HALF MOON BAY – On a type of nights that characterizes this coast-side group, with a thickening fog settling over the pumpkins patches with Halloween looming, Half Moon Bay struck the primary large blow of the Peninsula Athletic League soccer season.
In a Bay Division opener between groups ranked among the many Bay Space Information Group’s Prime 25, the No. 19 Cougars used a fourth-quarter landing and a late defensive stand to beat No. 7 Menlo-Atherton, 22-21, on Friday evening.
“It type of validates what we’re all about,” Half Moon Bay coach Keith Holden stated. “It’s not excellent and generally it’s ugly, however we’re scrappy and we’re going to play onerous. It validates our blue-collar work ethic.”
M-A (2-3), enjoying with out College of Oregon-bound receiver Jurrion Dickey, out indefinitely with an unspecified damage, had first-and-goal on the Half Moon Bay 6-yard line with 1:35 left. Nevertheless, three penalties and an 18-yard sack by blitzing Ayden Courtney took the Bears out of the vary of gifted field-goal kicker Sprint Franklin. A fourth-down heave by Billy Johnson was knocked down on the goal-line by Dio Lucido with eight seconds left.
Half Moon Bay (5-0) gained with an influence operating recreation regardless of a dimension drawback. P.J. Modena, hampered by a torn meniscus he injured enjoying baseball final spring, rushed for 131 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns. He needed to be faraway from the sport within the second quarter due to the ache, however on the Cougars’ decisive drive – one which took 17 performs to cowl 54 yards – Modena carried 13 instances, typically whereas dragging defenders for additional yards.
Twice he transformed on fourth down, and the Cougars had been content material to select up two or three yards per play as a result of the mathematics added as much as preserve the chains shifting, being keen to make use of all 4 tries.
“P.J.’s a monster,” quarterback Liam Harrington stated. “He’s not the largest man, however he’s sturdy. He doesn't care. He'll put his head down and run by anybody. It’s superior. And we love him for it.”
However on fourth-and-goal from the 4, Holden’s calculations referred to as for the primary go within the sequence and the play rapidly fell aside due to Menlo-Atherton’s strain. Flushed to his left and attempting to bide time earlier than being knocked out of bounds, Harrington floated the ball to the again nook of a crowded finish zone and into the fingers of Owen Miller for the go-ahead landing with 7:50 left.
“It was only a response play,” Harrington stated. “It was meant for our bottom tight finish, however the play was type of busted and I simply discovered a smooth spot,”
Miller stated. “We’ve been enjoying with one another for a very very long time, we’ve bought fairly good chemistry, So, he’s scrambling. I’ll attempt to discover a spot and he’ll attempt to discover me … And it’s a landing – six factors.”
Mentioned M-A coach Chris Saunders, “We had it defended, we had it sniffed out. We’ve bought to remain in protection. That’s been considered one of our Achilles heels. Towards Del Oro (a 42-13 loss), we gave up 35 factors on damaged performs.”
M-A was set to depend on operating again Sherrod Smith, who bought the staff again within the recreation earlier with a 78-yard landing run by which he bolted by the road seemingly earlier than Half Moon Bay even knew he had the ball. That led to 21 unanswered factors after the Bears trailed 15-0.
However Smith, who completed with 154 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns, was stripped of the ball and Half Moon Bay’s Connor Heath recovered, resulting in a 27-yard field-goal attempt in an effort to clinch. However the low kick was blocked by Johno Value, giving M-A one final probability with 3:47 left, just for the Cougars to carry.
“It took all the things that we had,” stated Modena, who has rushed for 782 yards this season. “That’s Cougar Pleasure for us. That’s what this staff and this group is all about. I’ve been enjoying with these guys for seven years, since Pop Warner. We'd like one another. We push ‘til we are able to’t no extra.”
M-A coach Chris Saunders stated he modified to a extra run-oriented gameplan in Dickey’s absence, however it was clear the Bears missed him. So did Half Moon Bay.
“I used to be disenchanted,” stated Harrington, a two-way participant. “I actually wished him to play. We don’t get to play towards guys like that every single day. If he had been to play, that will have been superior. We had been anticipating him to play. We wished that problem.”
