The Sacred Heart Prep Gators defeated Carlmont 21-6 on Friday night. | Benjamin Rosenberg |
BELMONT, CA — Sacred Heart Prep did not play a perfect game on Friday night. Fortunately for the Gators, as a PAL Bay Division team playing a Lake Division opponent, they didn’t need to.
After a slow offensive start, SHP scored 18 points in the second quarter and rode its defense from there, pitching a shutout in the second half to earn a 21-6 victory over host Carlmont.
The Gators (1-0) took advantage of a poor Carlmont punt to score the game’s first touchdown early in the second quarter. SHP needed 11 plays to go just 34 yards, including two fourth-down conversions, but eventually found the end zone on a one-yard dive by Tevita Moimoi. The Gators tacked on a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
Following a three-and-out, SHP embarked on another short, methodical scoring drive, covering 46 yards in nine plays. Moimoi finished it off again, breaking through the right side of the line for a 23-yard score. The junior had eight carries for 46 yards and two touchdowns on the night.
“I was proud of the way the guys competed,” Sacred Heart coach Mark Grieb said. “They came out ready to play and that energy really kept us going, especially in the first half. There’s things that we’ve got to work on, clean up, first game of the year, but I thought it was a good effort.”
The Gators forced a punt on the next Carlmont possession, but the punt was mishandled and the Scots retained possession. Carlmont (0-1) took advantage of the new life, scoring on a 21-yard touchdown run by Jayden Kuhn five plays later.
But just as it seemed the Scots were ready to get back into the game, SHP responded. A trio of big completions from quarterback Raymond Price, plus a costly Carlmont penalty, put the Gators into scoring range. Ronan Donnelly drilled a 45-yard field goal just before halftime to put his team ahead 18-6. SHP’s defense carried the team the rest of the way.
“Carlmont has a very good offense,” Grieb said. “Those linemen and those backs are tough to stop. I’ll just tip my hat to our defensive coaches, they did a great job preparing our defense tonight and it showed.”
After the Gators turned the ball over on downs to begin the second half, the Scots again had a chance to pull closer. Julian Morin, who had 79 yards on 14 carries for the night, ripped off a 41-yard run to put Carlmont in the red zone. But Scots quarterback Siupeli Netane threw an ill-advised pass on the next play that was intercepted by Parker Isaacson, killing the drive and Carlmont’s momentum.
SHP added another field goal early in the fourth quarter, capping a drive in which the Gators held the ball for more than five minutes. Carlmont never seriously threatened to score again, and SHP walked away with a relatively comfortable win.
“You know that there’ll be some things that aren’t always perfect, but I thought the effort was there, and we made enough plays to win,” Grieb said.
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