The red-hot Cate varsity football team improved to 6-0 with a 55-0 win over visiting Orcutt Academy.
The Rams scored three times in the first quarter. Quinn Pullen ‘25 called his own number from 7 yards out to open up Cate’s scoring barrage. Just a few plays later, Marcus Scudder ‘25 took a punt to the house from 40 yards away. The final score of the first quarter came when Pullen ‘25 found Jacob Gabbay ‘25 on a 55 yard pitch-and catch. Pullen ‘25 tacked on another throwing touchdown in the second quarter; this time is was a 30 yard connection with Ethan Rehnborg ‘25. The final Cate score of the first half came when Joba Samson ‘25 scored on a 10 yard run. The Rams led 35-0 at halftime.
Picking right up where they left off, the offense opened up the second half with a 30 yard touchdown from Cody Mast ‘25. In the fourth quarter, Jacob Gabbay ‘25 moved to quarterback and scampered into the end zone from 65 yards out. The final Cate score came from the defense, as Nolan Montoya ‘27 recovered a fumble in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. Mack Nieman ’25 made his season debut and tallied 9 tackles on the day including 3 tackles for a loss. Quincy Thorne ’26 netted 8 touchbacks while adding 5 extra points to continue his strong season at the kicker position.
While it was clear the offense was clicking all afternoon long, the real story of the game for Cate was once again the defense. Cate has now held their opponents scoreless in 13 straight quarters, a first for the program. The entire defense deserves special praise for their performance today.
“This was indeed a great performance on Family Weekend,” said Cate head coach Ben Soto. “We played well in all facets of the game. In my almost 20 years coaching football at Cate, we have never held our opponents scoreless for 13 straight quarters. Our team continues to improve week to week,” he added. “Our goal is to be playing our best football at the end of the season as we approach the playoffs. With the work put in by the coaches and players, we are heading in the right direction,” he added.
With the win, the Rams move up to #2 in the latest calpreps.com Southern Section rankings while also moving to #3 overall in the latest California state ratings. The Rams are back in action next week in Ojai, as they will do battle with their Tri-V alley League rival the Villanova Wildcats.