Marin Catholic's fourth-quarter rally fell five points short Friday, Sept. 18, as the Wildcats lost 42-37 to Acalanes in a non-conference road game in Lafayette.

The Kentfield school scored three touchdowns in the final period but could not erase a deficit built during a punishing Acalanes third quarter. Marin Catholic led 15-14 at halftime, but the Dons scored three unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter, two of them within 35 seconds of each other, to take a 35-15 lead, according to the Marin IJ and the Acalanes Boosters. Marin Catholic pulled within 35-30 early in the fourth quarter before Acalanes quarterback Tyler Winkles' third touchdown pass made it 42-30, and Dylan Skrinar's fourth touchdown pass of the game cut the final margin to 42-37. The hole proved too deep.

Skrinar finished 354 yards passing with four touchdowns and an interception. Carter Matza caught four passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns, Dominic Tarantino added four catches for 67 yards and Cooper Milan had two catches for 132 yards. Johnny Greco led the Marin Catholic defense with 10 tackles and a pass deflection, and Bode Van Pelt had an interception return for a touchdown that was wiped out by a penalty. Winkles passed for 429 yards for Acalanes, finding Jackson Boselli six times for 179 yards and two touchdowns and Finley Rivera 11 times for 100 yards, according to the Marin IJ.

The loss dropped head coach Mazi Moayed's squad to 1-3 on the season. Acalanes, led by quarterback Tyler Winkles, improved to 3-1 and is ranked No. 5 in the NCS MaxPreps rankings, according to the Press Democrat.

The Marin IJ described the game as a rematch of last year's North Coast Section Open/Division I playoff game, which Acalanes won 51-21 by pulling away in the fourth quarter.

Marin Catholic entered the game ranked No. 2 in the North Bay Football Poll with a 1-2 record. The Wildcats' two earlier losses came against stiff competition: NCS No. 4 Monte Vista (27-10 on Aug. 28) and Central Coast Section No. 2 St. Ignatius (42-7 on Sept. 4). Marin Catholic's lone win was a 37-31 victory over Edison on Sept. 11, according to MaxPreps.

Before Friday's game, the Press Democrat's prep football analysis noted Marin Catholic had already dropped to No. 9 in the NCS rankings and out of the Open/Division 1 bracket. If the Wildcats qualify for the postseason but miss the Open, they would likely land as the top seed in Division 4, the analysis said.

Quarterback Dylan Skrinar and running back Dayton Trammell anchor the Marin Catholic offense, which has shown it can score in bunches. The Wildcats put up 37 points against both Edison and Acalanes.

Marin Catholic returns home Saturday, Sept. 26, to face St. Mary's at 11 a.m. League play follows, with matchups against Windsor, Cardinal Newman and American Canyon on the schedule.