The Meadows rallies past Chadwick School

Less than 10 minutes after opening kickoff, The Meadows found itself in a 20-0 hole littered with sacks and turnovers Friday night.

So how was it the Mustangs were able to score 46 unanswered points to rally for a 46-26 home win over Chadwick School?

“A lot of it was our defense putting us in better field position,” The Meadows quarterback Gerard Martinez said.

Though that may be true, Martinez had quite a helping hand himself. The freshman completed 12 of 26 passes for 204 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions.

Martinez hit seven different receivers, including scoring strikes to four players.

On the same night it celebrated the 25th anniversary of the school’s inception, The Meadows (2-1) trailed 20-0 with 2:54 left in the first quarter.

But the Mustangs charged back with a 20-point second-quarter outburst, including Martinez touchdown passes of 78, 40 and 9 yards. He then fired 5- and 7-yard TD passes in the third quarter.

Chadwick School (0-1), which traveled from Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif., had two quarterbacks combine to throw the ball 54 times.

Though that netted the Dolphins 315 passing yards, they were smothered for minus-40 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Austin Brown caught four passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns for the Mustangs, who also got touchdown grabs from Pat Kenny, Remington Ross and Richard Martinez.

Kenny carried 12 times for 132 yards and a touchdown for The Meadows, and Brown scored on a 25-yard interception return late in the third quarter.

With 15 starters back from last year’s Class 2A state semifinalist team, the Mustangs are 2-1 heading into league play against Calvary Chapel next week.

“We’ve got to keep this winning going, when it really matters,” Gerard Martinez said.