Alemany completes its Mission
By Joseph Gulino Special to the Daily News
11/14/2008
MISSION HILLS - Although it was senior night at Alemany High School, Malcolm Marable made sure the underclassmen got plenty of love.
The junior tailback ran for 225yards and three touchdowns to lead the Warriors past St. Paul 33-13, a victory that clinched an outright Mission League championship for Alemany.
"I feel I did pretty good," Marable said. "I just wanted to prove what I can do and show the Mission League who I am."
The Warriors (9-1, 3-0) needed every yard from Marable and the ground game because St. Paul quarterback Paul Lopez unleashed an aerial attack that was just as potent.
With the Swordsmen's running game stifled, Lopez finished with 239yards passing, including an impressive scramble to stay alive and find Brandon Casas for a 50-yard touchdown strike late in the first half to get St. Paul on the board.
By that point, however, Marable had already scored on a pair of touchdown runs, and he gained all 65 of Alemany's yards on a touchdown drive that pushed the lead beyond St.Paul's reach.
St. Paul (4-6, 1-2) didn't help itself by committing eight penalties for 74 yards, including a flurry of unsportsmanlike conducts after Alemany quarterback David Metcalf plunged into the end zone late in the third quarter on fourth-and-1. Once things settled down, Lopez hit Deion Williams for a 45-yard gain to the Alemany 3, and
Luis Garcia punched it in on the next play cut the lead to 26-13.
From there, however, the Warriors defense made the plays to keep St.Paul at bay, including a diving interception by Manny Avila.
Marable and Stanley Gonzalez chipped in by grinding down the clock, and Gonzalez's 60-yard touchdown scamper put a stamp on Alemany's impressive regular season.
"It feels real good to win this back-to-back," Marable said of the league title, which Alemany shared with St. Paul last season. "Just to be here with my teammates, it feels real good. We all thought we could do it. We just came out and proved what we could do tonight."