Laird’s Second-Half Td Passes Lead St. Mary’s, 30-20

Sean Laird passed for two touchdowns midway through the second half as St. Mary’s of California pulled away from San Diego for a 30-20 victory Saturday night.

Laird completed 11 of 26 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. He added 90 rushing yards on seven carries, including runs of 46 and 33 yards.

It was the 10th straight victory by St. Mary’s (1-1) over the Toreros (1-1). San Diego has not had a win since 1980 in the non-conference series between Division I-AA schools.

The Gaels broke a 13-13 tie when Laird escaped a heavy pass rush and found Will Valentine for a 10-yard TD pass with 3:12 left in the third quarter. Darren Briemle had a fumble recovery at the San Diego 39 to set up the scoring drive and Laird ran 33 yards to the 11.

Laird followed with a 9-yard TD pass to Shane Sullivan at 2:34 of the fourth quarter.

St. Mary’s took over the ball at the Toreros 37 after a penalty and a 11-yard loss on a sack by Coree Thomas forced San Diego to punt on fourth-and-36 from its own 10.

David Ravarino added a 22-yard field goal for the Gaels with 8:15 left in the game.