The second-seeded Sacred Heart Prep Gators (10-1) didn’t allow the No. 7 Pacific Grove Breakers (7-4) a single point during the first half of their CCS Division IV playoff match on Saturday afternoon. Defensive powers Daniel Thaure, Derek Hunter, and Nick Salzman were a force to be reckoned with as they kept the Breakers out of Gator territory for the entirety of the first quarter, leading to a decisive 48-15 SHP win.
Thaure headed the Gator defense with six tackles and one assist while Salzman recovered a Breaker fumble in a valuable play that eventually resulted in a SHP touchdown during the first quarter.
“I feel like our defense was very strong,” Thaure said. “All in all, we probably blocked for over 300 yards. Our team was well-rounded as a whole, and our phenomenal linemen really got us the win.”
Plagued with injuries from its last match with Carmel, Pacific Grove head coach Chris Morgan added several JV players into the lineup for this week’s game. While the younger teammates held their own, they were still no match for the Gators’ seasoned starters.
SHP established its dominance early on as running back Ryan Gaertner scored the first touchdown of the game with a three-yard run. The ensuing kick by Brendan Spillane brought the score to 7-0 with 6:59 remaining in the first, setting up a lead that the Breakers never managed to take back.
“We played some good, solid Gator football,” Thaure said. “Our first couple of drives shut Pacific Grove out and set the tone for the rest of the game.”
A quarterback keeper by senior Kevin Donahoe brought in another four-yard touchdown, but the Gators weren’t finished yet. Capitalizing on a recovered fumble at the Breakers’ 37-yard line, SHP made quick use of two passes to wide receiver Rex Shannon to bring to ball to the 21. From there on, running back Andrew Segre carried the ball in for a touchdown on Pacific Grove’s left side with a minute to go in the first quarter.
“All of our players did great, but I think Segre’s performance stood out particularly well in my mind today,” Gators sophomore quarterback John Van Sweden said. Segre scored on touchdown runs of 21 and 2 yards, respectively, and rushed for 115 yards on 14 carries in the game.
With the score at 21-0, the Breakers finally began to gain momentum during the second quarter, seemingly locking the game into a stalemate before Donahoe finally broke free with a keep to make a 21-yard touchdown with 1:56 left in the first half.
Racing against the clock after Spillane’s resulting kickoff, Pacific Grove desperately tried for a last-minute field goal at the Gator 23. However, their attempt failed and the time wound down to make the score 28-0 at halftime.
“I think the game went really well, particularly during those first two quarters,” Van Sweden said. “We put out a solid blocking scheme, and our offensive and defensive lines both had a good push.”
The Gators continued their dominance into the third quarter, as Segre ran in a two-yard touchdown to give SHP a clear 34-0 supremacy over the Breakers. SHP then put in their aspiring younger players onto the field for the remainder of the game.
Breaker Dean Randall set the stage for his team’s first touchdown with a fumble recovery at the 40-yard line. A Gator timeout could not halt the Breakers’ rapid progression up the field, and Jason Leach put Pacific Grove’s name on the scoreboard in a 39-yard touchdown with 4:44 remaining in the third. Kicker Keenan Selbicky then followed with a two-point conversion resulting from a flubbed punt to make the game 34-8.
Gator sophomores Matt O’Dell and Andrew Robinson (76 rushing yards) extended SHP’s advantage with their first touchdowns as varsity players — a seven-yard run from O’Dell at the beginning of the fourth, followed by a five-yard run from Robinson - with 7:34 remaining in the game.
Meanwhile, Breaker Kevin Teskey completed the largest play of the game when quarterback Luke Lowell hit him with an 83-yard touchdown pass. Teskey dodged and sidestepped to avoid more than five SHP defenders before running the ball into the right side of the end zone.
“I’m proud of us,” Breaker sophomore Ryan Richardson said. “We didn’t give up even when I thought we might, and I’m just looking forward to really coming out and having a great season next year.”
Robinson’s touchdown brought an end to the game at 48-15, though Pacific Grove didn’t stop fighting until the end. Finally, after a fumble recovery by the Gators, SHP downed the ball in the final minute of play to bring an end to the Breakers’ season.
The victory allows SHP to continue its bid for the CCS championship in a semifinals home game against Soquel (9-2) Saturday afternoon. It will be a battle of the titans, pitting the Soquel Knights’ unstoppable offensive line against the Gators’ mighty offense.
“Soquel has an amazing running back (Fabiano Hale), who rushed for more than 300 yards during their last game against Carmel,” Thaure said. “If we want to pull off a win, we’re going to have to work really hard and practice downing the ball and tackling during our practices.”
