Aragon football team lives up to top seed in Central Coast Section Division V bracket

That’s how long it took for Aragon kickoff return man Alan Tanielu to haul in the opening kickoff and sprint 95 yards for a touchdown to set the tone in a 48-14 win over visiting Andrew Hill-San Jose, the No. 8 seed, Friday night in San Mateo.

“Overall, the game was pretty good,” Tanielu said. “We stayed locked in. My kickoff return, it kick-started the team.”

The Dons will now wait for their semifinal opponent. They will play next week either No. 5 North Salinas (6-3) or No. 4 San Mateo (8-1), who face each other Saturday night in San Mateo.

Tanielu is part of a group of seniors who have helped return Aragon (7-4) to the playoffs. He was one of a handful Dons who were pressed into varsity action as sophomores in 2019 when Aragon suffered one of its worst seasons in two decades — culminating with controversial forfeit to Menlo-Atherton.

To see the Dons complete the 180 Friday night was satisfying to head coach Steve Sell.

“It’s hard not to get sentimental about these kids,” Sell said. “They came up as sophomores in 2019 and they got their asses handed to them every single week. They’ve been wearing it (the disappointment of that season) for two years.

“But they never lost faith. They kept lifting.”

Tanielu’s opening score was just the beginning of a first-half blitz from the Dons that left the Falcons spinning. After his touchdown, Tanielu perfectly executed an onside kick — recovering it himself.

“He’s 4 for 4 on that play this year,” Sell said.

That put the Dons back in business on the Hill 47 and after a clunky start, finally got the offense in gear, with Ivan Nisa punching it in from 7 yards out to put Aragon up 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

The Aragon defense finally got on the field and the Dons quickly made their presence felt, as they notched a team sack when it seemed the entire defense fell on Hill quarterback Anthony Martinez, who came into the game as a 1,000-yard rusher.

The Dons followed that with a T.Y. Feaumu sack to force a punt.

The Dons would finish six sacks on the night — all in the first half as the defense held Hill to just 4 yards of offense in the first half and 123 for the game.

Aragon took over at its 31 on the ensuing drive and marched down the field. Quarterback Dylan Daniel, who looks more and more comfortable throwing the ball, hooked with senior Lloyd Walter for a 13-yard gain. Nisa rumbled 28 two plays later and on first-and-goal from the 5, Jared Walsh went for the third touchdown of the quarter and the rout was on.

Nisa would lead the Dons in rushing with 81 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries. Walsh added a pair of touchdowns and 33 yards on six carries as well. Mone Hokafonu was limited to just one carry for 9 yards before sitting out most of the game after taking on knock on his only play from scrimmage.

Sell said Hokafonu could have returned, if necessary.

Instead, the Dons went on to rush for 154 yards, with 10 players getting a carry.

Hill (7-4) turned the ball over on downs on its next possession at its own 40 and the Dons needed just four plays to find the end zone, capitalizing on Hill’s pass interference as well as a targeting penalty.

Nisa capped the drive with a 9-yard run and Aragon led 27-0.

The Aragon defense forced another punt and the Aragon offense scored another touchdown. Daniel set up the touchdown with a 35-yard completion to Walter to the Falcons’ 5 and Walsh finished it off with another 5-yard score.

Walter, a senior, finished with three catches for 70 yards.

Tanielu then made his presence felt on defense, as he stepped in front of a Hill pass and returned it 40 yards for a pick-6 and a 41-0 Aragon lead with 10:12 left in the first half.

“Alan is one of more dynamic kids in this area,” Sell said.

The Dons wrapped up their scoring on their next possession. Tanielu returned a punt 23 yards to the Hill 15. After a 14-yard from Max Lacasse, he finished the drive with a 1-yard plunge to put the Dons up 48-0.

From there, it was all about getting reps for the Aragon backups. Hill’s Martinez did show the speed and agility that enabled him to rush for 1,000 yards, as he scored on runs of 39 and 46 to account for the Falcons’ scoring.

While Sell was happy with the win, he was even more pleased that he got some work for his backups — work that will pay off in future seasons.

“What did we get out of this game? We got about five freshmen some varsity game experience,” Sell said. “That stuff pays off.”