The reputedly impenetrable Sacred Heart Prep defensive line may finally meet its match in a CCS Division IV semifinal game against Soquel’s celebrated running back Fabiano Hale this Thanksgiving weekend. The host Gators (10-1) welcome the Knights (9-2) Saturday afternoon in Atherton.
“We must not underestimate Soquel,” Gators head coach Peter Lavorato said. “Their running back may be the best we have seen this year. We must not turn over the ball as they are a well-coached and disciplined team.”
Hale rushed for 375 yards on 39 carries and scored six touchdowns in Soquel’s most recent playoff game against Carmel, leading the Knights to a 49-42 victory. Continuing his lauded record as last season’s Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Junior of the Year, Hale has rushed for a total of 2,215 yards on 202 carries for 40 touchdowns to date.
“Soquel’s running back (Hale) and line seems really talented and hardworking,” Gator tight end/linebacker Derek Hunter said. “They run that scrum offense, so plugging the holes with our defensive line is going to be key.”
On the other hand, SHP’s offense is advantageous in its unpredictability. Five different Gator players scored during last week’s game against the Pacific Grove Breakers for a 48-15 win -- senior running back Ryan Gaertner, senior quarterback Kevin Donahoe, junior running back Andrew Segre, and sophomore running back Matt O’Dell. With so many potential ball carriers, the Knights will be forced to keep on their toes in every play.
“Going into the game, we definitely have the mindset that if we play our game, our football, and don't get caught up in how good our opponent is and how important it is to win, we will win,” Hunter said. “I think that we have worked so hard to get here and now we just have to play sound football.”
The Gators also demonstrated their versatility on defense during their last match against Pacific Grove, allowing the Breakers a mere two touchdowns and one two-point conversion. Hunter, defensive backs Daniel Thaure (6 tackles, 1 assist) and Nick Salzman, and defensive lineman Kyle Schaul (4 tackles, 2 assists) kept the Breakers from entering Gator territory for the entire first quarter. Indeed, Thaure, currently averaging eight tackles per game, may be SHP’s most formidable weapon against Soquel.
“We are focusing on playing disciplined football, whether it be on offense or defense,” Hunter said. “Blocking through the play, carrying out fakes, running crisp routes -- all these little things essentially translate to playing through the whistle. We want to make sure that we give ourselves the best opportunity to make big plays by just doing our jobs on every down.”
But one thing is evident -- SHP’s defensive line will need to keep its performance flawless if it hopes to halt Hale, a Division I college recruit, from reaching the end zone. Nevertheless, Hunter remains confident in his team, which has averaged 70 tackles per game this season.
“We obviously have a home field advantage,” Hunter said. “We’ve also seen teams that have run the scrum before, and we have beaten them. Our experience against explosive running backs like the ones Aragon and Burlingame had will give us a leg up on them.”
The Knights edged past Carmel last week in a final 58-yard drive that culminated with a 4-yard touchdown by Hale, pulling ahead by one TD in the last minutes of the game. The match was one primarily centered around Soquel’s running game -- quarterback Lucas Cordoza completed one out of a mere four passes.
Similarly, the Gators are also rare to pass, averaging only 86.1 passing yards (266.3 rushing yards) per game, compared to a national average of 112.4.
While Soquel resides in SCCAL, a league separate from SHP’s PAL-Bay Division, it does lead in terms of scoring, averaging 43 points per game to the Gators’ 31.9. Key Gator players to watch for in the end zone include quarterback Kevin Donahoe (124.3 yards per game) and Gaertner (7.1 points per game).
“One last thing we have on Soquel is that we have an underdog mindset,” Hunter said. “We’ve been the little team that could all throughout the season. We were predicted to lose 3-4 last regular season games, and we proved that wrong. I'm extremely excited for this game.”
The victor in Saturday’s match will face the winner of the Seaside-Menlo School matchup in a game that will determine the Division IV finalists.
