* This game has really not been competitive for years but I guess the SMHS FB Coach, who is also the AD, cannot fire himself. Very sad indeed that a district school wallows in mediocrity in several sports. Since this game moved from Thanksgiving morning to earlier November, there has been little community fan-fare. CCS-CIF - just is positive that more must be better.
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Burlingame claims The Paw
By Nathan Mollat Daily Journal
Halftime of a football game is the point when coaching staffs make their adjustments based on what they saw in the first half. There is a hope that things can be better over the final two quarters.
San Mateo found itself in that position Saturday during the 88th annual Little Big Game against visiting Burlingame. The Bearcats trailed 28-0 at half, but hope always springs eternal going into the second half.
Until the Panthers smashed those hopes.
Burlingame took the second-half kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown and the rest of the game was spent simply trying to run out the clock. San Mateo did manage a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Burlingame’s second-team defense, but it was nowhere near enough as the Panthers beat San Mateo 35-6.
“That (kickoff return) was huge,” Burlingame coach John Philipopoulos said. “The kicking game is always a game changer. It’s nice to see the things you work on in practice … happen on the field.”
Vinny Ferrari had the kickoff initially bounce off his hands before scrambling to pick it up. He finally gained control at his own 12 and once he got past the initial wave of San Mateo defenders, the coast was clear and Ferrari took it to the house.
It was the second touchdown the Panthers scored on special teams. Cooper Gindraux’s 71-yard punt return midway through the first quarter gave Burlingame its first points of the game.
“Burlingame is a really good team,” San Mateo coach Jeff Scheller said. “They played a great game. We didn’t execute.”
San Mateo (5-5 overall) did some good things early. The defense was especially stout as that unit held Burlingame to just 28 yards in the first quarter.
Yet the Bearcats still trailed going into the second quarter because of an inability to track down Gindraux on that punt return. Gindraux fielded the ball at his own 29. He headed toward the left sideline, weaved his way back into the middle of the field before going down the right sideline untouched for a 71-yard return and a 7-0 Burlingame lead.
In the second quarter, Burlingame finally got its offense in gear. But the Panthers’ main cog, running back Laipeli Palu, was not involved. Palu finished the game with just three carries for eight yards.
“Palu wasn’t doing too much,” Scheller said. “We were saying we’ll let someone else beat us.”
Instead, it was Sean Saunders and Joevani Garcia who gouged the Bearcats on the perimeters. Using mostly fly sweeps, Saunders rushed for a team-high 68 yards and a touchdown on six carries and Garcia added 41 more on eight carries.
Burlingame quarterback Cameron Kelaita, after misfiring on his first five passes, completed his final two — a pair of 22-yard scoring passes to Gindraux.
In all, Burlingame had three second-quarter possessions. The Panthers scored on all three.
“We just weren’t in a good rhythm (early),” Philipopoulos said, adding he went to what they call their “turbo” offense, one in which they just pick up the pace without going to a full-blown no-huddle offense.
“We picked up the pace and got in a good rhythm and I think it wore [San Mateo] down a little,” Philipopoulos said.
Burlingame finished the game with 190 yards rushing from eight different runners.
Saunders, who moved into the starting lineup after an injury to Ben Williams two weeks ago, gave Burlingame a 14-0 lead halfway through the second quarter, capping a 12-play, 84-yard drive with a touchdown run of 7 yards.
“He ran really well,” Philipopoulos said. “All season long we’ve said we have depth at the running back position and we showed it today.”
After forcing San Mateo to punt on its next possession, the Panthers went to work again. Starting from the San Mateo 45, the Panthers needed just two plays to find the end zone. Garcia ripped off an 18-yard run on the first play and following an offside against the Bearcats, Kelaita hooked up with Gindraux, who ran a crossing route before turning the corner along the right sideline and beating the defender to the pylon.
Following Burlingame’s kickoff, Panthers linebacker Charles Stephenson sacked San Mateo quarterback Dallas Droz. The ball popped loose and Stephenson pounced on it at the San Mateo 10-yard line.
A holding penalty backed the Panthers up to the 22, but Kelaita found Gindraux again, this time on a post pattern, and the two hooked up for another 22-yard scoring strike to give Burlingame a 28-0 lead at halftime.
After Ferrari’s kickoff return to start the second half, Philipopoulos used his second team offense and defense.
That’s when San Mateo did the bulk of its damage. Running back Josh Fakava, who missed a large portion of the game after being staggered on a hit in the first quarter, returned in the fourth and finished with a game-high 76 yards on 11 carries. Anderson Perdomo, who also missed a couple of series after banging up his knee, also returned and accounted for San Mateo’s lone touchdown — a 4-yard run.
Droz also had a decent performance. Droz was making the first varsity start of career, filling in for an injured Austin Salvail. Droz connected on 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards. Joseph Baker was the main target, catching five passes for 59 yards.
For Philiopopoulos, he could not have asked for a better Saturday. Not only did Burlingame beat its rival, Philipopoulos got to rest his starters, as well as get the backups some significant playing time.
Scheller, meanwhile, believes better days are ahead for the Bearcats. A number of key players from this year’s team return for the 2016 season and it will be bolstered by a frosh-soph team that went 8-1 this season — losing their only game 10-9 against Burlingame.
