http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/sports/2015-09-26/dons-hold-off-bearcats/1776425150841.html
San Mateo football coach Jeff Scheller said his best defense would be his team’s offense when the Bearcats faced cross-town rival Aragon Friday night.
And the Bearcats showed on their first drive that the Dons would be in for a long night as they took the opening kickoff and drove 83 yards on 15 plays, taking more than eight minutes off the clock.
“We challenged them,” said San Mateo coach Jeff Scheller. “Our game plan was to keep the ball out of their (Aragon’s) hands.”
All told, the Bearcats ran 39 plays in the first two quarters and racked up 289 yards of offense.
But Aragon showed its didn’t need to hold onto to the ball that long at all. The Dons answered right back, going 65 yards on just four plays, with Tanner Nguyen hooking up with Davion Cox for a 47-yard catch-and-run for the score.
The Dons used the big play all night long — offensively and defensively — as they beat the Bearcats 42-28 in a back-and-forth affair.
“I think [quick scores] are demoralizing (to the opposition),” said Aragon coach Steve Sell. “I think it adds pressure.”
Tanner Nguyen, Aragon’s senior quarterback, put together one of the best throwing performances in years for the Dons. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 352 yards.
“His accuracy is scary,” Sell said. “The reason we threw the ball so much, [San Mateo] declared they were going to try to stop the run.”
Devin Grant and Davion Cox were also pretty scary. Grant caught five passes for 143 yards, while Cox had six for 125, including the 47-yard touchdown.
Aragon running back Gabe Campos had only four carries on the night — but he scored three times.
“[Campos] is really good,” Sell said. “He’s an ideal flyback.”
San Mateo countered with a 1-2 rushing attack from Josh Fakava and Anderson Perdomo, who combined to rush for 327 yards and two touchdowns. Fakava finished with 193 yards and a score on 21 carries, while Perdomo had 134 yards and touchdown on 26 carries.
“Our goal is to rush for 175 (per game),” Scheller said. “The offensive line, I couldn’t be prouder of them. Our running backs ran really hard.”
While both offenses were humming for most of the night, it was a defensive play by Aragon (4-0 overall) that proved to be the turning point. After the Dons tied the score at 7, San Mateo started its ensuing drive on its own 20. After picking up an initial first down, Bearcats’ quarterback Austin Salvail dropped back and looked to the flat with a pass. The ball bounced off the receiver and Aragon defensive back, flew about seven yards downfield and was intercepted by Anthony Sandoval, who returned it 39 yards for the score.
“I think the biggest play was the interception,” Sell said. “Then they (San Mateo) had to play catch up.”
In less than two minutes, Aragon turned a 7-0 deficit into a 14-7 lead. When the Dons stopped San Mateo on fourth down on its next possession and scored three plays later on the first of Campos’ three rushing touchdowns to go up 21-7 with 6:23 to play in the first half.
“The turnovers, that’s been hampering us all year,” said Scheller said. “The ball seems to bounce away from us.”
The Bearcats, however, appeared to be unfazed. On their next drive, they showed some big-play abilities of their own as Fakava had runs of 42 and 28 yards — the later being a touchdown to cut the Aragon lead to 21-13.
Aragon came right back with its fourth touchdown of the half, with Campos sweeping into the end zone from 16 yards out to put the Dons up 28-13.
Back came San Mateo, scoring on a Salvail 11-yard scoring pass to Devin Dotson just before halftime as the Bearcats trailed 28-20 at the break.
Aragon recovered an onside kick to start the second half and starting on the San Mateo 49-yard line, needed just six plays to cover the distance, with VA Wilson capping the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to put Aragon up 35-20.
The defenses took over after that. San Mateo drove to the Aragon 2-yard line before the Dons took over on downs.
San Mateo defense, however, stood firm and forced the Dons to punt — the only punt of the night by either team.
The ball was nearly blocked and San Mateo took over at the Aragon 25.
“I thought that was going to be a big turn around,” Sell said. “If we punt, we’re going to lose.”
But the Bearcats were again stopped on downs inside the Aragon 10-yard line.
A couple of bad snaps and a fumble ended Aragon’s next drive and San Mateo took advantage, going 30 yards on eight plays, with backup quarterback Dallas Droz sneaking in from a yard out to cut the Aragon lead to 35-28 with 5:11 to play.
San Mateo appeared poised to get the ball back with Aragon facing a third-and-15 at its own 45. But Nguyen dropped back and arced a rainbow pass deep downfield that Grant ran under and caught for a 52-yard gain down to the San Mateo 8. Two plays later, Campos scored his third touchdown of the game to put the Dons up 42-28 with 1:15 to play.
Even with the loss, Scheller was pleased with the way his team played.
“[We] played well. We’re proud of them,” Scheller said. “We can take a lot out of this.”
