SAN MATEO, Calif. - Both San Mateo and Half Moon Bay came into their matchup with perfect records, but on Friday night one team looked a little more perfect than the other.
Valiant efforts by running back Tristan Hofmann (158 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and quarterback William Moffitt (113 passing yards, 44 rushing yards, two total touchdowns) led visiting Half Moon Bay to a 25-0 victory over San Mateo. The Cougars improved to 5-0 while the Bearcats drop to 4-1.
It was only fitting that Hofmann capped off the win with a 71-yard touchdown with just over a minute left to play because he was the one who got things going for the Cougars. On their first drive, the Cougars drove the ball 80 yards in a nearly six-minute drive, scoring on a 17-yard run by Hofmann.
"If we run a six-minute drive on our offense, we're taking a little air out of them on the offensive side of the ball and keeping our defensive guys fresh," said Half Moon Bay head coach Keith Holden. "It's a killer if a team drives down the field on the opening drive in six minutes; it deflates the defense a bit."
A 40-yard run by Lucas Castillo set the Bearcats up to score, but a missed field goal gave the ball back to Half Moon Bay. The Cougars then marched up the field and scored on a 12-yard touchdown catch by Cade Duncan, failing the two-point conversion and going up 13-0.
After a Bearcat punt, it seemed like the Cougars were going to score again, but the ball was stripped from the ball carrier and recovered by the defense.
Forcing a red zone turnover on downs, the Cougars started deep in their own territory but drove the ball deep down the field to score on a 3-yard rush by Moffitt, but failed the conversion which set the score at 19-0 just before the half.
"I trusted my teammates and coaches calling the offense, and it helps me stay cool because I don't want to give up, I want to fight until the game's over," Moffitt said.
For most of the second half, the action was limited. The Bearcats found their way deep inside Cougar territory three more times but came up empty due to a strong defensive stand by Half Moon Bay.
"It's assignment football, everybody's got a single assignment, and if we focus on our assignments and don't try to do too much, good things are going to happen," coach Holden said.
The Bearcats struggled in their first loss, taking the ball inside Half Moon Bay's 30-yard line on five of their eight drives, yet coming up with zero points.
"Half Moon Bay is an outstanding team and is strong in all aspects of the game, especially defense," said San Mateo head coach Jeff Scheller, whose team visits Sequoia (2-2) next week to open PAL-Ocean play. "We knew they were going to be tough on defense so I thought our offense did pretty well, we couldn't find a way to get in the end zone, but overall I'm proud of them."
On the flip side of things, the Cougars played hard, working the ground game, as well as Moffitt, getting things done with both his arm and legs.
"We work hard in practice and communicate as a team, and even if we mess up, we get back up and get the next play and fight as a team," Moffitt said. "We usually are a heavy run team, but we got to throw the ball today, and it worked out."
The Cougars will look to continue this season's success at Hillsdale (4-1) next Friday.
