It took Cardinal Newman’s football team two overtime periods to fend off league foe San Marin in a classic North Coast Section playoff opener Friday night that eventually saw the Cardinals win 21-14 to advance in the elite Open division.

Playing on their home field in Santa Rosa, the Cardinals were up 14-7 when San Marin blocked a punt and Daniel Gilmore took it in for a 30-yard return, tying the game with less than four minutes left.

The teams then exchanged possessions, leading to a 43-yard field goal attempt by the third-seeded Cardinals that was blocked by San Marin with 27.3 seconds left in regulation.

The sixth-seeded Mustangs got in position to attempt a 57-yard field goal but it fell short, sending the game to overtime.

The first overtime saw the kicking woes continue for each team, as Newman missed a field goal attempt wide left and San Marin had its kick blocked.

But in the second overtime period, Newman’s Malakai Pathoumnourack rumbled in a 19-yard touchdown that would stand as the game winner.

“I saw their D-line cut, I trusted my blockers, cut up the middle, made a guy miss — then I stiff-armed another dude going into the end zone,” Pathoumnourack said, recounting his score.

San Marin made it to the four-yard line on its overtime possession, but quarterback Daniel Rolovich could not find anyone open, forcing him to throw it out of the end zone on fourth down and ending the game.

Cardinal Newman head coach Frank McManus said playing in tight games all season helped his team in Friday’s win, their second victory this year against fellow REC-Adobe competitor San Marin.

“We have been in unbelievable games all year and this is just another example of it,” McManus said. “I keep talking about the experience bank that these kids have developed over the season, finding ways to win.”

Cardinal Newman’s win came without starting quarterback L.T. Retamoza, who left the game with an injury after the first two offensive series.

As he did in several games this season, backup Carmine Guevara stepped in at QB and led the team to victory.

“My mindset was really locking in on defense,” Guevara said of his preparation in the week leading up to Friday night. “I wasn’t really expecting to go in at quarterback.”

And when his name was called to go in, Guevara said his mind was racing.

“Talk about a guy that’s been put in the most difficult situations,” McManus said of his backup QB. “Obviously, he rises to the occasion. The players love him, the coaches love him — he battles.”

McManus said he was proud of his defense, which held San Marin to 70 rushing yards and 63 through the air. San Marin also did not score a touchdown on offense. The Mustangs’ first-quarter touchdown came on a fumble return.

“We talked about playing 48 minutes of Cardinal Newman football defense,” McManus said. “That’s the expectation at Cardinal Newman; they’ve been built on world-class defense and we can’t disappoint the fans.”

McManus said his team expected to win because they practice situational football often.

“They’ve been there — that’s what we talked about at halftime. It’s what we talked about even when we went into overtime,” McManus said. “It doesn’t faze them because they’ve been there before.”

He coaches players to prepare for each game as if it is a state championship, McManus said.

“It’s a professional approach. We account for everything. We don’t put too much in or we don’t do too little, but every game is approached as if it’s a CIF championship game,” McManus said. “It keeps the kids on an even emotional level, so they don’t have these ups and downs.”

Going forward, Retamoza is expected to play next week, according to the coach, but Guevara and freshman QB Cash Boyd will continue to get reps at practice.

Guevara finished with 72 rushing yards on 12 carries, including a 12-yard touchdown rush.

“Carmine is an athlete; we trust him,” Pathoumnourack said of the backup QB. “I think he’s a big part of why we won this game.”

San Marin head coach Dominic DiMare said his players played hard and for each other.

“To lose a game like that in the Open division, against a pretty damn good school in Cardinal Newman, is tough but pretty respectful,” DiMare said. “They played with a lot of heart and they finished the game. They played all the way through and through, from special teams, defense, offense — everybody gave everything and that’s all we can ask for.”

He said the juniors and sophomores at San Marin can learn from this loss for next season.

“We have a great group of sophomores and juniors coming up, so we look forward to being more competitive next year,” DiMare said.

Cardinal Newman will next host No. 4 Acalanes, which beat Marin Catholic 51-21, at 7 p.m. this coming Friday.