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It was a wacky weekend for local prep football teams in a variety of action that included a massive amounts of points and yardage, big plays, heartbreak and controversy. In the end, Menlo School was the big winner with its most important victory in years, while Menlo-Atherton and Sacred Heart Prep suffered setbacks that were simply painful.
With the uncanny ability to pull out narrow wins and enjoy the fruits of victory for eight straight weeks, it’s been quite a ride at Menlo-Atherton. Now, the Bears must learn to adapt to adversity and get over the lousy feeling of losing.
In a PAL Bay showdown last Saturday, Menlo-Atherton (5-1, 8-1) saw its perfect season end in a 27-22 loss to host Aragon, 27-22.
After battling hard for 43 minutes in a see-saw game, the Bears grabbed their first lead at 22-21 with 6:09 to play, only to be stunned by a perfectly executed 95-yard return for a touchdown by Aragon’s Chris Seminoff on the ensuing kickoff. The return proved to be the difference in a contest that decided the PAL Bay Division title.
The loss dashed any hopes of an outright Bay Division crown for M-A, as Aragon (6-1, 7-2) captured its fourth straight league title in addition to winning a remarkable 28 of its past 29 division games.
The loss, however, may have helped M-A in its drive to accomplish its season-long goal of winning a CCS crown. The setback probably kept M-A in the CCS Large Division playoffs and away from the more difficult competition of the Open Division.
Though the players and coaches were deeply disappointed and somewhat shocked with the loss, it was just a bump in the road with so much to play for in the next couple of weeks.
M-A, which has clinched a CCS playoff bid, still has the chance to share the Bay Division title with Aragon and seize the league’s No. 2 playoff seed with a win over visiting Woodside (4-2, 6-3) on Saturday at 2 p.m. Woodside has lost two games in a row, including Friday’s 14-13 decision to Terra Nova.
“Because of the character of this team, we will only get better,” said first-year M-A coach Bob Sykes. “We will be up for Woodside and we need to do what we do.”
M-A battled its way back from a 14-0 deficit with junior quarterback Troy McCabe throwing a 10-yard scoring pass to junior tight end Matt Mosher with 5:39 left in the second quarter. A minute later, talented senior linebacker Saia Haatoa scooped up an Aragon fumble and raced 55 yards for a touchdown with 4:30 remaining.
Aragon regained the lead late in the third quarter, 21-14 and appeared in great shape because it had shut down the Bears’ running game and applied heavy pressure on McCabe in the pocket.
M-A, which has produced so many critical big plays on the season, came through when it had to on a crucial fourth-and-10 at midfield with 6:20 to play. McCabe found senior receiver Kevin DiSibio for a 50-yard touchdown. When Aragon jumped offsides on the conversion try, Sykes decided to go for two points and succeeded when Haatoa burrowed in for a 22-21 Bears’ lead.
After Aragon’s game-winning kickoff return, M-A couldn’t muster anything offensively. The Bears, in fact, could muster only 82 yards rushing on 33 attempts versus a physical Aragon defense.
The M-A defense also gave up 351 rushing yards to the Dons.
Menlo 51, Carlmont 41
In its biggest game in years, Menlo received huge contributions from a variety of players in a critical PAL Ocean Division triumph over host Carlmont on Friday.
Menlo (5-1, 8-1) not only handed the Scots (5-1, 7-2) their first league loss of the season, but with a win at Jefferson (1-5, 2-7) on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. the Knights will clinch at least a share of the Ocean Division title and an almost certain CCS playoff bid. The likely scenario is a three-way tie for the league title between Menlo, Carlmont and Mills.
A month ago, Menlo suffered its only loss of the season to Mills and effectively lost the outright league title right there. The Knights then rebounded to outscore Capuchino and Carlmont by the combined score of 92-63.
“This is a resilient group.” said Menlo coach Mark Newton. “We have a lot of team chemistry.”
Friday’s game with Carlmont was one for the ages. The contest took three hours to play and ended in darkness with both schools combining for 92 points, 1,070 yards of offense, 13 plays of over 35 yards and six missed conversions.
“We tried to contain a great Carlmont team and we tried to get our athletes the ball,” said Newton. “We knew it was going to be a shootout and we outgunned them.”
In its most productive offensive output of the year, Menlo amassed 542 yards of offense.
Senior quarterback Andrew Dixon completed 15 of 29 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns, while versatile senior Anthony Bouvier caught eight passes for 168 yards, scored three touchdowns, booted two field goals and had a game-ending interception.
Menlo senior running back Leon Ivery gained 153 yards rushing on 21 carries, while senior receiver Ricky Hawkins hauled in five passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Ivery has rushed for 1,204 yards on the year, while Hawkins leads the CCS with 57 receptions for 1,184 yards. Dixon has thrown for 2,125 yards and 20 touchdowns.
After Carlmont scored 22 points in five minutes to cut Menlo’s lead to 44-41, the Knights iced the game on a 45-yard scoring strike from Dixon to James Walker with 2:22 to play.
King’s Academy 29, SHP 28
In a matchup for first place, the inside track to capture the Bay Football League title and a CCS playoff berth, Sacred Heart Prep blew a 28-7 second half lead and lost in controversy on Saturday night in Sunnyvale.
Behind senior running backs Matt Connor and Tyler Hyland, Sacred Heart Prep (3-1, 4-5) bolted out to a seemingly unsurmountable 21-point lead. The Gators then witnessed the lead go up in flames and lost on a controversial field goal at the end of the game that will be talked about for a long time.
After King’s Academy (4-0, 8-0) stormed back to pull within, 28-27 late in the game, the Knights succeeded on a risky two-point conversion to take the lead. Yet, the gritty Gators marched 63 yards on the ensuing drive and drove the ball down to the King’s Academy 12-yard line with 21 seconds left.
The Gators’ Matt Bocci came out to win the game with a 29-yard field-goal attempt that appeared good, just inside the left upright for an apparent 31-29 Sacred Heart win. After a discussion, officials ruled the ball went left of the upright and the Gators’ hope for a league title was gone.
Leading 28-21 in the fourth quarter, Sacred Heart could have taken a possible 31-21 lead with a safe field goal. The Gators, however, decided to score on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Sacred Heart was stuffed and King’s Academy drove 99 yards for the eventual game-winning score.
Connor led the Gators with 212 yards rushing on 20 carries, including a 66-yard touchdown run. Hyland added 125 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.
Sacred Heart will close out its season Saturday at 1:30 p.m. by hosting St. Elizabeth.
