Dan Lloyd sat on the trainer's table, bruised and battered after suffering a left leg injury. Lloyd's plight was symbolic of the Mills High football team's state of mind after the Vikings' 44-0 Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division loss to visiting Half Moon Bay on Friday.
Mills (2-4 overall, 1-3) had no answers for Half Moon Bay's potent running attack, which went off for 330 yards on 42 carries. Steve Adragna led the Cougars (5-1, 4-0) with 163 yards on 15 carries, while Mike Seaton rushed for 96 yards on 11 carries. Adragna had touchdown runs of 55 and 2 yards, while Seaton added TD runs of 4 and 2 yards.
After playing Woodside tough a week earlier, Mills coach Barrett Krieger was confident his team would be able to stay within striking distance of the Cougars. Instead, the Vikings were dominated at the line of scrimmage and in every other facet of the game.
They totaled a season-low 90 yards and crossed midfield just two times. Their best chance of scoring came midway through the second quarter. After Half Moon Bay scored to go up 28-0, Lloyd returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards to the Cougars' 19-yard line.
But Mills went three-and-out after three straight running plays netted negative yardage. It only got worse after that. Two possessions later, on a third-and-14 from its own 5, Mills was called for holding in the end zone, resulting in a safety. The Cougars put up 21 first quarter points, added nine in the second and scored 14 more in the third.
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"Today, we were never in this game," Krieger said. "They came out and dominated from the beginning and we could never get anything going. They did whatever they wanted to do and all the credit goes to their players and coaching staff. (On the line play) they just played lower, harder and longer. "They were able to push us back and owned the line of scrimmage. That's the whole game of football right there. It's as simple as that. If we won today, we could've at least been a factor (in the title race). We're just a little thin and got some guys dinged up."
Lloyd led Mills with 45 yards on 11 carries and also had an interception, while Andrew Fanaika was 4 of 9 for 30 yards. Mills had just 48 yards of offense in the first half and seven of its plays went for negative yardage. Nick Colvin finished 7 of 9 for 92 yards and had TD throws of 15 and 24 yards. Vince Martinez had three receptions for 51 yards.
An obviously disappointed Krieger said Half Moon Bay reminded him somewhat of his 2003 Mills team that went undefeated in the Ocean Division.
"With their depth and the quality of their kids, they're going to be a tough team to beat," Krieger said.
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