Something Special About Marin Catholic's Devere

Marin Catholic High football coach knows a little something about Eureka, this week’s opponent in the North Coast Section quarterfinals.

“They’re a big, physical running team,” the coach praised of the 8-3 Loggers, who eliminated El Cerrito 29-28 in the NCS first round last weekend. “And they play good defense.”

That sounds intimidating, but chances are the visitors in Saturday’s 1 p.m. game at Marin Catholic are going to have to do a lot more than that to upset the top-seeded Wildcats.

That’s because Marin Catholic excels in three aspects of the game: offense, defense and special teams.

“We take great pride in it,” Moayed said of his special teams. “We really work hard on special teams every day.”

It showed in the Wildcats’ 54-7 demolition of Sonoma Valley in the first round. Junior ran back two kicks for touchdowns – a 55-yard return on a punt and a 90-yarder on a kickoff.

It was nothing new for Devere, whose scores were his 16th and 17th of the season. He’d returned three other kicks for touchdowns during the regular season.

“We put our best guys on the field whenever we can,” Moayed said. “We’re fortunate to have some dynamic playmakers. They’re there to make plays.”

The coach admitted there’s no hesitation risking a top talent like Devere, an offensive standout when he’s not returning kicks, on special teams.

“The way we look at it,” Moayed noted, “is: Anyone can get hurt on offense and defense, too.”

Speaking of injuries, Wildcats standout sophomore punter/placekicker Drew Celis has been hampered by a sore foot lately. Not that the Loggers will probably notice this week.

That’s because junior Mike Devine can step right in and be a top-notch kicker, while senior punts almost as well as Celis.

Moayed credits special teams coach Gennaro Caputo.

“We coach it like offense and defense,” Moayed said. “As a coaching staff, we’re shocked that some people think of it as an area of the game that’s not important.

“It’s enormous. It changes the whole game. We’ve been able to get points off of it, and we use it to create field position, both for our offense and for our defense.”

Make no mistake: The star of the “special” show is Devere.

“He’s been doing it all year,” Moayed assured. “He’s a dynamic player. Everytime he touches the ball, he poses a threat.”

One advantage Marin Catholic figures to have Saturday is that Eureka probably only has limited knowledge of the Wildcats. That could change, however, shortly after the opening kickoff.

“Some teams kick away from us starting the game,” Moayed noted. “Some do it after they see they can’t cover us.”

In a playoff game matching two quality teams, the latter might be too late.