Nick Schultz (21) and Max Parker (10) get ready for a kickoff. Schultz forced a fumble and Parker kicked two touchbacks in Friday's game versus Mission. (Photo credit: Spencer Toms)
Senior wide receiver Tommy Ford hauled in the game-winning touchdown catch midway through the fourth quarter and the Menlo defense forced an incompletion on their own 10-yard line as time expired to secure a 16-12 victory over the Mission Bears in Atherton on Friday afternoon.
Ford, who ended the night with four receptions for 101 yards, scored on a 30-yard pass with 6:51 left from sophomore quarterback Jack Heneghan to give Menlo (2-0) the lead for good. Ford’s touchdown was set up by a stellar defensive effort by the Knights defense, which caused a turnover on downs to give the offense excellent field position.
“The backside seam was wide open the entire game,” Ford said. “Jack [Heneghan] stepped up, threw a nice pass, nice easy catch for a touchdown.”
The Knights, who won on a last second touchdown over Santa Cruz last Friday, made things interesting on the last drive of the game for Mission (1-1). After both teams traded fumbles late in the fourth quarter, senior quarterback Davon Hargraves moved the Bears quickly downfield with deep passes to junior wide receiver Demitrius Thibeaux and senior wide receiver Algeron Malbrough. After Malbrough’s 29-yard catch put Mission on the Menlo 10-yard line, the Bears had time for one last play. Menlo’s defense pressured Hargraves into an incomplete pass as time expired however, preserving the Menlo victory.
“Our defense is one of the top defenses in our league,” senior linebacker Spencer Buja said. “We have some really good players on the line and some really good defensive backs and linebackers.”
The Menlo defense forced five fumbles on Friday, recovering two of them, and forced an interception.
Heru Peacock (24) had two carries for nine yards in the Menlo win over Mission. (Photo credit: Spencer Toms)
Neither team scored in the first quarter, but a 26-yard run by senior running back Dylan Mayer, who finished the night with 58 all-purpose yards, put Menlo into field goal range. Junior kicker Timmy Costa, who made the game-winning PAT in Menlo’s wild 19-18 comeback win last week, nailed a 36-yard field goal to put the Knights ahead 3-0 with 6:43 left in the second quarter.
Later in the second quarter junior cornerback and wide receiver Connor Stastny picked off Hargraves’s pass in Mission territory. After a 32-yard catch by senior wide receiver Chris Reed, Stastny caught a short ball from Heneghan and darted into the end zone from 15 yards out to put Menlo on top 10-0.
“We weren’t playing our best at the time and the interception really set the tone,” Stastny said. “I just got the ball and all I saw was a touchdown.”
Mission answered right back to cut Menlo’s halftime lead to 10-6. Junior quarterback Antoine Porter led the Bears downfield before catching a 20-yard touchdown from Hargraves with 30.4 seconds left in the half.
In the third quarter, after seven consecutive runs, Mission took a 12-10 lead with senior tight end Oscar Campos’s 24-yard touchdown reception before Ford caught his game-winning touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
Non-league
Menlo School 0 10 0 6 — 16
Mission (San Francisco) 0 6 6 6 — 12
Menlo — Costa 36 kick
Menlo — Stastny 15 pass from Heneghan (Costa kick)
Mission — Porter 20 pass from Hargraves (2 pt. failed)
Mission — Campos 24 pass from Hargraves (2 pt. failed)
Menlo — Ford 30 pass from Heneghan (2 pt. failed)
(Left to right) Menlo captains Tommy Ford, Dylan Mayer, Chris Reed and Chris Zeisler join hands for the pre-game coin toss. (Photo credit: Spencer Toms)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Menlo, Mayer 9-53, Bradley 10-18, Peacock 2-9, Stastny 2-3, Reed 1-0. Mission, Malbrough 9-57, Porter 8-41, Hargraves 8-26, Davis 5-14. Totals: Menlo 24-83; Mission 30-138.
PASSING: Menlo, Bradley 15-120, Heneghan 12-104. Mission, Hargraves 16-145, Porter 3-27. Totals: Menlo 27-224; Mission 19-172.
RECEIVING: Menlo, Ford 4-101, Reed 3-48, Paterson 3-33, Stastny 1-15, Parker 1-14, Osborne 1-8, Mayer 1-5. Mission, Malbrough 3-56, Porter 3-43, Thibeaux 2-42, Campos 1-24, Davis 1-7. Totals: Menlo 14-224; Mission 10-172.
Records: Menlo 2-0; Mission 1-1.
Menlo cornerback Chris Reed lifting Mission quarterback Antoine Porter from his feet. Reed also caught three passes for 48 yards. (Photo credit: Spencer Toms)
Junior quarterback Matt Bradley scrambles against the Mission defense. Bradley ran for 18 yards and completed 15 passes for 120 yards in Friday's game. (Photo credit: Spencer Toms)
