Getting a pair of field goals from Blake Olsen and a touchdown run by defensive lineman Alan Sakalia, the Menlo-Atherton football team evened its record at 2-2 with a 13-7 nonleague victory over visiting South San Francisco on Friday. The triumph was the Bears' home opener.

Menlo-Atherton was offensively challenged after totaling 195 yards for the game, 132 coming on the ground. Tasi Teu led the ground game with 106 yards on 18 carries. Olsen gave M-A a 3-0 lead on his first field goal and made it 6-0 after the third period. His longest field goal was 37 yards. Sakalia wrapped things up with a TD run in the fourth quarter.

Jonathan Simonian led the defensive effort with 10 tackles with Sakalia and Brian Jaggers adding nine tackles each. Jamar Gaddis intercepted a pass and Tom Bucka recovered a fumble.


Menlo School 56, Half Moon Bay 14
Despite coming off a bye week, the Knights' offense picked up where it left off in a big nonleague romp over host Half Moon Bay on Friday night.

The Knights improved to 3-0 overall with one more nonleague matchup against Mills at home Friday afternoon before Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division play begins. The Cougars, a PAL Bay Division team, fell to 1-3.

By halftime Friday, Menlo had built a 42-0 lead. As they had in their previous games, the Knights dealt a balanced attack, executed a nearly impenetrable defense and got big plays from its special teams. Quarterbacks Matt Bradley and Jack Heneghan and receiver Wiley Osborne combined on 12-of-13 passing for 276 yards.

"The kids were well prepared, they did everything well in all three facets of the game, " said Menlo coach Mark Newton, whose team has outscored its opponents 178-52.

Receiver Connor Stastny pulled in five catches for 145 yards, and Osborne converted his two catches to 80 receiving yards and two TDs. Fellow seniors Travis Chambers, who had a pair of touchdowns, and Heru Peacock fueled the Knights' running game that also got big contributions from Heneghan.

For the third game, senior Max Parker ran back a kickoff for a touchdown -- this time on a broken play. On another first-half play, Osborne took the handoff then flipped the ball to junior Will King for a score. Shortly after, Osborne made a spectacular one-handed catch for a 60-yard touchdown.

Ever consistent, the defense had its own share of big plays. In the third quarter, the Knights did not run an offensive play. Defensive back Brock Burgess ran back an interception 75 yards for a score. Linebackers Jack Ferguson, King and Christian Pluchar had strong outings as did the secondary, including Osborne, Peter Bouret, Chambers (12 tackles) and Stastny. Nose guard Wyatt Rouser had another standout game.

Seniors Chris Atkeson and Zach Smith anchored the line on both sides of the ball.

"They're playing really well, and the thing is, we still have six or seven lineman playing both ways," Newton added.

"We told them this is going to be a big test: we saw Half Moon Bay play (during the bye week), and they're a good team," Newton said. "The extra week to prepare helped us. We're just striking on all cylinders."


Priory 64, Alma Heights 20
James McDaniel carried 14 times for 220 yards and scored touchdowns on runs of 10, 30, 62 and 10 yards to pace Priory to a 64-20 victory over host Alma Heights on Friday night in Pacifica in eight-man football action.

Malik Reid rushed eight times for 83 yards with TD runs of 10 and 11 yards as the Panthers improved to 3-0. Quarterback Will Latt gained 81 yards on five carries and scored on runs of 55 and two yards. David Theis got into the scoring with a 73-yard kickoff return.

— Embarcadero Media; Pam McKenney contributed Menlo School game information

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