Carlmont football overcomes shortened practice week to take down El Camino

The Scots outgained the Colts 445-102 and did it the old-fashioned way, running the ball off tackle time and again — 400 of Carlmont’s yards were via the rush — challenging the opposing defense to stop them. But the El Camino defense never did.

“Our line got off the ball on our base plays and Luke made great runs, and everybody blocked,” Carlmont head coach Eric Rado said.

The game was originally scheduled for Friday night, but Carlmont’s practices got shut down for five days due to COVID protocols. The Scots did not practice from Thursday, Aug. 19 to Tuesday, Aug. 24, prompting the team to request the game be pushed back a day to allow the team an extra practice day on Friday for preparation.

In order for Carlmont to return to practice Wednesday, Aug. 25, each of the team’s players and coaches had to test negative for coronavirus.

“We were banking on them passing testing to play,” El Camino head coach Archie Junio said. “Otherwise, it was going to be a loss of a game.”

But the game got played — albeit one day later — and Carlmont bypassed an early hiccup to hit the ground running.

“They were all champing at the bit to get back,” Rado said.

Three plays into their first offensive possession, the Scots fumbled the ball away when El Camino linebacker Isaiah Rose stripped it loose near midfield. The Colts offense wasn’t on the field long though, a recurring theme throughout the first half, as all their possessions in the half ended in punts.

Then Nessel and the Scots went on the attack.

“A big, strong running back running over a timid defense,” Junio said of Nessel. “That’s what I saw. And I say ‘timid’ meaning it’s not going to be like that next week.”

Nessel ripped runs of 7, 18, 15 and 8 yards to lead a nine-play, 81-yard scoring drive. His 8-yard scoring run punctuated it as he bounced off the right tackle and walked into the end zone to give Carlmont a 7-0 lead.

The junior running back scored on each of Carlmont’s first four possessions. He jetted through the middle for a 21-yard score with 8:26 remaining in the half, pounded for a 6-yard score with 2:38 to go, and finished the half on a screen pass from quarterback Jack Wiessinger and promptly turning upfield for a 49-yard score to send the Scots into halftime leading 27-0.

“Whatever it takes to win,” Nessel said. “I know I’m a key player, so I know they’re counting on me to produce. … It’s all about winning. If we win, I know I’m doing my job.”

In the second half, Nessel unleashed the defensive side of his game. From the linebacker spot, he greeted El Camino quarterback Joey Pierotti with a sack on the Colts’ third play of the half. Four plays later, Carlmont junior Jaquari Hughes read an underthrown pass on a halfback option chuck for a downfield interception.

Nessel rushed past the 200-yard mark on the next play, taking a pitch around the right side for a 49-yard rush into El Camino territory. Five plays later, Wiessinger had all the time in the world to find junior Trevor Johnson in the end zone for a 6-yard TD pass.

El Camino answered back with its first score of the season. Pierotti moved the ball downfield with a 6-yard scramble and a 28-yard completion to senior Elijah Vasquez. Then Pierotti legged in a 6-yard bootleg score with a monster block in the backfield by junior running back Nick Santi to make it 34-7.

Carlmont closed out the scoring with Victor Nickolayeva rushing 12 yards on a sweep.

Junior running back John Hanna added 95 yards rushing on 10 carries while Nickolayeva totaled three carries for 44 yards.

Among the few bright spots for El Camino was punt returner Toby Woodworth, who in the third quarter tried to capitalize on Carlmont’s only punt of the afternoon. The booming punt turned into a groundball downfield, and Woodworth would have been fine to simply let Carlmont cover it, but the senior went out of his way to scoop it up and advance it upfield.

“He is one of our leaders and the way he leads is with his energy,” Junio said. “But we couldn’t get him the ball … so I think he was just trying to make his mark and energize the team somehow.”

It was indeed a frustrating day for El Camino’s passing game, with Woodworth totaling just three receptions for 15 yards. His 16-yard punt return ended in frustration as well, as the Colts were slapped with a 15-yard penalty on the play.

Junio said El Camino’s lack of depth on the line led to the frustrations. The Colts have just six linemen to play both sides of the ball.

“Too many two-way starters is definitely what it is,” Junio said. “And once we lose those linemen’s energy — football is in the trenches — if linemen are getting moved back into our linebackers, there’s no chance.”

The rescheduled opener forced another change in El Camino’s schedule. The Colts originally had their Week 2 contest against Capuchino slated for Thursday but moved the game to Friday as to not play on four days’ rest.

“I really appreciate that … so I’d like to thank Archie over there,” Rado said. “He’s a class act.”