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2010 Season Schedule
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Head Coach: Mazi Moayed - 1st Season (12-1)
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Marin Catholic Wildcats
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Returning starters: Three on offense. Five on defense.
Last year: The Wildcats' 2009 season was the most successful in school history, as MC won both the MCAL and NCS D-III
championships before being selected to compete in the D-III state championship, which the Wildcats lost to Serra of
Gardena, 24-20. MC's only other loss came against non-league opponent St. Ignatius in the first game of the season, as
the Wildcats were able to run the table in MCAL under coach Ken Peralta. That happened thanks largely to the play of
Chris Adams, the MCAL back of the year, and a stifling defense that allowed less than seven points per game in league
play.
The season ahead: MC has a new coach this year in Moayed, but the transition over from Peralta has been an easy one
considering Moayed was the defensive coordinator the last two seasons. "It's not like I'm stepping into brand new terrain,"
Moayed said. "I learned the ropes the last couple years and that's been tremendously helpful. I have great resources on
campus; I always have (retired coach and MC teacher) Larry Gondola, Ken Peralta (who is also a teacher on campus),
they're great guys to bounce things off of." The Wildcats graduated a large part of the nucleus that got them to the state
title game last year, including five first-team all-leaguers and starting quarterback Nate Kristoff. Chris Tewhill, who was a
first-team all-MCAL defensive back as a junior and filled in for the injured Kristoff in the state title game, will be under
center, but Moayed said he expects sophomore Jared Goff to get some reps as well. Running back duties should be
shared this year by Dominic Petrini and Daimone Parker. Wing back/wide receiver Tyler Scott should get some touches
as well. Returning starter Mike Padovese, who is 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, leads the offensive line. While the Wildcats
are faced with rebuilding their offense, they should be just fine on the defensive side of the ball with five returning
starters, including first-team all-leaguers Tewhill and DL Tony Popovich. MC once again slated a tough non-league
schedule. Like last year, the Wildcats will play San Francisco's St. Ignatius and Walnut Creek's Las Lomas, while also
playing host to Berkeley.
The last word: "The feeling I get is we're carrying some momentum over from last year, which is fantastic, but I think the
guys understand that every year is its own year," Moayed said. "The main focus has been on ourselves. That's the only
thing we can control. The guys are excited about each other and the team as well."
- Marin Independent Journal
