Aragon Dons give Parham first win

Then it was the quarterback-receiver combination of Charlie Henderson and Conor Reidy that got Aragon into a rhythm. Running back Vale Hokafonu then took center stage with hard tough running as he went over 150 yards for the game.

But when it was crunch time, it was Jalen Scroggins who came to the fore. The senior receiver, defensive back and return man made a play in all three phases of the game as the Dons pulled away for to give Ash Parham his first win as a varsity head coach.

“Our skills guys are probably the strength of our team,” Parham said.

Aragon (1-1) managed 292 yards of offense, led by Hokafonu’s 153 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Henderson completed 10 of 18 passes for 162 yards, with Reidy being a favorite target early on as he finished with 105 yards on six catches, 78 of which came in the first half.

It took until the fourth quarter before Scroggins made his impact felt as the Dons flipped the momentum of the game inside of three minutes of the fourth quarter. Hokafonu’s 1-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth gave Aragon a 17-14. The Dons stripped the ball and recovered it on San Mateo’s first play of the ensuing drive and on third down from the Bearcats’ 24, Henderson hooked up with Scroggins for a 24-yard strike and a 24-14 lead.

“Henderson was the backup last year. He did all the scout team reps, so he didn’t get many reps with the offense,” Parham said. “This offseason, he worked really hard.”

Scroggins came up with an interception on San Mateo’s next possession, but the Bearcats stayed in the game when a Cameron Palma 29-yard scamper to cut the Aragon lead to 24-21 with 5:11 left.

But Scroggins iced the game with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 31-21 lead with 4:55 to play. He then capped his night by knocking down a pair of passes.

For all the fireworks in the second half — the teams combined for 35 points over the final two quarters — it was a defensive battle in the first half, with penalties being a big part of the opening two quarters. Aragon had five personal foul penalties in the first quarter alone.

San Mateo opened the game with a three-and-out and Aragon, despite a number of penalties on its first drive, still managed to move the ball to the San Mateo 5-yard line before settling for a Charlie Birkelund 22-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead with 2:27 left in the opening quarter.

San Mateo finally got its offense in gear on its first possession of the second quarter. Starting at their own 26, the Bearcats marched the length of the field, capping an eight-play drive with a Yianni Fitzgerald 4-yard plunge to put the Bearcats up 7-3 with 6:30 left in the half.

Aragon responded with its first touchdown of the game on its ensuing drive. Leaning heavily on Hokafonu, the Dons went 67 yards on seven plays, with Hokafonu rumbling 23 yards for a 10-7 Aragon lead at the half.

San Mateo retook the lead on its first possession of the second half, with Gio Hernandez doing the bulk of the work and damage. The Bearcats drove 77 yards on eight plays, with Hernandez going into the end zone from a yard out for a 14-10 San Mateo lead.

Hernandez finished the game with 150 yards on 18 carries.

That set up the frantic fourth quarter.

While the win was the first as a head coach Parham, he’s been with the program so long, he admitted it was kind of, “weird.”

“It just seems like another game,” Parham said, a 1999 Aragon graduate who has been on the Dons’ coaching staff the previous 10 seasons.

“It’s not a dramatic surprise.”