The feeding frenzy continued for the Malibu Sharks football squad in a dominant 9-0 victory over the Grace Brethren Lancers under the lights of Moorpark College Stadium on Friday.
The action started early with two consecutive onside kicks from the Sharks and recoveries by Brennan Cassone.
Both possessions were followed by long drives behind a ground-and-pound offense featuring hard runs by Matt Vincent and Gianni Rivetti.
Although the Sharks were unable to get into the end zone, the kicker Apollo Loomis converted two field goals, including a season long 42-yard kick.
Chewing away at the clock, the Sharks allowed Grace Brethren a mere 2-1/2 minutes of ball possession at halftime. The Lancer’s only trip to the red zone drew a blank, with a missed field goal.
Halftime was an entertaining show, complete with a rousing cheer circle that brought together both the Malibu and Grace Brethren cheerleaders. The Sharks cheer squad helped support the team and kept spirits high throughout the game, along with team managers Alena Kaye and Akana Ozawa.
In the second half the seniors, inclduing Eddie Johnstone, Nick Carlson, Brennan Cassone, Jordan Klarenbeck and Alden Quartz, all worked to shutdown the Lancer’s offense.
Sophomore Bronson Bard also had a stellar game on defense, with a sack and several tackles.
Quarterback Chase Gardella played a strong first quarter, but was downed by a hard hit in the second quarter. Dylan Miller stepped up in relief at QB and kept the chains moving helped by acrobatic catches by Cassone and strong runs by Anthony and Vincent.
The fourth quarter saw some nail-biting drives by the Lancers. Poised to score at first-and-goal, the Lancers fumbled and Carlson recovered. The Sharks took over, but were unable to move past midfield and had to punt the ball to the Lancers with a little over two minutes left in the game.
Starting at their own 27-yard line, the Lancer’s hurry up offense made a number of short catches to move the ball to the Shark’s 39-yard line, but the Shark defense refused to allow any big plays.
Malibu sealed the 9-0 victory and their second consecutive shutout with a stop on fourth down.
The win extended the Sharks current streak to five games and improves their overall record to 6-2.
The Sharks have a showdown next week with league rivals Fillmore High School as the new lights will debut for Homecoming at Malibu High School on Oct. 26.
GO SHARKS!!!!