Football Game of the Week: SHP at M-A

M-A earned the victory in that one en route to a Bay Division crown, shutting down the Gators’ offense, led by first-year varsity quarterback, Raymond Price III, for a 30-0 victory.

This year — with the two teams meeting Friday at M-A at 7 p.m. — Price has moved across town, transferring to M-A. The roster shakeup opened the door for another first-year varsity quarterback, SHP junior Teddy Purcell, to step into the starting role and blaze a trail with the Gators off to a 5-1 start, including 2-0 in league play.

Sacred Heart Prep head coach Mark Grieb was adamant that Price is not forgotten, though.

“He’s not just another player, no,” Grieb said. “Not when he spent an entire year at Sacred Heart. Just having got to know him and work with him, and many of the guys on the team were disappointed when he left. So, I wouldn’t say that at all. … But I think there will be some motivation on both sides.”

Price and the M-A Bears (1-0 PAL Bay, 3-3 overall) have faced a challenging schedule, though. Coming off a championship hat trick — Bay Division, Central Coast Section and CIF state titles in 2018 — first-year head coach Steve Papin inherited a beastly schedule. The Bears went on to drop three straight to Serra, East-Salt Lake City, and Folsom.

So, while it seems strange to hear the mighty PAL Bay Division schedule is like coming back to Earth for M-A, this is precisely how Papin summed it up.

“Excited,” Papin said. “Getting into league after taking on the Easts and the Folsoms, now we have a chance to settle down and play some football.”

M-A, however, is on its best roll of the Papin era. The Bears have won two in a row, both by way of blowout. They took down Arroyo Grande two weeks ago 46-13, before opening Bay Division play with a 47-23 victory over Terra Nova.

“Going into it our goal was to win the Bay league,” Papin said. “We kind of thought it was a three-headed monster we have to get through, and Sacred Heart Prep happens to be the first one. … So, we definitely have to bring our ‘A’ game [Friday].”

What’s just as impressive is the way M-A has been getting it done. The distribution on offense has been stunning. Sophomore Thomas Taufui made his first start of the season at running back in the Arroyo Grande win Oct. 4. Now, with 220 yards rushing on 37 carries, he has proven a sturdy complement to senior tailback Francisco Sanchez, with 297 yards on 63 carries.

And even with dynamic junior playmaker Troy Franklin at wide out, M-A still has four receivers with 200-plus yards. Franklin leads the pack with 480 receiving yards and six TD catches, but sophomore Jalen Moss (249 yards), senior JD Carson (234 yards) and senior Justin Anderson (211 yards) have proved viable targets when defenses get consumed with double and triple teaming Franklin.

At quarterback, Price got his first serious reps Oct. 11 against Terra Nova after sitting out the first four games as per CCS transfer rules. Sophomore Matt Macleod has been the go-to QB, currently passing at 58.1% for 1,137 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“We’re kind of gradually getting [Price] in,” Papin said. “[Macleod] has done a great job even though we’ve suffered some losses. … [Friday], for us, we’re hoping it’s just another game for [Price].”

If things go anything like they did last year, Friday’s game should hinge on the effectiveness of Sacred Heart Prep’s running game. The vaunted Bears defensive line led the charge in shutting out the Gators last year.

“It didn’t go well last year,” Grieb said. “The defensive front that M-A had last year … was probably one of the best, if not the best, in the four years that I’ve been at Sacred Heart. That’s first and foremost. And they came out and shut the run down, and shut the pass down.”

SHP (2-0, 5-1) is healthier in that senior two-way standout Tevita Moimoi has been a force, totaling 565 rushing yards while averaging 6.8 yards per carry.

The test for M-A will be how fast junior defensive end Fale Mosley and senior linebacker Joey Posthauer get back up to speed. The two have combined for eight tackles for loses this season, but Mosley missed last week’s Terra Nova game due to injury, and Posthauer hasn’t played since the Sept. 27 loss to Folsom.

“Getting [Posthauer] back as well, he’s a major key force, especially with a defense like this,” Papin said.

Sacred Heart Prep has been something of a Jekyll-and-Hyde act this season. The Gators looked really bad Week 3 in a stunning 40-0 loss to Half Moon Bay. Since then, they have trounced Hillsdale 41-6, Terra Nova 42-10 and Aragon 62-7.

Now, Grieb’s Gators face their toughest test over the next three weeks, looking at M-A and undefeated King’s Academy, followed by Burlingame.

“I think in the next three weeks we’re going to have some tough challenges,” Grieb said. “It was great to get started off with a couple wins but I think these next three weeks are going to be really interesting and important in determining who wins the league.”