It was closer than Mary Star High football would have liked, but they'll gladly take the final result.

By virtue of their tense 31-25 victory over visiting Fairmont Prep of Anaheim, the Stars improve to 2-0 in the still fresh and young 2018 season, a very good starting point for a team itching to get back to playoff form in the CIF-Southern Section.

Still, a team with a 19-player roster made Mary Star earn this one after an easy 56-9 drubbing of Whittier Christian in the prior week had the Stars riding high for their 2018 home debut at Daniels Field.

Senior running back Luke Sabra rushed for a 13-yard touchdown in the second quarter which staked the Stars to a 17-7 halftime lead, then added two more rushing scores of 14 and 46 yards in the third quarter to increase the lead up to 31-13 at the midway point before the Huskies (0-2 overall) made a game of it with two fourth quarter scores.

Mary Star's fourth interception of the night, by senior linebacker Joe James, sealed the deal with 1:26 to play,

The defense set the tone in the first quarter with two interceptions by junior safety Aaron Martinez and junior linebacker Marco Ibarra, who picked off a pass near the goal line before returning it 96 yards for a touchdown, which was then negated by offsetting penalties, including a hold on the Stars which wiped out the exciting score. Martinez picked off another pass in the second quarter.

A five-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Kevin Costa put Mary Star up 7-0 with 4:06 left in the first quarter which was set up by Martinez's first interception. Sabra's first score and a 22-yard field goal from Noah Guastella would provide the Stars with a 17-0 lead before Fairmont Prep scored their first touchdown with 25 seconds left in the second quarter.

Mary Star will next face Century of Santa Ana, who lost 26-6 to Santiago of Garden Grove, next Friday at Daniels Field.