an encroachment penalty that allowed Elijah Serafin to run it in for six. Just over four minutes later, Newman responded when Brody Estrela scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns on the night to tie things up.

Newman (8-1, 4-0) took the lead for good on MC’s ensuing possession with a pick-six, still in the first quarter.

MC was forced to punt and again Newman took advantage, as Malakai Pathoumnourack leaped in from a yard out for the first of his two touchdowns. It was 21-7 with just over eight minutes to go in the first half.

But for the first seven of those eight minutes, it wasn’t pretty, with both teams going three and out multiple times. Newman had plenty of opportunities to extend the lead, but was hurt by dropped passes or penalties.

That allowed MC to get right back in it, as Serafin scored on a 54-yard touchdown run to make it a one-score game at 21-13 Newman. The Cardinals then responded with a huge 42-yard field goal by Devon Taylor to give the momentum back to the hosts, who got the ball back to start the second half.

The Cardinals kept up that momentum after the break, going off for 21 points to MC’s zero to put the game away. The Newman defense continued to shine, forcing a normally high-powered Wildcats offense to punt eight times in the game.

Pathoumnourack (15 carries, 105 yards) and Estrela (10 carries, 59 yards) were as good as a running back tandem can get, accounting for four total touchdowns. Retamoza (10-of-19, 82 yards passing; seven carries, 41 yards, one touchdown rushing) was shaking the rust off, but was still effective.

Key play

Taking it back to the first quarter, Newman and MC were tied at 7-all after Estrela’s first TD.

The Wildcats were driving on their own 24-yard line, facing third down. Quarterback Dylan Skrinar dropped back and fired, but Newman defensive lineman Kahlio Vaetoe got a hand on it. That caused the ball to wind up behind the intended receiver, Carter Matza.

Newman defender Jonah Bertoli was in perfect position for the interception and he pounced, running the rest of the way untouched for a pick-six that completed the quick 14-point swing and gave the Cardinals the lead for good.

Quotable

“All facets of the game are starting to come together. I think defensively we did some good things, and I think offensively – there’s always a little bit of nerves, when you get LT back you want to perform – they started out well and I like where they’re at because of the way we’ve had to win thus far. They have the ability to draw on that experience that they’ve been building on, week in and week out. It’s a great building block as we move into next week.” – Cardinal Newman head coach Frank McManus

“This just shows how tough we are. First game against Manteca, I got injured and have been out the whole time, and Carmine (Guevara) has done a great job stepping in. When I came back tonight, I just felt we hit the ground running, competed and got the win.” – Retamoza

Up next

Cardinal Newman will take on Vintage (6-3, 1-3) this coming Friday, while Marin Catholic faces Windsor (6-3, 1-3).