HALF MOON BAY, CA – There may be no other city in the Central Coast Section that comes alive with that good old Friday Night Lights feel like Half Moon Bay in the fall.
The sleepy coastside burg just over highway 92 from San Mateo jumps to life on Friday nights when it hosts football games at its venerable John Francis Field.
Fans dressed in orange and black pack the home side, the band has its instruments polished and ready and the Cougar cheerleaders affix their orange hair ribbons just so. Then the game starts and opposing coaches are reminded why this place is a chamber of horrors for the unprepared.
Burlingame learned the hard way, yielding 22 points in the first four minutes, 58 seconds before the sun had even descended below the nearby Pacific Ocean. The Panthers recovered to pull within eight points with 3:07 left in the first quarter, but eventually fell 43-34.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Half Moon Bay program, second straight to start the 2016 season and 13th in the Cougars’ last 15 games.
I asked a few Half Moon Bay coaches and players what the key to success is for the Cougars, who got 156 yards rushing and two touchdowns from junior running back Chase Hofmann, in addition to Hofmann returning the opening kickoff 94 yards for a score.
“If I had to sum it up in one word, it’s program,” said longtime Cougar offensive line coach Don Dias. “The kids work incredibly hard during the off-season and we get incredible support from the administration, parents and the community.”
Diaz’s offensive line of Ricky Camacho, Jose Ramirez, Kellan Royce, Josh Kruckewitt and Sean Baird (with Jack Cartwright a key substitute) performed well, allowing the Cougars to ramble for 256 yards on the ground.
The Cougar defense was inconsistent, but did make some big plays.
Half Moon Bay was leading 8-0 when Dom Padua picked off a pass at the Burlingame 38, broke down the left sideline and then cut inside for a touchdown that put the Cougars up 15-zip.
“It was a pass into the flat and I was coming up fast to make the tackle and the ball just popped up and and I grabbed it,” Padua said. “Then I cut the ball inside and just fell into the end zone.”
The diminutive DB wasn’t finished. On Burlingame’s next possession Padua recovered a fumble on the Panther 41 and returned it to the 20. Four plays later Hofmann was in the end zone for 22-0.
“Chase (Hofmann) hit the guy and the ball popped out and flew right into my hands,” Padua said. “It was a perfect bounce. I ran it up the sideline and then cut inside again and the center ran me down.”
Padua took some ribbing for getting tackled by an offensive lineman, but it was another big play for HMB.
When asked the key to the Cougars’ success, Padua said: “It’s a small town and a lot of people come out here to watch us. A lot of alumni come back and we just want to show them respect and make them proud.”
One of those HMB graduates is Cougar head coach Keith Holden. Last year he led the team to the program’s second section title and first for him as a coach. According to Holden, it’s one big love fest on the coast.
“The kids love one another,” said the special education teacher/coach. “That’s why they play so hard. They get great community support and it’s a small town with that small-town feel. They’re all superstars on Friday night.”
Well, they were again this week. And they celebrated the Cougars’ good fortune from the main throng of fans in the concrete bleachers under the press box, to the alumni congregated on nearby “Has-Been Hill.”
For a program so steeped in tradition, it’s fitting there is just one word stitched on the front of HMB jerseys and it is not the school’s name or mascot.
“It says ‘PRIDE’” said Cougar defender Andrew Olivero, pointing to the front of his orange jersey. “That embodies what we're about. We do Cougar jumping jacks before the game and we try to show Cougar pride before our fans and coaches and just carry on the tradition.”
So far, so good this season for HMB.
John Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@prep2prep.com and followed on Twitter @PrepCat
