Bay Area Preps HQ football preview: No. 21 Sacred Heart Prep

“That’s the thing about high school, it can completely change in one year,” Grieb said. “You can go from being 3-7 to being 9-1 or 11-2, so who knows what this year holds? … Obviously, we’re going to be a different team, I think, in terms of our strengths and weaknesses and I’ll be excited to see how that unfolds.”

The void left after quarterback Raymond Price III transferred to M-A was quickly filled by Teddy Purcell, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound junior who spent last year on junior varsity and got stronger in the offseason.

“He played basketball and baseball, but on the weekends he’d been training and throwing the ball,” Grieb said.

Purcell will have the luxury of handing the ball to Tevita Moimoi, a 6-foot, 220-pound bruiser in the backfield who ran for 1,005 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior — and plans to increase his impact in the passing game.

“He’s just a phenomenal player and phenomenal person,” Grieb said. “He’s definitely one of our leaders and he’s been doing a great job of getting all the guys fired up and working hard in the summer.”

Moimoi is one of four captains for the Gators. That group also includes:

• Fullback/defensive Thomas Hardy: “He’s just a hardworking, do-anything-you-ask-type of guy — and versatile,” Grieb said. “He has that curse of being able to play a bunch of different positions, so we ask to do all kinds of things.”

• Tight end/inside linebacker J.P. Frimel: “Very tough, smart kid — really unselfish,” Grieb said.

• Center/defensive tackle Peter Desler, the only junior in the foursome: “Just by the fact that he was voted as a captain and his work ethic and his leadership with our offensive line, I think he played a key role in our success last year,” Grieb said. “And I expect him to play an even bigger role this year.”

SHP also returns wide receiver/slot back Dante Cacchione and kicker Ronan Donnelly — both first-team all-PAL Bay selections as juniors.

“I would expect us to continue to be stingy on defense and be able to control the football and score a lot of points on offense,” Grieb said. “I think we’re going to be a little more balanced than we were last year as far as being able to throw the ball, which is exciting because I think we have some weapons outside that can really stretch defenses vertically, as well as with our fly offense stretching defenses horizontally.”

No. 21 Sacred Heart Prep

Last season: 11-2

PAL Bay: 4-1

 

Key matchups: at Menlo-Atherton, Oct. 18; Menlo School at Sequoia, Nov. 8

Key returners: Tevita Moimoi, Sr., RB; J.P. Frimel, Sr., TE/MLB; Thomas Hardy, Sr., FB/DE; Peter Desler, Jr., C/DT; Dante Cacchione, Sr., SB/WR

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