ATHERTON – Recent history in the Valpo Bowl favored Sacred Heart Prep, which took home the trophy in eight of the previous nine meetings with its Atherton neighbor Menlo School.
That included the last game of the COVID-19 truncated spring season less than seven months ago.
It’s the only loss the Knights suffered so far in 2021, with Saturday afternoon a perfect chance for the Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division champions to avenge that outcome and close out an undefeated regular season.
Mission accomplished in the 19th rendition of the rivalry: Menlo 18, SHP 15.
“I think we took that (loss) personally,” Menlo quarterback Sergio Beltran said. “We all remembered that coming into this game, and just being able to finish what we started meant a lot to the team.”
The 12th-ranked Knights (10-0) claimed the Valpo Bowl trophy for the first time since 2016 in unorthodox fashion on offense.
A high-powered aerial attack that produced at least 42 points in every game except one turned more horizontal than vertical against the Gators (3-7).
Instead of solely relying on the arm of Beltran, who last week broke a Central Coast Section record dating back to 1989 for most passing touchdowns in a single season, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound dual-threat QB heavily relied on his legs.
Through the air, Beltran finished 19 of 22 for 122 yards and an interception, tossing his 44th TD of the season on the game’s opening drive – a 3-yard shovel pass to tight end Cort Halsey.
On the ground, Beltran ran it 21 times for 129 yards, mostly between the tackles.
“We came in with a game plan of utilizing our athletes with quick passes and just let the receivers get yards after the catch,” Beltran said. “We aren’t really known for our running scheme or our tough physicality, so just being able to run on Sacred Heart Prep is a big achievement.”
“That’s the way the football game unfolded,” Menlo coach Todd Smith said. “It was kind of interesting, and I thought our offense did a great job in the second half of controlling the clock.”
The Knights were burned by a couple of fake punts, missed an extra point and couldn’t convert a couple of two-point tries.
But special teams, in the end, favored Menlo, beginning with a 47-yard punt by Ross Muchnick that pinned SHP at its own 2-yard line.
On the next snap, the Gators lost a fumble that floated into the waiting arms of Scola, who waltzed 3 yards into the end zone to make it 12-0 with 3:38 left until intermission.
“I mean, some call it luck, some call it skill,” said Scola, with a smile. “But I was just right place, right time. Picked it up and we went in.”
The Gators refused to go away in the second half, with sophomore Noto crossing the goal line on a 5-yard run to get within 12-7 with 4:14 left in the third quarter.
Menlo responded with a nine-play, 66-yard drive that culminated with a 9-yard touchdown run by Ty Richardson on the first play of the fourth quarter for much-needed insurance points.
SHP returned the ensuing kickoff past midfield, but after the drive stalled a 35-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Menlo junior Robby Enright with 9:59 remaining.
“A couple of miscues and we’re the ones jumping up and down,” Menlo coach Mark Grieb said.
The Knights nearly ran out the clock on a 16-play drive, but the Gators got one more chance with 87 seconds left.
Backup QB Jack Herrell made it interesting as he moved the ball 81 yards on eight plays, scoring on a 2-yard keeper with 17 seconds left, but Scola recovered the onside kick to seal the Valpo Bowl victory.
“I was just thinking, ‘Just get it,’” said Scola, who missed last week’s game with a head injury. “I know they might hit me in my head and coming right off my concussion it might hurt, but you’ve got to sacrifice something for the team. And that’s what I chose to do out there.”
Beltran, who’s certain to be a bit bruised and battered, also knows a little something about sacrificing your body.
“Tonight is going to be a night filled with ice and Advil,” Beltran said. “I do a good job of recovering, but just the adrenaline rush at the moment lets you forget about the pain. But it’s all fun.”
Both teams find out Sunday morning their opponent in the opening round of the CCS playoffs.
“I think we’ve got plenty of reason to be optimistic about CCS,” Grieb said. “Our team’s played really hard, we’ve gotten better each week. I think our defense had a great effort today, that’s always huge in the playoffs. And our offense at times it just took a while to get things rolling, but we finished the game strong.”
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