ATHERTON, CA - Sacred Heart Prep’s defense had a memorable day on Friday, shutting down Terra Nova’s typically explosive offense with three sacks, three fumbles and an interception in a 16-7 win.
In all, the Gator defense held Terra Nova, which had been throwing for over 250 yards per game, to just 184 total yards on a sunny afternoon in Atherton.
“Sacred Heart Prep had a very good game plan today,” said Terra Nova coach Tim Adams. “Coach Grieb had them playing hard. They did an outstanding job.”
The previously high-flying Tiger offense was all but silenced in the second half, running just three plays in Gator territory. The third and final of those plays was the second of three Terra Nova fumbles on the day, which was forced by Ronan Donnelly and recovered by Robert Thompson.
If one star had to be picked out of an SHP defense that put up a sterling performance from top to bottom, Thompson would be that star. He collected two sacks and was effectively responsible for a third on an intentional grounding penalty.
All of the sacks were crucial plays, too. Each sack cost Terra Nova (4-3, 0-2 PAL Bay) at least six yards. The Tigers lost 43 rushing yards on negative plays and finished the day with just 12 rushing yards as a team.
Nathan Gordon had thrown for at least three touchdowns in every game this year but was held without one on Friday, the first time he’s been held without a passing touchdown in ten games. It wasn’t for a lack of effort on his part, though. Gordon still completed 17 of his 21 passes for 172 yards despite having minimal time behind an injury-riddled offensive line. His longest completion of the day, a 51-yard strike to Jackson Kubal, set up Brandon Auelua’s four-yard touchdown run to tie the game with 5:57 remaining in the second quarter.
From there, Sacred Heart Prep (2-5, 1-2) took over, embarking on the first of two lengthy drives that effectively decided the game. The Gators chewed up nearly five minutes before Peter Larson’s 39-yard field goal gave them a 10-7 lead with 59 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Gator defense forced a three and out to open the second half, and after the teams traded fumbles on their ensuing drives, SHP went on an 11-play, 60-yard drive that covered 6:31 on the game clock before quarterback Brad Yaffe finally finished the drive with a two-yard plunge into the end zone on fourth and 1. It was a methodical sojourn down the field, with Yaffe’s 21-yard pass to Garrett Gavello as the only play covering more than ten yards.
Gavello did a bit of everything for the Gators, collecting a sack and hauling in a 32-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter from Yaffe for the opening score of the game.
After Yaffe’s touchdown stretched the lead to 16-7 (the extra point was missed), Terra Nova never mounted a serious threat in the final 13-plus minutes. Jack Moultrup intercepted a deep pass on the opening play of the fourth quarter, John Carroll recovered a fumble to end Terra Nova’s following drive, and the Tigers had to punt on 4th and 21 with just over five minutes remaining. From there, the Gators picked up three first downs and ran out the clock for Mark Grieb’s first league win as a head coach.
“I thought we really won the battle up front,” said Grieb. “We had to dominate the line of scrimmage, and we did.”
“We’ve fought some tough games against really good opponents,” the two-time ArenaBowl MVP noted. SHP’s five losses have come to teams with a combined 30-6 record.
Both Terra Nova and Sacred Heart Prep are effectively out of the league title race with two league losses apiece, but both will need wins in order to secure a playoff spot. The PAL Bay’s top four teams receive automatic berths. Both teams will be at home next Friday, with SHP’s lone night game of the year coming against Burlingame while Terra Nova will host Menlo-Atherton.
