SAN JOSE, CA—For the second year in a row, the Bellarmine football team opened the Central Coast Section Open Division 1 playoffs by hosting Piedmont Hills and for the second year in a row, the Bells won easily, 42-12, to secure their spot in the semifinals.
Late in the first half, with the Bells leading 28-0, junior Austin Ajiake took a handoff from the Piedmont Hills 47, broke two tackles and, in the open field, spun off a third to put the Bells up 35-0. Ajiake finished with 52 yards on only two carries.
“I saw him get to the second level and I thought the first guy, but then he just kept throwing guys off him and I knew he was going to score,” said Bells quarterback Ike Ogbogu.
On the set of downs just before, Ajiake’s backfield partner Brendan Manigo broke out on a 62-yard sprint of his own for his second of the night. His first score came on a 39-yard sweep.
Both Bellarmine quarterbacks got in the action as well, with Ogbogu connecting with Dillon Thompson from 30 yards out and junior backup Jack Devine running one in of his own.
“We’re a run-first team,” said Bellarmine head coach Mike Janda. “Those are our running backs, so they’re going to have to carry a load just like they have all year.”
It wasn’t until late in the half that the shutout was erased when Pirate quarterback Mike Bird connected with Alex Garcia for an 80-yard score. Bird struck again with a second touchdown pass to Rich Fedelin from five yards out late in the third quarter. Bird finished with 30 completions on 50 attempts.
“(Bird) stepped in during the middle of the season and Alex (Garcia) moved from quarterback to slot, where he played last year, and it freed him up to be more of an athlete,” said Piedmont Hills head coach Matt Kiesle.
Bellarmine’s defense was strong as well, led by Jackson Burrill, who had a touchdown to open the game. The Bells blocked a punt as well and intercepted Bird three times.
The Pirate defense took time to settle in, but kept the Bells off the board after Devine’s run late in the second.
“We’re usually more explosive offensively than we were this year, but our defense did a really good job,” said Kiesle.
A large portion of the Piedmont Hills starting defense will be returning next year, including defensive back Courtney Lane, who recorded five tackles.
While the win came easily for the Bells, it didn’t come pretty, as they fumbled four times and committed seven penalties.
“Mentally we weren’t ready to play. We can’t do that, we just didn’t execute and made a lot of mistakes," said Janda. "But once it kicked in, we started playing pretty well."
Next week, the Bells will take on Menlo-Atherton, a team they defeated in the season opener. Menlo-Atherton was a 42-14 winner over Wilcox.
