Sacred Heart Prep managed just 23 yards of total offense in the first half against The King’s Academy on Saturday. And outside of two explosive plays in the second half, the Gators were not much better after the break.
But SHP capitalized on two big plays from their defense and mostly contained the Knights’ high-caliber passing attack in a back-and-forth game. The Gators also stopped TKA on a pair of two-point conversion attempts and were successful on one of their own, helping them to a 22-19 win at home in Atherton.
“Credit to King’s Academy. They did a good job as far as preparing for the type of offense we run,” SHP head coach Mark Grieb said. “They put an extra guy down on the line of scrimmage. They were ready for our motions and all that stuff. They did a great job in terms of their preparation and shutting us down in our run game. I really felt in the second half like I needed to open it up, because that was the only way were going to get some lanes in the running game.”
The Gators (3-1) certainly opened things up on the play where they took the lead for good — a play SHP designed in the week leading up to this game. Quarterback Nico Pollioni rolled to his left before turning around and firing a screen pass to Sasha Bamdad near the right sideline. Bamdad cut back across the field, slipping four tackles on his way to a 48-yard touchdown.
“It was our first time installing that play,” Bamdad said. “The (defensive back) came down pretty hard. He wrapped me up pretty well. But after I broke that tackle and I was on the run, I noticed that the King’s players were in pursuit, but they were cheated a little over to the right too much, so I found myself going left, creating a path. After a few cuts and breaks, I was able to find myself in the end zone.”
SHP’s first two scores both came shortly after fumble recoveries by Albert Cesena Real, who helped anchor the Gators’ defensive front along with Jack Hansen and Timote Fangupo. The game’s first turnover gave SHP the ball at TKA’s 4-yard line, and Maxime Morrelle paid it off with a short touchdown run and an early 7-0 lead.
That was the extent of the Gators’ first-half offense. The Knights (2-1) tied the game after a 13-play, 74-yard drive that bridged the first and second quarters and ended on a goal-line fade from sophomore quarterback Ricky Gutierrez to Adrian Barnett from five yards out.
Barnett and fellow TKA receiver Jaiden Flores both stand 6-foot-5 and combined for 124 yards on 11 catches. Aaron Duncan was also a major factor with five catches for 63 yards, 45 of which came on a fourth-quarter touchdown that gave the Knights their first lead just before Bamdad’s heroics.
“We have some dangerous weapons. One play, they can go the distance,” TKA head coach Dante Perez said. “They’re guarding the outside and they were trying to limit the vertical threat from the outside, so we found the soft spot inside. We made a big play down there. Aaron made a really big play to take the lead. We still came up short.”
Cesena Real’s second fumble recovery led to a 46-yard touchdown run by Cooper Karros to put the Gators back in front midway through the third quarter, but the Knights responded early in the fourth on a 3-yard run from Drew Martinez. Their defense then forced a three-and-out for the fifth time on the day, leading to the Gutierrez-Duncan connection.
TKA could not make it three straight scoring drives, though. The Knights stayed alive with a conversion on fourth-and-12, but a Hansen sack and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed them way behind the chains and ultimately derailed them.
SHP hosts Carlmont on Friday night, while TKA will travel to Palo Alto.
“(TKA is) a good football team, so any win you get against them is going to be well earned,” Grieb said. “Today was a pretty good example of that.”
El Camino wins PAL Lake opener in overtime
As the lowest rung on the Peninsula Athletic League ladder, the Lake Division will send only one team to the CCS playoffs, so every league game is critical. El Camino took an important step forward Thursday night as Noah David’s overtime touchdown run carried the Colts over Homestead, 27-21.
David rushed for 147 yards on 29 carries, and that’s not even counting his longest run of the night — a 57-yard touchdown that was called back due to a blindside block.
“This is just a glimpse of what we can do,” David said. “We’re only going to get better from here. Whoever wants it, we’re going to give them whatever we’ve got, all the time. No matter how long it takes, we’re going to get there.”
El Camino’s defense struggled for much of the second half after the Mustangs inserted a new quarterback, dual threat Anthony Greco, but the Colts (2-1, 1-0 PAL Lake) held Homestead to a field goal inside the 10-yard line in the final minute of regulation, then got another stop in overtime to set up David’s game-winner.
This was El Camino’s first game in three weeks following a season-opening 60-21 loss at Balboa. The Colts earned a win via forfeit in Week 2 against Prospect because the Panthers did not have enough available players, then had a bye the following week.
After shaking off some early rust, El Camino led 14-3 until late in the third quarter, when Greco led the Mustangs’ offense to a pair of scores in quick succession. A jet sweep for a touchdown by Colton Nicholas pulled the Mustangs (2-1, 0-1) closer, and they took the lead early in the fourth when Greco scored on a quarterback draw.
But the Colts bounced back with an explosive play in the passing game, pulling back ahead on a 28-yard pass from Quentin Bromaghim to Joseph Conti. That helped them withstand Omri Pnini’s game-tying field goal, as did two interceptions by Markson Jacques.
El Camino hosts Jefferson next, while Homestead returns home to face MacDonald.
“(David) is definitely the glue to what we’re trying to accomplish in the run game,” Colts head coach Rustin Mayorga said. “With him in open-field space, it’s a tough task for any defense. He had an incredible year last year, and you give him just a little crease and he’s going to take it.”
