Mlinarich's big night propels St. Edward
It was quite a welcome home celebration for the St. Edward football team on Friday night and quarterback Dylan Mlinarich was the life of the party.
The junior did in one night what some quarterbacks hope to do in an entire season as he threw for 465 yards and 7 touchdowns in a 50-14 Green Wave win over visiting Lindblom. It was the first game at Greg True Stadium in nearly a year after a groundskeeping mishap the second week of last season destroyed the grass. The Wave also opened this year with a win on the road in Florida.
Mlinarich completed 29-of-45 passes to 8 different receivers. He threw only 1 interception and the offensive line didn't allow a single sack.
"What an unbelievable game but I certainly didn't do this alone," Mlinarich said. "My teammates were amazing. The offensive line just played incredible. I had a lot of time to throw. Those guys were just great. And the receivers were fantastic. They ran really crisp routes and were getting open all night. They have really put in the time and effort at practice to get our timing down and it really showed tonight. What a great way to return home. An amazing feeling."
Mlinarich struggled in the humidity in Florida last week when he threw 3 interceptions, but he was on target Friday.
"Last week was kind of a fluke for him," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "He just had a tough time getting a grip on the ball in the humidity down there. This is more of what we expected because he has been fantastic in the off season. he has put in a lot of work. Tonight he was right on point and executed the offense the way we know he can. I also can't say enough about our offensive line and receivers. They played incredible. It was just a great all around win."
Mlinarich's first 2 touchdown passes went to Saveon Smith on plays of 21 and 30 yards. On the second score Smith took a short pass in the right flat and turned it into a touchdown with a nifty move to spin past 2 defenders.
Tyler Holte had the most receptions for the Green Wave with 7 for 49 yards. His 1-yard touchdown grab with less than a minute in the first half made it 23-14 in favor of the Green Wave at halftime.
St. Edward (2-0) broke it open in the second half with 4 touchdowns. For the second week in a row James Harkins was the leading pass receiver in yards with 146 on 6 catches. He had a 41-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
"Dylan was amazing but I also want to give a shout out to our offensive line," Harkins said. "We can't put up numbers like this without them doing a great job up front. It was amazing feeling to be back home and get a win like this."
Ryan Pomeroy (8 yards), David Madden (18 yards), and Jake Frey (32 yards) also had touchdown receptions in the second half.
The Green Wave managed to overcome 17 penalties for 146 yards. Angel Garcia added 66 yards on 17 rushes.