Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Half Moon Bay’s Brandon Melo

When Sequoia walked into Half Moon Bay for Friday night’s Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division opener, Ravens head coach Frank Mems was surprised to see No. 44 for the Cougars taking snaps.

The prep work all week was to defend HMB sophomore quarterback Paxton Holden, who had spent the first four weeks under center wreaking havoc in the Cougars’ patented triple-option offense. Because of an injury to Holden, however, HMB turned to another sophomore in Brandon Melo.

“Did not know it coming in,” Mems said. “Was a little surprised to see that kid warming up. But hats off to him. He was effective.”

He sure was. Melo has earned Daily Journal Athlete of the Week honors for hitting the ground running in taking his first varsity snaps. The sophomore captained the triple-option offense brilliantly as the Cougars scored on each of their first five possessions to take a 35-0 lead by halftime.

Melo gained 156 total yards, but it was his 8-for-9 passing line for 136 yards and two touchdowns to senior wide receiver Will Wimsett that sealed the deal. Having not taken a snap since the eighth grade in Pop Warner, the sophomore completed the first eight passing attempts of his varsity career.

“I was telling him I was going to be open all night,” Wimsett said. “So, he hit me when I was open and we were scoring every play.”

Melo’s first snap from scrimmage was the only blemish on HMB’s dominant performance. The former slot receiver handed off to his understudy for a slot pitch, and Sequoia sniffed it out to stop it for a 1-yard loss. Melo responded by keeping the next two carries, including a 10-yard rush on third-and-10 to move the chains.

The Cougars kept the ball on the ground, and Luke Pimentel capped a 10-play, 58-yard drive with a 26-yard scoring run.

“The game plan was just to drive down and score,” Melo said. “I knew we could do it, so it was just mental.”

The next two scored were all Air Melo — a 66-yard touchdown pass, followed by a 30-yard scoring strike within minutes of each other. Melo’s first completion to Wimsett was a slant pattern over the middle, and senior caught it in stride as the defender tried to slap it out of his hands. The fleet-footed receiver took that as his cue to accelerate, and used his basketball speed to execute quite the 50-yard dash as he outran two pursuing defenders.

“He was trying to swipe it out of my arms,” Wimsett said. “I kind of ducked down and did a little spin, and I was gone after that.”

HMB took the ball right back with an onside kick, and Melo used the short field to find Wimsett again. This time, it was a play-action post rout that gave Melo a small window, and he exacted it. Wimsett again caught it in stride, and this time bounced off the defender to accelerate to the end zone.

“Yeah, it did [propel] me a little bit,” Wimsett said. “It gave me a little boost, and I heard the guy on my back start swerving around. So, he didn’t catch my ankles, and I got in the end zone.”

Melo was informed last Monday he would start at quarterback. He said things were rough in Monday’s practice, but by Thursday he was feeling comfortable. The sophomore was certainly ready for Friday.

“I knew I had to come out and play ball,” Melo said. “I’ve been playing quarterback since Pop Warner, and I kind of had the rhythm. And it just flowed good.”

And his quarterbacking debut drew rave reviews from his favorite receiver.

“Right in the chest every time,” Wimsett said. “Great passes.”