Raul Flores Express-News Staff Writer
Publication: San Antonio Express-News
Date: November 20, 1990
Page: 8B
MacArthur High School Football Coach Jack Moss does not see too much difference from their first meeting with Marshall and Saturday night’s clash. Moss is the first to admit both teams have improved since MacArthur took a 21-7 victory the first week of the season. But he doesn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. It will be a pair of power offenses against a pair of stingy defenses when the two collide Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Northside Stadium in big 5A area action.
“It’s pretty much the same teams from the first week,” Moss said. “They’ve won eight game since then; we’ve won eight games since then. They’re playing better; we’re playing better.” MacArthur’s defense was the big story after the first meeting. The Brahmas held the Rams’ V.J. Villarreal, Anthony Holmes and Nick Monreal to a combined 189 rushing yards and one touchdown. Since that outing, the Marshall trio has combined for 2,610 yards rushing for a 261-yard average per game. The three piled up 306 yards, Villarreal led with 133 in the Rams’ 44-0 bi-district victory over Jefferson.
Villarreal, a 5-foot-9, 195-pound senior, is deceptive coming out of the backfield. But he has incredible breakaway speed. He won the District 30-5A 100-meter dash last year and qualified for the regional finals in the event. Holmes, 5-10, 175, is a daylight runner with a knack for finding the holes and Monreal uses his 5-9, 215- pound frame to bulldoze through the line.
“They’re going to line up and throw those three at us,” Moss said. “You had to have been hiding under a rock the last 10 weeks if you didn’t know that. We understand what our chore is.” Moss will pin his hopes on the same unit that contained the Marshall attack the last time around. Tackles Walker Bond (5-11, 227) and Mark Hofbauer (6-1, 230) and ends Calvin Click (6-2, 221) and Rick Mangaccat (6-1, 185) anchor the line that has allowed just 125.2 yards rushing per game.
“Their defense is so solid,” Marshall coach David Visentine said. “You can’t find a place to hurt them. They have such a dominating front line it makes it hard to run against them.” Marshall makes no secrets about its offense, using the run on more than 90 percent of its plays. The Rams head into the clash averaging 290 yards per game, but have only passed for 281 yards all season.
On the flip side, MacArthur brings a better balanced attack that features fullback Louis Solidum, tailback Kevin Duplechain and quarterback Chad Malenkamp. The Brahmas have rushed for 2,209 yards, including 948 by the senior Solidum. The passing game has produced 1,319 yards, including Malenkamp’s 1,228 yards on 74 of 144 completed passes. Richie Marsh has 44 receptions for 622 yards but will be tested by a stingy Rams’ secondary that has picked off 27 passes.
Free safety Todd Seibert leads the Marshall bunch with six interceptions. Jason Vera, Mark Futschik and Corey Christiansen provide a solid supporting cast. Vera is the only senior in the secondary. Futschik returned an interception 94 yards for a touchdown on the game’s final play in the victory over Jefferson.
“We had to go through major rebuilding in our secondary,” Visentine said. “We lost everybody. But these guys have played consistently well all year.” Visentine said Mac’s offense will give his defense plenty to handle with its established passing and rushing games. “Solidum is the heart of their offense,” Visentine said. “Marsh is one of the city’s best receivers and Mahlenkamp does an outstanding job of running the option. “The last time we played, their running option really gave us a lot trouble. They scored twice on passes while we were trying to stop the option.”
