Menlo rolls to second straight football win

Playing well on both sides of the ball, the Menlo School football team won its second straight with an easy 39-14 nonleague triumph over East Nicholas on Saturday at Woodside High.

The Knights (2-0) dominated the game both through the air and on the ground, jumping out to a 20-0 lead at halftime.

Junior quarterback Danny Diekroeger led the offense for Menlo and showed the poise of an older more experienced signal caller. He finished the game with 322 yards passing, four touchdowns, and one interception.

On the ground, the duo of Ryan O’Holleran and Nick Maruyama proved to tough for East Nicholas, as they ran for a combined 78 yards. O’Holleran also ran for two touchdowns.

Diekroeger used the variety of weapons at his disposal to move the ball downfield. Jerry Rice Jr. led Menlo with five catches for 139 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown pass in which Rice Jr. turn a simple out route into an electrifying dash upfield, shaking off several defenders.

Chris Ryan also was a favorite target of Diekroeger’s, especially in the end zone. Ryan caught four passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Backup running back Logan Richard entered the game in the fourth quarter and made his mark on it, catching a shovel pass from Diekroeger for the final Menlo score.

On defense, the Knights were also simply superior, limiting East Nicholas to just 170 yards of offense, while accumulating two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

In a rout such as, negatives were hard to come by. Still, Menlo must be somewhat concerned with three missed extra points by Charles LeMoullac that, although were certainly not an issue on Saturday, could be costly in a tighter match up. Additionally, Menlo committed two turnovers in the red zone. A fumbled snap gave East Nicholas the ball on its own two-yard line, while Diekroeger was intercepted on a pass in the end zone.

Given the already dramatic difference in the scores between Menlo and East Nicholas, it is hard to imagine what Menlo might have done to East Nicholas with mid-season precision. The Knights, now 2-0 this season, play again next Saturday night at Napa-Justin Siena at 7 p.m.