Capuchino High running back Travis Stansberry knows how tough it is to lose a loved one. So when it comes time to football, he treats every carry as if he's running in his family's memory.
"The coaches tell me I'm at my best when I go up the gut," said Stansberry, who has lost his dad, an aunt and two cousins all in the last three years. "I'm here to bring it."
That's exactly what the Mustangs did on Saturday. Stansberry rushed for 88 of the team's 232 yards in a 28-13 win over host Menlo-Atherton. Capuchino (1-1) kept the ball on the ground for all of two plays, rushing 52 times. Ramy Salah had 71 yards on just three carries, including a 66-yard burst up the middle on his first carry in the fourth quarter that set up Kim Mitchell's 5-yard touchdown run that put Capuchino ahead 21-6 with 6:59 to go. Kevin Wild capped a stellar day for the Mustangs' defense by returning an interception 15-yards for a touchdown to make it 28-6 with 1:54 remaining.
"Our defense knows they played poorly last week," Mustangs coach Adam Hyndman said. "The tape doesn't lie. They came back today and really gave us the lift we needed. Jake Richardson and Ramy were the key guys. They get in the huddle and set the tone."
Combine Capuchino's relentless defense and Menlo-Atherton's sputtering offense, and what ensued was a defensive struggle in the first half. The Bears (0-2), in particular, finished with only 50 yards rushing on 29 carries. They've scored only 12 points in two games, and their offensive futility was evident from the start. They gained only four first downs and 163 yards of total offense, 60 of which came on their last two plays when the outcome had long been decided. Darren Taggart, Andrew Yun, Kurt Rising and Victor Robles at one point or another combined for sack or a tackle for a loss. Capuchino wasn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard, either, totaling 103 yards in the first half. But its ball-control ground game was exactly what the doctor ordered after last week's loss to Westmont.
The Mustangs took nearly six minutes off the clock on their first score, a 1-yard plunge over center by fullback Mike Tupai, capping a 10-play, 50-yard drive. With an effective ground game, quarterback Taggart didn't have to air it out often, completing 2-of-5 passes for 25 yards. M-A's Efalame Wolfgramm, who was 6 of 21 for 113 yards, hooked up with Noah Bennett (five receptions, 106 yards) for a 6-yard touchdown to cut its deficit to 7-6 with 56 seconds left until halftime, but that's as close as the Bears would get. M-A committed a turnover on the opening possession of the third quarter, and two plays later, Stansberry went up the middle for a 4-yard score.
"We're looking to do some great things on the field this year," Stansberry said. "We just have to stick together."
That's exactly the message Hyndman emphasized to his team in his postgame speech, imploring his 36-member squad that they have a responsibility to one another to not jeopardize the team's chances of continually improving.
"We're on the kids everyday that they have a job to do on the field and in the classroom," said Hyndman, who realized that Capuchino's grading period ends Sept. 30. "Making sure guys stay eligible is a chore in itself. That's why we need to look out for each other. Today was a perfect example. We're not as big as we've been in the past, but we make up for it with speed and desire. Our strength is to go right at teams, and if you keep pounding away at teams, sooner or later, they'll break."
Capuchino 28, M-A 13
Capuchino 0 7 6 15 - 28
Menlo-Atherton 0 6 0 7 - 13
Scoring summary
C - Tupai 1 run (Zavala kick)
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M - Bennett 6 pass from Wolfgramm (kick failed)
C - Stansberry 4 run (kick blocked)
C - Mitchell 5 run (Brady pass from Taggart)
C - Wild 15 interception return (Zavala kick)
M - Bennett 15 pass from Wolfgramm (Finley kick)
RUSHING (carries-yards)
Capuchino - Stansberry 21-88, Salah 3-71, Tupai 10-29, Richardson 4-18, Mitchell 6-16, Zavala 1-4, Taggart 7-6. Totals 52-232. Menlo-Atherton - Hyde 5-10, Jordan 7-33, Hanks 7-3, Bennett 1-5, Mahafatau 3-12, Wolfgramm 6-(-13). Totals 29-50.
PASSING (comp-att-yds-td-int)
Capuchino - Taggart 2-5-25-0-1, Zavala 0-1-0-0-0. Menlo-Atherton - Wolfgramm 6-21-113-2-1.
RECEIVING (catches-yards)
Capuchino - Salah 1-12, Tupai 1-13. Totals 2-25. Menlo-Atherton - Bennett 5-106, Vallarino 1-7. Totals 6-113.
TOTAL YARDAGE (rush-pass-total)
Capuchino - 232-25-257. Menlo-Atherton - 50-113-163.
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