Novato Stingers vs Rancho Cotate - Sept. 27

Novato players wear their game stickers with pride.

The Novato Stingers defense again held the opponents scoreless!

The photos from this Novato Stingers game are now available on the 2009 Novato Stingers Shutterfly site.


Game Summary


The Stingers descended upon the grass turf at Mountain Shadows Middle School for 2:00 PM game against the Rancho Cotate Cougars.  With the game time the temperature approaching 100 degrees it promised to be a scorcher.


The Broncos won the coin toss and elected to take the ball first.  This meant the Novato defense had the opportunity to quickly establish itself again with couple of solid defensive stops and an Alec Ball (12) interception of a short pass in Rancho Cotate territory.  The Stinger offense took advantage of the field position with a short drive and a Ben Putman (10) touchdown run for 10 yards followed by a 2-point PAT kick by Mark Alvarez (21) (Note: at this level the kicking PATs are worth 2-points and the running PATs are worth 1 point).  Stingers up 8-0 early.


After another stingy defensive stand, Novato got the ball back deep in Cougar territory.  Ball quickly took the ball 27 yards for a touchdown.  The PAT kick was low, making it 14-0.  


Heading to the second-quarter, the defense held again, capped by Robbie Cassée's (16) blocked punt giving the Stingers the ball back in Cougar territory.  Ball quickly ran the ball to the 2, setting up quarterback Tommy Sanz's (13) first touchdown of the year. Alvarez followed it up with another 2-point PAT kick giving Novato a 22-0 lead at half-time.


The second-half proved no different for Novato with a strong opening drive capped by Alvarez's 40-yard touchdown run to make the score 28-0. 


Following a Cougar fumble with 2:45 left in the third-quarter, the Stingers drove the field again culminating in Ball's 7-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 34-0, invoking the "mercy rule" again.


With the scoring capped, the Stingers would have scored again on their last play, a 60-yard run by Putman, but the buzzer sounded for a hard-fought 34-0 Novato win.


While the entire defense made the difference all day, Gene Peugh-Wade (8), Hunter Wegner (18) and Chris Fulsom (25) stood out for exceptional plays.


Final Score: Novato Stingers 34, Rancho Cotate Cougars 0


2009 Stingers Record: 4-0


Defensive Points Allowed So Far: 0 !!!!!

Gene Peugh-Wade (8) makes a spectacular tackle in the 2nd Quarter

Hunter Wegner (18) sacks the Cougar quarterback.

Ben Putman (10) dives in for the first TD of the game

Tommy Sanz (13) lines up over center before diving in for a TD

Mark Alvarez (21) runs for a TD - he also accounted for 4 points kicking PATs.

Alec Ball (12) runs for his first of two TDs on the day.

Cheers! - Jason