In all 64 San Marcos vs. Santa Barbara football games, there has never been a game ending in a tie. This changed two weeks ago, where a late-game missed field goal ended regulation tied, 20-20. Despite the controversy surrounding the end of the game, here are five San Marcos players who stood out.
Spearheading the Royals’ offense was senior quarterback Danny Diaz, who took home the Gary Blades Memorial Big Game Most Valuable Player Award.
“I thought we played amazing through 4 quarters,” Diaz said “I thought we were just having fun, which made us play better.” Going into the game as a heavy underdog, Diaz surprised the Dons, throwing for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore Remi Boykin was making plays all night long, racking up 63 all-purpose yards, which included an electric first-half kick return
“I thought the game went well and that everyone did their part to keep us in the game.” Boykin remarked.
On the defensive end, the Dons were stopped over and over due to the combination of Anthony Obispo and Max Silva.
Asked about how the game went for Obispo, he responded “The game went great. They didn’t expect anything out of us. They were going into that game with a lot of confidence and thought they were going to win by 40. We knew what kind of team we had and we knew we were going to show up and play and we did.” Obispo led the team in tackles for loss (2) and his teammate Max Silva added on five tackles of his own, being an interior presence all game.
“Other players play football,” Silva said, regarding his performance “There’s nothing playing about what I do.”
None of this was possible without the Royals’ outstanding lineman. Senior Manny Verdugo steamrolled through his matchups, whether it was on offense or defense.
“I thought we worked well as a unit,” commented Verdugo “We all stepped up and made sure we got the job done.”
While these five guys made the headlines for their play, there were many other players who stepped up huge, keeping the upset hopes alive.
With this tie, the Royals go to 2-2-1, with an exciting homecoming game against Fillmore this Friday.
