MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – There’s a new kid on the block in the West Catholic Athletic League and CIF Central Coast Section, and if an entire team and coach can qualify as a kid then there are three new kids on the block in the southern portion of the Bay Area, and all three reside within the Archbishop Mitty-San Jose football team.
Shamir Bey, a 6-3, 190-pound junior that was the WCAL Sophomore of the Year and makes the preseason top 100 for the class of 2020 on more than one recruiting list, is the singular new star to emerge this season in WCAL and CCS, but without some talented Monarchs teammates and a new head coach that’s no stranger to the CCS, there’s no way Mitty could have pulled off a 42-14 dismantling of an Oakdale team that most analysts felt was a favorite coming into a Saturday 12 noon Honor Bowl matchup.
Bey didn’t put up astronomical numbers, but he played more like a man amongst boys despite his underclass status, and converted several third and fourth down situations with a cool demeanor.
Against a formidable opponent like Oakdale his stat line was still very solid after Bey was 13 of 21 passing for 229 yards and four touchdowns, and he rushed for 68 yards including a 30-yard scamper to pay dirt with Mitty facing a third-and-six after Bey had already converted third-and-seven and fourth-and-four situations earlier in a second quarter drive that culminated in the Bey score that gave the Monarchs a 19-0 lead.
We’ll come back to the supporting cast but for now skip to first-year Coach Sione Ta'ufo'ou. After a somewhat successful five-year stint at Menlo-Atherton, Ta’ufo’ou, who took a hiatus as a head coach but continued coaching and scouting in the Bay Area, has seemingly breathed new life into the Mitty program.
Prior to the game Ta’ufo’ou laid out what it was going to take to stop the vaunted ground game of Oakdale and win the game.
“Formation recognition, match their intensity, our line has to match theirs, on offense our players need to make plays and our quarterback can’t try to do it all himself,” Ta’ufo’ou said.
After the game when those five things were repeated back to Ta’ufo’ou the coach’s response with a wry smile said it all. “Check, check, check, check, check.”
Mitty (1-0) got a 32-yard return on the opening kickoff from 6-3, 190-pound senior Joseph Vaughn and from there Bay went to work orchestrating a nine-play 50-yard drive that included a fourth-and-nine 12-yard completion to Vaughn and culminated in an 11-yard TD pass to so senior Andrew Deane that gave Mitty a 6-0 lead, and although no one in the house knew it at the time, began an onslaught that would see Mitty take a 26-0 lead at halftime.
After the first score Mitty stopped Oakdale after one first down and after getting the ball back at their own 18-yard line and after Chaz Saenz got seven yards on two running plays Bey found senior Dion DuPree and he waltzed 75-yards to pat dirt to make it 13-0 Mitty. The third Mitty TD came after the teams exchanged punts, and Bey gained 20-yards on a fourth-and-four before racing for his 30-yard TD run to make it 19-0 midway through the second quarter. The final score of the half came after Mitty recovered a fumble at the Oakdale 34 and four plays later Vaughn went up and over two defenders for a 4-yard TD catch and for all intents and purposes the deal was sealed for the Monarchs.
Oakdale (1-1) came out fired up in the second half and after a touchback on the kickoff the Mustangs drove 80-yards in 14 plays culminated by a 6-yard run by sophomore running back Zeke Saffer to make it 26-7 but Bey brought the Monarchs right back on a 12-play, 65-yard drive that ended on an 8-yard halfback option pass from junior James Thomas to senior tight end James Mahoney and at 33-7 with only 34.3 seconds left in the third quarter the hopes of a comeback by Oakdale was now fully dashed.
Bay would throw his fourth touchdown pass on a 29-yarder to Thomas and Oakdale got a second TD on a fourth down 1-yard plunge by Max Moore, but when senior linebacker Matthew Scott got credit for a safety in the closing seconds it was the end of a statement game for a Monarchs team that very well may be factor in this year’s WCAL race.