San Mateo football coach Jeff Scheller said his best defense would be his team’s offense when the Bearcats faced cross-town rival Aragon Friday night.
And the Bearcats showed on their first drive that the Dons would be in for a long night as they took the opening kickoff and drove 83 yards on 15 plays, taking more than eight minutes off the clock.
“We challenged them,” said San Mateo coach Jeff Scheller. “Our game plan was to keep the ball out of their (Aragon’s) hands.”
All told, the Bearcats ran 39 plays in the first two quarters and racked up 289 yards of offense.
But Aragon showed its didn’t need to hold onto to the ball that long at all. The Dons answered right back, going 65 yards on just four plays, with Tanner Nguyen hooking up with Davion Cox for a 47-yard catch-and-run for the score.
The Dons used the big play all night long — offensively and defensively — as they beat the Bearcats 42-28 in a back-and-forth affair.
“I think [quick scores] are demoralizing (to the opposition),” said Aragon coach Steve Sell. “I think it adds pressure.”
Tanner Nguyen, Aragon’s senior quarterback, put together one of the best throwing performances in years for the Dons. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 352 yards.
“His accuracy is scary,” Sell said. “The reason we threw the ball so much, [San Mateo] declared they were going to try to stop the run.”
Devin Grant and Davion Cox were also pretty scary. Grant caught five passes for 143 yards, while Cox had six for 125, including the 47-yard touchdown.
Aragon running back Gabe Campos had only four carries on the night — but he scored three times.
“[Campos] is really good,” Sell said. “He’s an ideal flyback.”
San Mateo countered with a 1-2 rushing attack from Josh Fakava and Anderson Perdomo, who combined to rush for 327 yards and two touchdowns. Fakava finished with 193 yards and a score on 21 carries, while Perdomo had 134 yards and touchdown on 26 carries.
“Our goal is to rush for 175 (per game),” Scheller said. “The offensive line, I couldn’t be prouder of them. Our running backs ran really hard.”
While both offenses were humming for most of the night, it was a defensive play by Aragon (4-0 overall) that proved to be the turning point. After the Dons tied the score at 7, San Mateo started its ensuing drive on its own 20. After picking up an initial first down, Bearcats’ quarterback Austin Salvail dropped back and looked to the flat with a pass. The ball bounced off the receiver and Aragon defensive back, flew about seven yards downfield and was intercepted by Anthony Sandoval, who returned it 39 yards for the score.
“I think the biggest play was the interception,” Sell said. “Then they (San Mateo) had to play catch up.”
In less than two minutes, Aragon turned a 7-0 deficit into a 14-7 lead. When the Dons stopped San Mateo on fourth down on its next possession and scored three plays later on the first of Campos’ three rushing touchdowns to go up 21-7 with 6:23 to play in the first half.
“The turnovers, that’s been hampering us all year,” said Scheller said. “The ball seems to bounce away from us.”
The Bearcats, however, appeared to be unfazed. On their next drive, they showed some big-play abilities of their own as Fakava had runs of 42 and 28 yards — the later being a touchdown to cut the Aragon lead to 21-13.
Aragon came right back with its fourth touchdown of the half, with Campos sweeping into the end zone from 16 yards out to put the Dons up 28-13.
Back came San Mateo, scoring on a Salvail 11-yard scoring pass to Devin Dotson just before halftime as the Bearcats trailed 28-20 at the break.
Aragon recovered an onside kick to start the second half and starting on the San Mateo 49-yard line, needed just six plays to cover the distance, with VA Wilson capping the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to put Aragon up 35-20.
The defenses took over after that. San Mateo drove to the Aragon 2-yard line before the Dons took over on downs.
San Mateo defense, however, stood firm and forced the Dons to punt — the only punt of the night by either team.
The ball was nearly blocked and San Mateo took over at the Aragon 25.
“I thought that was going to be a big turn around,” Sell said. “If we punt, we’re going to lose.”
But the Bearcats were again stopped on downs inside the Aragon 10-yard line.
A couple of bad snaps and a fumble ended Aragon’s next drive and San Mateo took advantage, going 30 yards on eight plays, with backup quarterback Dallas Droz sneaking in from a yard out to cut the Aragon lead to 35-28 with 5:11 to play.
San Mateo appeared poised to get the ball back with Aragon facing a third-and-15 at its own 45. But Nguyen dropped back and arced a rainbow pass deep downfield that Grant ran under and caught for a 52-yard gain down to the San Mateo 8. Two plays later, Campos scored his third touchdown of the game to put the Dons up 42-28 with 1:15 to play.
Even with the loss, Scheller was pleased with the way his team played.
“[We] played well. We’re proud of them,” Scheller said. “We can take a lot out of this.”
