At the start of the football season St. Monica Coach Shawn Ritter thought his team was competitive with most opponents in the first half of the schedule.
’’Of those five games I thought Chadwick was the only team far superior to us, and I thought we’d have a few wins,’’ said Ritter.
Instead, when St. Monica lost to Bellarmine-Jefferson Friday, October 5, its record became 0-5. And the Mariners haven’t scored in their last three games.
Ritter can only hope for improvement Saturday night when St. Monica will play its homecoming game, opposing Bishop’s of La Jolla at St. Bernard High. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
St. Monica moved the ball well and had a couple of scoring opportunities against Bell-Jeff, but couldn’t capitalize. Twice the Mariners were inside the 10-yard-line, once having a first down at the eight, but didn’t score.
St. Monica had 150 yards of total offense, and Ritter praised running backs Rafael Padilla and Derek Brandt. However James Wright, the team’s leading rusher, was out with an injury. Ritter said Wright is unlikely to play this week but could return when league games begin.