“If we measure ourselves just by Burlingame, it looks like we’re a long ways away,” Scheller said. “But we have some good things coming down the line.”
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Burlingame claims The Paw
By Nathan Mollat Daily Journal
Halftime of a football game is the point when coaching staffs make their adjustments based on what they saw in the first half. There is a hope that things can be better over the final two quarters.
San Mateo found itself in that position Saturday during the 88th annual Little Big Game against visiting Burlingame. The Bearcats trailed 28-0 at half, but hope always springs eternal going into the second half.
Until the Panthers smashed those hopes.
Burlingame took the second-half kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown and the rest of the game was spent simply trying to run out the clock. San Mateo did manage a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Burlingame’s second-team defense, but it was nowhere near enough as the Panthers beat San Mateo 35-6.
“That (kickoff return) was huge,” Burlingame coach John Philipopoulos said. “The kicking game is always a game changer. It’s nice to see the things you work on in practice … happen on the field.”
Vinny Ferrari had the kickoff initially bounce off his hands before scrambling to pick it up. He finally gained control at his own 12 and once he got past the initial wave of San Mateo defenders, the coast was clear and Ferrari took it to the house.
It was the second touchdown the Panthers scored on special teams. Cooper Gindraux’s 71-yard punt return midway through the first quarter gave Burlingame its first points of the game.
“Burlingame is a really good team,” San Mateo coach Jeff Scheller said. “They played a great game. We didn’t execute.”
San Mateo (5-5 overall) did some good things early. The defense was especially stout as that unit held Burlingame to just 28 yards in the first quarter.
Yet the Bearcats still trailed going into the second quarter because of an inability to track down Gindraux on that punt return. Gindraux fielded the ball at his own 29. He headed toward the left sideline, weaved his way back into the middle of the field before going down the right sideline untouched for a 71-yard return and a 7-0 Burlingame lead.
In the second quarter, Burlingame finally got its offense in gear. But the Panthers’ main cog, running back Laipeli Palu, was not involved. Palu finished the game with just three carries for eight yards.
“Palu wasn’t doing too much,” Scheller said. “We were saying we’ll let someone else beat us.”
Instead, it was Sean Saunders and Joevani Garcia who gouged the Bearcats on the perimeters. Using mostly fly sweeps, Saunders rushed for a team-high 68 yards and a touchdown on six carries and Garcia added 41 more on eight carries.
Burlingame quarterback Cameron Kelaita, after misfiring on his first five passes, completed his final two — a pair of 22-yard scoring passes to Gindraux.
In all, Burlingame had three second-quarter possessions. The Panthers scored on all three.
“We just weren’t in a good rhythm (early),” Philipopoulos said, adding he went to what they call their “turbo” offense, one in which they just pick up the pace without going to a full-blown no-huddle offense.
“We picked up the pace and got in a good rhythm and I think it wore [San Mateo] down a little,” Philipopoulos said.
Burlingame finished the game with 190 yards rushing from eight different runners.
Saunders, who moved into the starting lineup after an injury to Ben Williams two weeks ago, gave Burlingame a 14-0 lead halfway through the second quarter, capping a 12-play, 84-yard drive with a touchdown run of 7 yards.
“He ran really well,” Philipopoulos said. “All season long we’ve said we have depth at the running back position and we showed it today.”
After forcing San Mateo to punt on its next possession, the Panthers went to work again. Starting from the San Mateo 45, the Panthers needed just two plays to find the end zone. Garcia ripped off an 18-yard run on the first play and following an offside against the Bearcats, Kelaita hooked up with Gindraux, who ran a crossing route before turning the corner along the right sideline and beating the defender to the pylon.
Following Burlingame’s kickoff, Panthers linebacker Charles Stephenson sacked San Mateo quarterback Dallas Droz. The ball popped loose and Stephenson pounced on it at the San Mateo 10-yard line.
A holding penalty backed the Panthers up to the 22, but Kelaita found Gindraux again, this time on a post pattern, and the two hooked up for another 22-yard scoring strike to give Burlingame a 28-0 lead at halftime.
After Ferrari’s kickoff return to start the second half, Philipopoulos used his second team offense and defense.
That’s when San Mateo did the bulk of its damage. Running back Josh Fakava, who missed a large portion of the game after being staggered on a hit in the first quarter, returned in the fourth and finished with a game-high 76 yards on 11 carries. Anderson Perdomo, who also missed a couple of series after banging up his knee, also returned and accounted for San Mateo’s lone touchdown — a 4-yard run.
Droz also had a decent performance. Droz was making the first varsity start of career, filling in for an injured Austin Salvail. Droz connected on 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards. Joseph Baker was the main target, catching five passes for 59 yards.
For Philiopopoulos, he could not have asked for a better Saturday. Not only did Burlingame beat its rival, Philipopoulos got to rest his starters, as well as get the backups some significant playing time.
Scheller, meanwhile, believes better days are ahead for the Bearcats. A number of key players from this year’s team return for the 2016 season and it will be bolstered by a frosh-soph team that went 8-1 this season — losing their only game 10-9 against Burlingame.
“If we measure ourselves just by Burlingame, it looks like we’re a long ways away,” Scheller said. “But we have some good things coming down the line.”