“I wouldn’t say it was a statement to the WCAL but a sign that we’re going to be playing Mitty football, Ta’ufo’ou said.
“We knew Oakdale would be a test but I believed in our guys,” Ta’ufo’ou continued. “They went about this game with a mature nature, they were hungry. Now the question is how can we get better?”
That’s probably a question other coaches in the WCAL are asking as well.
As for Bey he took it in stride and gave a lot of credit to Ta’ufo’ou.
“Coach brought a new sense of family and culture and got our trust right away,” Bey said and then added. “But this was just one game and we have to keep working to get better.”
Bey was named the MVP for Mitty and Mahoney got the character award. Saffer was the MVP for Oakdale and Caleb Kuppens was the character award winner.
It won’t get any easier next week for Mitty as Bey and company host a Menlo-Atherton team that made a statement of its own in a 28-0 blanking of host Bellarmine on Friday night at San Jose City College.
Serra versus Serra battle goes to Cavaliers in impressive win over Padres
The Saturday nightcap and final game of the 2018 Honor Bowl was projected to be best of the five-game, two-day affair, and it was entertaining, but in the end defending CIF Division 2-AA Bowl Game champion Serra-San Mateo could not match the firepower of Serra-Gardena (1-0) and the Padres fell 41-22 to the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers were sloppy early and ended up committing a ton penalties two of which killed their first two drives but the Padres could not take advantage of good field position and after senior quarterback Luke Bottari threw an interception with the team driving in the red zone hoping to opening the scoring, the Cavaliers woke up and took charge.
Starting from their own 18 yard line the Cavaliers drove all the way to pay dirt in 13 plays for a 7-0 lead they would never relinquish. After misfiring on his first four passes Cavaliers 6-5, 185-pound junior quarterback with an offer from Utah and interest from several Pac-12 schools, orchestrated the drive that culminated in an 11-yard TD run by bruising 5-11, 215-pound junior running back Jaylon Armstead.
After a three-and-out by the Padres the Cavaliers got the ball back on their own 25 and just like that it was 14-0 in the early second quarter after Brumfield found 6-2, 174-pound senior Justin Lockhart for 23 and 38-yard completion and then capped the three-play drive with a 14-yard TD pass Melquan Stovall.
On the ensuing drive Serra (0-1) used a trick play option pass from Patrick Simon to 6-0, 170-pound junior wide receiver Terence Loville that went for 47-yards to get the ball to the 3-yard line. After a 1-yard loss David Coker scored on a 4-yard TD run and at 14-7 the Padres oooked like they had life.
Loville ended the Cavaliers next drive with an interception but all the Padres could do was go three-and-out and the Cavaliers took a commanding 21-7 lead with 53.1 seconds left in the half when Brumfield connected with Lockhart on a 23-yard TD pass that swung all the momentum back to the boys from Gardena.
The Cavaliers went up 28-7 on a 5-yard run by Stovall with 8:38 left in the third quarter but the Padres were not quite done. The San Mateo boys went on their best offensive drive of the night after driving 64 yards in 17 plays culminating in a 2-yard keeper by Bottari that closed it to 28-14, but the drive used up almost everything left in the tank.
From there Brumfield threw two more TD passes, a 25-yarder to Lockhart and a 22-yarder to Stovall to give the Cavaliers a 41-14 lead before Bottari closed out the scoring midway through the fourth quarter when he found Simon for a 24-yard TD reception.
Brumfield was named the MVP for the Cavaliers after passing for 374 yards and four touchdowns. After catching seven passes for 129 yards and getting the intere3ption on defense Loville was named the MVP for the Padres.
The Honor Bowl is more than about football. It’s about honoring those that have served and are serving or have lost their lives while serving in the US Armed Forces. Prior to the start of the final game there was a touching ceremony that was a highlight of the day involving Gold Star families that have lost sons or daughters while in service of their country.
