News Detail

PAL Bay Division PREVIEW: Sacred Heart Prep

8/30/2019

By Terry Bernal, San Mateo Daily Journal Staff

Head coach: Mark Grieb, 3rd year

2018: 4-1 PAL Bay, 11-2 overall, CCS Open Division III final

2019: Season Opener: Carlmont at Sacred Heart Prep, 2 p.m. Saturday

Key returners: Tevita Moimoi (sr., RB/ILB); J.P. Frimel (sr., TE/ILB); Peter Desler (jr., C/DT); Thomas Hardy (sr., FB/DE); Dante Cacchione (sr.,WR/DB/KR); Ronan Donnelly (sr., K/P/CB); Cole Gurtner (sr., G/T/DE); Bryant Gavello (sr., WR/CB).

Key newcomers: Teddy Purcell (jr., QB); Everett Banks (sr., WR/CB); Will Mackie (jr., DE/TE); Cav Williams (jr., TE/OLB); Ben Ramsey (jr., RB/OLB).

Outlook: The Gators overachieved last year and then some. After finishing below .500 in its two previous season, SHP lost just two games in 2018, one during the regular season to eventual Division 3-AA state champion Menlo-Atherton, and in the CCS Open Division III championship game in a 35-34 heartbreaker to Aptos.

“I didn’t predict that,” third-year head coach Mark Grieb said. “I was optimistic about our chances. You never really know because things happen during the season … it’s how does your team come together? There were a lot of things that came together that resulted in our season and we took advantage of it.”

Grieb not only took the quick turnaround as a point of pride, he had been keen on building toward the future. His underclassman quarterback Raymond Price III came into his own during the playoffs, but following the season the sophomore transferred to Menlo-Atherton, leaving a void at SHP.

Enter junior quarterback Teddy Purcell. Despite attempting just one varsity pass last year, the 6-1 dart thrower gives Grieb — a former quarterback himself — someone who can see over the top of big linemen such as 6-3 junior center Peter Desler and 6-1 senior Cole Gurtner.

“He’s just got a knack,” Grieb said. “He’s got touch, he’s got accuracy. If there’s one thing for me, having played the position myself, is you want to have a quarterback with accuracy.

“I’m excited to see what he does this year. We’ve really got some weapons outside … tight ends and slot receivers. I’m excited about our passing game. It should provide a good balance to what has traditionally been a good running game.”

Junior running back Tevita Moimoi is the centerpiece of Grieb’s fly offense. Surpassing the 1,000-yard plateau on his penultimate carry of the year in the CCS championship, the 2018 first-team all-Bay Division back figures to continue SHP’s tradition of rushers in pairing with hardnosed fullback Thomas Hardy.

“[Moimoi] was a stud last year,” Grieb said. “And he’s worked hard and got even better this year.”

The more Moimoi is on the field, the better, so he will see double duty as an inside linebacker alongside senior J.P. Frimel, who led the team in total tackles last year.

Grieb joked the goal is for his offense to score on every possession this season, but the Gators do have the option of turning to a good leg if field goal opportunities arise in Ronan Donnelly, who earned Bay Division Special Teams Player of the Year honors last season.

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