Bellarmine is back, stuns No. 5 Menlo-Atherton
Bellarmine coach Jalal Beauchman requested a moment to gather his thoughts and emotions after Friday night’s instant classic at San Jose City College.
Unranked in the Bay Area News Group preseason poll, the Bells went toe-to-toe with No. 5 MenloAtherton in a nearly 3 1/2-hour thriller under jeopardy of postponement because of poor air quality across the Bay Area from numerous wildfires.
After a 60-minute delay prior to kickoff, Bellarmine announced itself as a team to watch under its second-year coach with a stunning 56-41 triumph.
“The spring was a unique season, but this kind of feels like a normal season and really my first win; my first big win,” said Beauchman, hired in March 2020 to revitalize the varsity program at his alma mater.
Bellarmine (1-0) couldn’t feel safe until the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard.
Twice it relinquished the lead, unable to capitalize on an early 14-0 advantage and once again finding itself trailing entering the fourth quarter.
The Bells relied on quarterback Wade Smith to ignite the offense in the first half. The 6-foot2, 195-pound signal-caller connected with fellow senior Chris Jaeb for a 71-yard touchdown on the team’s opening possession. He also rushed for 103 yards and a pair of TDs (31, 10) to put his team ahead at the half, 21-20.
Smith’s duties took a backseat after intermission, with the offensive line doing the heavy lifting in the trenches.
“My job was a lot easier just handing the ball off a lot of the time,” Smith said. “And it was definitely fun to see.”
NO. 13 BENICIA 62, PINOLE VALLEY 6 >> A newcomer to the Top 25, Benicia opened its season with a statement. The Panthers dropped 33 in the first quarter and had run up 55 points by halftime. Star athletes Croix Stewart and Simeon Harris each took returns to the house, and Harris added another score through the air, one of three touchdown passes thrown by QB Tyson Wallace. Benicia’s offensive output may have been outdone by its defense: Pinole Valley completed one pass for six yards and totaled minus-4 yards on 20 rushing attempts. Nathan Chau gave Pinole Valley its only points of the game with a 99-yard kickoff return to start the third quarter. RB/LB Janari Boone was all over the field for Benicia with rushing and receiving touchdowns and 74 yards from scrimmage, in the first half. NO. 16 CALIFORNIA 49, NO. 15 JAMES LOGAN 7 >> Even though California held a 21-7 lead entering halftime against host James Logan, the Colts had grabbed some momentum in the last 90 seconds by scoring a touchdown and then nabbing an interception. But California marched 70 yards for a touchdown on its opening drive of the second half and limited No. 15 James Logan to 54 total yards in the second half. Teddy Booras completed 15 of 23 passes for 169
yards and two touchdowns.
NO. 17 ST. IGNATIUS 28, PALO ALTO 7 >> St. Ignatius watched as game after game fell victim to wildfire smoke. Quarterback Aidan Smith and his teammates boarded the bus, then had their own bout of uncertainty. They had to disembark and were left waiting for 15 minutes to receive word of their game down the peninsula at Palo Alto. They got the green light and came out revved up in front of their first full-scale crowd in almost two years, knocking off Paly 28-7, with Smith leading a balanced offensive performance. The Wildcats’ output on the ground: 124 yards; and through the slightly smoky air: 174 (about the same as the air-quality index that canceled many games throughout the region, but higher than the game-time readings in Palo Alto, with AQIs between 80-100). “We got the go-ahead, and that was all we needed,” said Smith, who completed 15 of 25 passes for 174
yards, including six of his seven attempts on the Wildcats’ scoring drive on their first possession of the game.
NO. 21 SAN LEANDRO 20, CARDINAL NEWMAN 17 >> The Pirates overcame a 14-0 deficit in the second half to win on the road against the perennial power from Santa Rosa in a season opener. Jonathan Martin scored two touchdowns for San Leandro, including the winner. QB Demetrius Freeney also scored a touchdown for San Leandro to pull the Pirates to within 14-6 in the third quarter. Martin’s first touchdown made it 14-12 and his second touchdown gave San Leandro the lead, 18-17. A two-point conversion widened the Pirates’ advantage to the final margin. San Leandro travels to Freedom, a winner over Hayward on Friday, on Sept. 3.
NO. 22 CAMPOLINDO 56, MOREAU CATHOLIC 21 >> The visiting Cougars broke a 14-14 tie with 28 straight points in the second quarter to take command. Campolindo 6-foot-3 junior Robbie Mascheroni had a huge game with six receptions for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Cougars quarterback Adam Harper completed 11 of his 16 pass attempts for 211 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Teammate Dashiell Weaver added 114 yards passing and a touchdown. Scott Linden had two receptions for 65 yards and a TD for Campolindo. On the ground, Max Rittmann rushed for 127 yards on only nine carries and a touchdown for the Cougars. SALINAS 42, NO. 24 HALF MOON BAY
The visiting Cowboys took a 25-7 second-quarter lead and didn’t look back in this opener. Salinas almost doubled-up the Cougars in first downs in the game (27-14) and racked up 534 yards of total offense. Half Moon Bay’s PJ Modena rushed for 183 yards on only 12 carries and scored a touchdown. Teammate Quinn McCauley added 95 yards on the ground on 13 carries. The Cougars’ William Moffitt also threw a 28-yard touchdown to Kai Zanette.
