SAN MATEO, CA - As soon as the clock started ticking in Friday night’s showdown between Menlo-Atherton and Aragon, the Bears took off running and never looked back. Menlo-Atherton went up by two scores in the game's first 10 minutes and rolled to a 41-0 victory in the PAL-Bay opener for both teams.
It became obvious that it would be a very long night for the struggling Dons (0-5, 0-1 PAL-Bay) on the very first play of the Bears' second drive. Senior running back Deston Hawkins broke past the Dons' secondary and ran for 70 yards before the defense finally caught up to him.
“We went over that exact play on the sideline, my lineman hit that block that he was supposed to, and I just found the crease and went for it,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins went on to compile 125 yards, including another big run of 17 yards which resulted in a touchdown. Though the dominant performance by Hawkins might not suggest it, the Bears (3-2, 1-0) actually ran a very diverse offensive system that included contributions from many running backs.
“We think we have a lot of talented skill players and when we get the ball in their hands, good things will happen,” said Menlo-Atherton coach Adhir Ravipati.
In contrast to the Bears' run-oriented offense, Aragon struggled to get the ball moving on the ground. The Dons' leading rusher was one of their two quarterbacks, Camron Grant, who had a mere 30 yards on the ground.
The running woes of the Dons was in large part due to the stifling defense of the visiting team. Led by an impenetrable defensive line, the Bears held the Dons scoreless despite a few close calls. In the waning moments of the game, the Dons, led by alternating quarterbacks Grant and Colby Stevens, marched down the field to the opposing 10 yard-line and seemed poised to score their first points of the game. Despite the proximity to the end zone, the Bears’ defense did not yield and instead scored itself on a 90-yard interception return by recent transfer Ben Tuipulotu.
“We’ve been watching a lot of film, we knew which gaps to contain and which plays they were going to run. That really helped a lot,” said Menlo-Atherton defensive lineman and University of Washington commit Noah Ngalu.
Aragon looks for its first win of the season next Friday night at Sacred Heart Prep. Menlo-Atherton which snapped a two-game losing streak against elite teams Palma and Valor Christian, continues league play at home against Terra Nova.
“The guys on the field were playing hard and they wanted to keep that zero on the scoreboard and they managed to do that," said Ravipati.
