Monterey Trail only picked up seven first downs all game.

They ran just 11 plays in the second half.

And yet the Mustangs coasted to one of their largest margins of victory in school history, beating rival Florin 69-0 at Mark Macres Memorial Stadium Friday night.

The win allows the Mustangs to hang onto the Macres trophy, which is awarded to the winner of this annual contest between these neighborhood rivals.

The game honors the memory of Mark Macres, a vice principal who served at both schools before dying of cancer in 2007.

Florin, with just 18 players, was overmatched from the outset. At one point late in the game, the offense broke the huddle with 10 players because there was just no one left to throw at the Mustangs.

“We had a lot of injuries,” said Florin head coach Mike Rosales. “We lost a few guys a couple weeks ago against Mira Loma. And they tried to fight their way through it last week, so we just decided to sit them out this week and have them ready for league in two weeks.”

For their part, the 3-0 Mustangs played with the intensity they’ll need to succeed in the newly recreated Delta League.

“We play in a tough league; we play really good schools, and I think our kids played as the probably can today,” said Mustang coach T.J. Ewing.

It showed on both sides of the ball.

On defense, Monterey Trail swarmed to the ball on every play, giving up only 70 rushing yards to the Panthers – 48 of which came on two plays, a 25-yard run by Marvin Lu and a 23-yard run by Leandre Lee, both in the second quarter.

Of Florin’s 34 rushing attempts, 17 ended in no gain, a loss of yards or a fumble.

“Our guys just didn’t execute,” Rosales said. “I mean they were prepped for it. I told the guys they didn’t see anything brand new tonight. They just didn’t execute their jobs.”

On offense, the Mustangs executed efficiently and often, scoring each time they got the ball with the exception of a one-play series at the end of the first half.

Their worst enemy was penalties with two long touchdowns called back and a couple other long plays negated by yellow flags. Three Monterey Trail defensive penalties led to three of Florin’s six first downs.

His team will be working out those kinks this week, Ewing says.

“We got to watch video and try to coach them up better,” said Ewing. “We have a lot of coaching to do. We have a whole bye week to work on some things.”

Senior wide receiver Andre Flury played a big role in getting things moving early for the Mustangs.

On the second play from scrimmage, Flury took a screen from quarterback E.J. Viacrusis and sprinted down the left sideline 81 yards for the score.

Monterey Trailed held the Panthers, now 1-2 overall, to two yards on the next series. Flury returned the punt 43 yards to start Monterey Trail’s drive at the Panther 32-yard line.

A 10-yard reception and a 15-yard run up the middle by running back Trey Nahas put Viacrusis in position to arc a pass to wide receiver Jermaine Bell who grabbed the pass over a Florin defender and tumbled into the end zone to make the score 14-0 with 6:14 left in the first quarter.

Jamal Tatum recovered the subsequent onside kick.

After penalties squelched a 15-yard pass play and a 40-yard run, Nahas bulled his way through the middle to score on a 12-yard line to give the Mustangs a 21-0 lead.

It didn’t take long for Monterey Trail to score again in the second quarter.

Flury appeared to score on a 65-yard punt return at the start of the quarter, but the play was called back for an illegal block.

No matter.

Viacrusis swept left and then cut back across the field on a 42-yard scamper to make it 28-0.

The defense again contained the Panthers, who turned the ball over on downs at the Mustang 36.

It took Nahas all of one play to run for a 64-yard touchdown, shedding tacklers along the way.

The rout was on.

Florin put together a 16-play drive, getting down to the Monterey Trail 22 before electing to kick a field goal on fourth-and-1 with 13 seconds left.

Alas, as was their fate, the kick was blocked by Neville Bood.

That would be the Panthers’ best and only chance at a score.

Nevertheless, they kept fighting.

“Florin, I give them a lot of credit,” Ewing said. “They played hard.”

Rosales agreed.

“They don’t give up,” he said of his players. “They’ll stay in and they’ll fight and they’ll keep going and they’ll keep getting at it.”

The miscues, though, mounted.

The Panthers fumbled on the third play of the second half.

Monterey Trail running back Adrian Tellez scored on the next play, from 11 yards out, to push the margin to 41-0 after the extra-point attempt failed.

Florin punted after a three-and-out series ended on its own 12.

This time Flury picked up the punt on one bounce on the 32, danced through a crowd of defenders and sprinted to the pylon for another touchdown.

Ahead 47-0, the Mustangs decided to go for a two-point conversion, which caused a few groans from the Panther sideline.

“We weren’t trying to run up the score or any of that stuff,” Ewing said, explaining that the players made the call on the field without his knowledge.

No hard feelings, Rosales said.

“It’s a part of football,” he said. “It’s a rivalry and that’s going to happen.”

Monterey Trailed made the conversion, pushing the score to 49-0 with 8:12 left in the third quarter.

After holding Florin to six yards on the next series, the Mustangs took over on downs at the Panther 26, effectively bringing in the second string.

It took just two plays, a 14-yard run by running back Arnett Belton and a 12-yard scoring bull rush by running back Jerel Wilson for the Mustangs to score.

Belton later returned a fumble 19 yards for a touchdown.

With the clock continually running in the second half, backup quarterback Robert Holt reached the end zone for the first time, on a 48-yard run.

Monterey Trail, off to a 3-0 start for the first time, had won its first games by just nine points combined.