East Bay
AMADOR VALLEY 37, MILPITAS 7 >> Amador Valley raced to a 24-0 halftime lead and never looked back in a convincing win over host Milpitas. Marcus Hoerz and Kai Burgermeister led the onslaught with two touchdowns apiece. Burgermeister had a touchdown reception and ran for another six points. Hoerz scored both of his touchdowns on runs. Miles Tucker also ran for a touchdown and Riley Balch kicked a field goal. “We played really physical,” Dons coach Danny Jones said. “They didn’t have a first down until the second quarter.” Amador Valley was 8-3 in each of its last two full seasons. Milpitas scored its only touchdown after blocking a punt and taking over at the Amador Valley 5.
South Bay/Peninsula
LIVE OAK 41, GILROY 26 >> Xavier Catano rushed for two touchdowns and returned the secondhalf kickoff for another TD as the Acorns defeated their traditional rival in Friday’s opener. Nathan Williams, Trent Cousens and Jordan Fuentes also scored touchdowns on the ground for host Live Oak. Defensively, the Acorns’ Justin Kester-Johnson produced two sacks and also blocked a point-after-touchdown kick on special teams.
BRANHAM 50, GUNDERSON 6 >> Branham pulled away from the host Grizzlies in the second quarter to take a 36-0 halftime lead and went on to a commanding opening victory. Junior quarterback Will Augenstein didn’t throw an incompletion in the game and accounted for three touchdowns. Sophomore running back Elias Antillion rushed for two touchdowns, and another sophomore, Dylan Derhammer, added another touchdown on the ground. Gunderson scored on a 50yard slant from quarterback Josiah Rangel to Julian Cabrera on the first play of the third quarter, but penalties plagued the Grizzlies on some drives.
LEIGH 41, LINCOLN-SAN JOSE 14 >> Unbeaten in the spring, Leigh picked up where it left off as Aidan Goo caught a 68-yard touchdown pass from Aidan Williams on the first play and added a 39-yard touchdown reception. Williams finished 12 of 17 for 189 yards. Sam Betz ran for three touchdowns and kicked five extra points for the Longhorns, who have won six in a row dating to the spring. Leigh visits Gilroy next Friday. Lincoln is scheduled to play host to San Jose next Friday as the Big Bone game has been moved off of the Thanksgiving calendar. MOUNTAIN VIEW 31, THE KING’S ACADEMY 0 >>The host Spartans exploded to score all of their points in the second and third quarter in an impressive victory. Leo Navarro rushed for 221 yards on just 16 carries and scored two touchdowns. Quarterback Jackson Steffen completed 4 of his 7 pass attempts for 67 yards and two touchdowns.
PALMA 47, MITTY 0 >> Mitty’s trip to Salinas was a mismatch as host Palma took charge early and never let up. Palma scored 14 points in the first quarter and 27 more in the second to lead 41-0 at halftime. Quarterback Luke Rossi accounted for five touchdowns, including a 1-yard keeper for the first score and later a 72-yard run. The loss was Mitty’s seventh in a row dating to the 2019 season.. FREMONT-SUNNYVALE 28, EV
ERGREEN VALLEY 0 (CALLED AT HALFTIME, AIR QUALITY) >> Fremont built a 28-point first-half lead before the Evergreen Valley administration ended the game early because of poor air quality. RB Lenny Sinapati scored three of Fremont’s four touchdowns on 73 yards rushing and recorded two sacks on defense. The Firebirds’ other score came on a 77yard strike from QB Bronson Stein to sophomore Don Martinez. Fremont also got 29 yards rushing and six tackles from FB/ LB TJ Takafua.
SAN BENITO 10, SANTA TERESA 0
(CALLED AT HALFTIME, AIR QUALITY) >> San Benito led 10-0 when the game was called. The teams were walking off the field for halftime when they got word the game would not resume Friday night, first-year Santa Teresa coach Steve Papin said. There is a possibility the game will be finished Saturday, but Papin said he hadn’t heard a decision as of late Friday night. With Santa Teresa scheduled to play Branham on Thursday, it’s likely the game against San Benito will not be resumed. Papin said air quality in Hollister was fine when the game began, but it quickly climbed over the 150 mark, which is considered dangerous.
WESTMONT 42, MONTA VISTA 0 >> In a game played Thursday, Elijah Monroe, Zach Cepeda and Jacob Lang led the way offensively and Justin Temple and Quinton Hoang stood out on defense as Westmont rolled to the season-opening victory. “This was a very nice win to open the season,” coach Mark Kaanapu said.