|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Menlo School football team makes a habit of assuring everybody associated with the program is appreciated and feels connected.
The Knights have certainly come together this season, remaining unbeaten after a record-shattering performance by quarterback Sergio Beltran, his receivers, his offensive line and his coaching staff.
Beltran threw five touchdown passes, two each to Carter Jung and Tyler Flynn, and rushed for another as Menlo (8-0, 4-0) beat Capuchino 42-0 in San Bruno on Friday night to clinch the PAL Ocean Division title.
“It’s everywhere where we complement each other: on the practice field, in games . . . it’s our players, our coaching staff, it’s our relationships, ” Menlo coach Todd Smith said. “It’s way past just game day.”
Beltran has thrown for 40 touchdowns, setting a school record for the regular season. He’s also nearing a Central Coast Section record.
Beltran is in good company. Current Menlo girls basketball coach John Paye threw 37 touchdown passes in 1982 and Jack Heneghan matched that in 2013. Both Menlo alums also starred in college and both spent time with the San Francisco 49ers.
Jung’s 22-yard reception on the first pass play of the game put Beltran over 2,000 yards on the season. That helped set up Menlo’s first touchdown, a nine-yard scoring toss to senior Jack Giesler.
“A lot of that comes from the receivers and O-line. They make my job so easy,” Beltran said. “I just have to give them a playable ball and I know they’ll make something out of nothing, so it’s all because of them. I’m just in a lucky position.”
Beltran connected with Jung on touchdown passes of 14 and eight yards. Flynn caught scoring passes of two and six yards. Overall, he completed 16 of 20 passes for 244 yards and rushed for another 113 yards.
“He does an unbelievable job; he’s one of the most humble kids I’ve ever met in my life,” Menlo offensive coordinator (and former college quarterback) Austyn Carta-Samuels said. “If he’s leading from the front, the way he always does, they just follow his lead”
The Menlo defense limited Capuchino (4-4, 2-2) to 23 yards in its first three possessions and that became the norm throughout the contest.
Ty Richardson batted down a deep pass and Jung delivered a sack to end the third quarter and Chris Liao recovered a fumble to give the Knights the ball back once more in the fourth.
Giesler caught five passes for 87 yards and added 36 rushing yards on four carries. Jung finished with five catches for 89 yards.
Beltran also completed passes to junior Robby Enright and senior Sam Scola, whose 36-yard reception led to Menlo’s third score. Ross Muchnick was 6-of-6 on PATs.
The Knights play at Carlmont on Friday night and then entertain Sacred Heart Prep in the annual Valparaiso Bowl to close the regular season.
“We’re going to treat every game, every opponent, like Capuchino, with the highest respect, and we’re just going to be us,” Beltran said. “We don’t want to be in a position where we’re trailing and have to use all our energy to come back.”
The Knights have won 12 of its past 13 games, dating to the beginning of the shortened spring 2021 season. It encompasses Smith’s tenure as head coach.
“This carries over from last year,” Smith said. “They’ve learned from some guys, who have now graduated, on how to play the right way.”
“Our preparation, the schedule that (Smith) puts in place for us, and the maturity the team approaches practice with and the way they execute, it doesn’t surprise us when we’re firing on all cylinders,” Carta-Samuels said. “We’re just going to keep sticking to the process and hopefully keep having success.”
YouTube 'auditor' provoked, pepper-sprayed shopper at Mountain View Costco, police sayApril 8, 2026 12:23 pm
