Keelhaulers enjoy a 40-24 victory on Senior Night

VALLEJO, Calif. – Before the start of Friday night's Pac West matchup between Cal Maritime and Sonoma State, the Keelhaulers honored its 11 seniors — Josh Bates, Nate Bond, Andrew Cavinta, JJ Graves, Jacob Jenkins, Leilua Lualemaga, Ryan Martinez, Jacob Pina, Kevin Trygstad, William Tucker and Jonah Wolfe — in a Senior Night ceremony.

Once action began, the Keelhaulers scored their first points of the night just under three minutes after the opening kick and scored another 14 straight until Sonoma State recorded its first try midway through the half.

After Cal Maritime responded with a try of its own two minutes later, just over 11 minutes passed before either team scored another point.

Responsible for the final pair of tries in the first half, Sonoma State pulled within 14 at 26-12, with just under eight minutes remaining — a score that remain untouched until the horn sounded. Unfortunately for Cal Maritime, the Seawolves scored again on the final play of the half, covering two-thirds of the field in the process, to pull within nine at the break.

By scoring first in the second half, Sonoma State trimmed its original 21-point deficit to two, at 26-24, by recording 17 unanswered points that spanned the final minutes of the first half, and the opening minutes of the second.

The Keelhaulers responded in impressive fashion when Jerry McLarnon pushed a pile of players, with the help of his teammates, approximately 10 meters for another Cal Maritime try, which extended its lead to a more comfortable two-score cushion with a little more that 14 minutes left to play.

When Roman Portilla broke through and sprinted towards the end goal zone, his try, combined with Wolfe's subsequent conversion, extended Cal Maritime's lead to 16 — a three-score margin that ultimately turned into a 40-24 victory in a game the Keelhaulers led from start to finish.

With Friday's result, Cal Maritime will continue its two-game homestand at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.

Rugby will return to Bodnar Field next weekend when it hosts UC Santa Cruz on Saturday, November 20, at 11 a.m. Admission is free for this game; fans are encouraged to arrive early to help Cal Maritime's rugby cadet-athletes honor a group of outstanding individuals as part of the program's Faculty Appreciation Day.

Once action between the Keelhaulers and Banana Slugs ends, Humboldt State and New Mexico Tech will begin warming up for their 1:30 p.m. Pac West Regional Championship clash. Fans will need to purchase tickets for the back-half of the day's rugby doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.

Scoring Timeline

Cal Maritime 40, Sonoma State 24

2:47 Andrew Cavinta 5, Jonah Wolfe 2
8:39 Matthew Ettlin-Loveton 5, Jonah Wolfe 2
14:21 Nate Bond 5, Jonah Wolfe 2
19:10 Sonoma State (#3) 5, Sonoma State (#20) 2
21:43 Jacob Jenkins 5
32:59 Sonoma State (#3) 5
40:00 Sonoma State (#21) 5

Halftime Score: Cal Maritime 26, Sonoma State 17

10:23 Sonoma State (#12) 5, Sonoma State (#20) 2
14:01 Jerry McLarnon 5, Jonah Wolfe 2
30:05 Roman Portilla 5, Jonah Wolfe 2