School pride on the line as Terra Linda holds off Justin

On the other sideline was Terra Linda, doing all it could to make plays with its pass defense and carry out coach Rich Cotruvo’s game plan in an emotionally charged Marin County Athletic League game Friday night at Dodd Stadium.

It was Homecoming for Justin-Siena. It was Cotruvo coaching against Justin-Siena, a program that he built from the ground up and led for 19 years, delivering playoff appearances and championships.

“I saw this program go from a Saturday afternoon with nobody here to lights to FieldTurf to championships,” Cotruvo, Terra Linda’s first-year coach, said after his team’s 21-14 win over Justin-Siena. “But most important, relationships. I’ve been so blessed.

“I don’t know how many people in their lives get a chance to say I’ve coached every player on that field tonight. That’s a very rare occurrence. I’m extremely lucky. I feel honored and blessed to have that opportunity to do what I love doing.”

Cotruvo, who led the Braves to six CIF North Coast Section championships, and Justin-Siena parted ways following the 2015-16 school year. Cotruvo, who was at Justin-Siena for 19 years, was hired as head coach at Terra Linda last spring. He won his 200th game as a varsity head coach last year with the Braves.

“There are a lot of things that I am very proud of that with the help of Steve (Vargus) and a bunch of other guys, we built something very special here,” said Cotruvo, who is in his 29th year as a head coach.

“It’s just so humbling. I’m blessed to have this team I’m coaching. They fought hard, they played hard. We needed this win.”

Cotruvo hugged former players and current players from Justin-Siena (2-5 overall, 1-3 MCAL) after the game. The Braves were also a section runner-up twice under Cotruvo, who after being hired in 1997, built one of the top programs in the Bay Area and Northern California. They have been recognized in the different polls over the years. Cal-Hi Sports named Cotruvo as the California Small School Coach of the Year in 2004. He was named as a CIF Model Coach of the Year and the North Coast Section Honor Coach in 2009.

“That’s why I do this,” he said. “Justin played very well, too. We’ve been through the fire of the MCAL. We were hurting this week. But I think we got our swagger back. We played hard and we played for four quarters and we didn’t quit – that was our goal.”

Brandon LaRocco, the Braves’ first-year coach, was on Cotruvo’s staff for 16 years.

“I have a lot of respect for Rich,” said LaRocco.

Terra Linda survived a stellar passing game by the Braves’ Max Hautala, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown. Hautala has filled in very well at quarterback as Aidan Willard, an Oregon State commit, recovers from a knee injury.

“Max is a football player in every sense of the word,” said LaRocco. “He’s a competitor, he’s tough, he doesn’t quit. He’s a great football player. Very proud of him.”

Ron Caretti, Jr. and Mitchell Martin also came up big for Justin-Siena.

Caretti caught 10 passes for 139 yards and Michell rushed for 97 yards on 20 carries.

“A couple of big plays go their way,” said LaRocco. “Outside of that, I thought we controlled the game pretty well. I can’t be prouder of the way these guys finished that game. They never gave up. Until the last second ticked off, they fought the entire time – that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

Martin’s 13-yard touchdown run with 1:20 to go in the third quarter was the Braves’ first points of the game and capped a drive of 82 yards in nine plays.

Justin-Siena drove 80 yards in six plays with the march culminating in Hautala’s 13-yard TD pass to Caretti with 2:13 to go.

The Braves forced Terra Linda (3-4, 2-3 MCAL) to punt with 31 seconds to play, and took over from their 5-yard line with 19.4 seconds showing. The game went final after three straight incomplete passes.

“We were down three touchdowns. We fought them to the last seconds,” said LaRocco. “That’s what I’m most proud of tonight. I’m so proud of the way these guys finished. They fought, they never gave up.”

Terra Linda scored first as Robert Simkins caught an 8-yard TD pass from Matt Peters with 37 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Terra Linda’s 14-point third quarter was highlighted by Anthony Moreno’s 90-yard fumble return with 9:52 showing and Peters’ 3-yard run with 4:47 to go.

“The defense played well – we gave up one big run,” said LaRocco. “The fumble on the offense when they scored defensively – that’s just a bad break.”

Terra Linda overcame three turnovers – all on fumbles. Justin-Siena turned the ball over twice – both fumbles. Each team punted four times.

The Braves got off 65 plays compared to 39 for Terra Linda.

Jake Castleberry recovered two fumbles and Matt Baker also had a fumble recovery on defense.

Justin-Siena received great support from its student body section.

“I can’t say enough about the students who come out and support us the way they do,” said LaRocco. “The stands were packed. They were loud, they were having fun. It was a great atmosphere.

“It’s something we need to keep building upon, because that gives us a lot of energy when we play in these games. When it gets tough, they pick us up, so that’s a big deal for us.”

Justin-Siena JV 38, Terra Linda 28

Justin-Siena (4-3, 4-0 MCAL) won its fourth game in a row.

“The offensive line had an outstanding game – the best game of the year for them,” said Braves coach Dennis Fechter. “And that was a very good, very talented Terra Linda JV team. We’re really happy. They’re jelling pretty well. Defensively, they took it to us a little bit, but we held on.”

Quarterback Barrett Donohoe threw three touchdown passes and also scored on a 1-yard run. John Horn had a TD catch and returned a fumble for a score. Luigi Albano-Dito made a one-handed TD catch. Shane Rosenthal also had a TD catch.

Solomone Anitoni ran for over 100 yards and scored a touchdown. Michael Fitzgerald had an outstanding defensive game at outside linebacker.