Game of the Week: San Mateo football takes on ‘other’ rival

Aragon, on the other hand, was demoted from the De Anza to the Ocean. All of which is to say, the Bearcats, for the first time in a while, are no longer the hunter, but the hunted.

“It’s new for us,” said San Mateo head coach Jeff Scheller. “But the kids worked really hard to get here.”

But history says the Dons are the favorite. This will be the 17th meeting between these teams since 2004 and San Mateo is just 2-14. San Mateo’s last win over the Dons was a 34-0 decision in 2019, but Aragon has won the last two matchups — including 31-21 last year as the Dons’ only win of the season.

“We lost to them two years in a row and made a bunch of mistakes,” Scheller said. “So yes, it feels like we’re an underdog.”

But a dangerous underdog. The Bearcats are off and running this season — literally. They’ve rushed for more than 300 yards in each of their first two game: a 28-0 shutout of Los Altos in the opener and a 42-28 loss to Menlo School last week.

This despite breaking in a new quarterback in junior Luka Fitzgerald and replacing 1,000-yard rusher Emannuel Fitzgerald with the third Fitzgerald brother, senior Yianni, and senior Jovani Hernandez Cruz.

Hernandez Cruz saw plenty of action in the backfield last season, including a 169-yard game during the loss to Aragon. He is second on the team in rushing this year with 134 yards. He and Yianni Fitzgerald also double as linebackers so Scheller he’s still working out the rotation of the two.

But it is quarterback Lukas Fitzgerald who has gained the bulk of the yardage for the Bearcats so far this year, averaging 120 yards rushing per game. As he matures in the triple-option system, Scheller expects him to share more of the load.

“He’s still learning. … Learning how defenses are playing him is a big deal,” Scheller said. “Every game is going to be a lesson.”

What Lukas Fitzgerald lacks in varsity experience under center, he makes up for with physicality and athleticism.

“He broke a bunch of tackles to get that first touchdown against Menlo,” Scheller said. “That’s going to be normal.”

Getting Yianni Fitzgerald back into the offensive mix should even out ball distribution. The elder Fitzgerald had seven carries for 54 yards against Los Altos in the season opener, but didn’t get a carry against Menlo as Scheller admitted he got lost in shuffle as he and the Bearcats were playing catch-up against Menlo last week.

He still made an impact on defense, finishing with eight tackles and is one of the team’s defensive stars, but Scheller blamed himself for not getting him more involved in the offense.

“The coaches and I talked about it — I have to be more intentional in getting him involved in the (offensive backfield) rotation,” Scheller said.

The Bearcats have already shown this season they can move the ball and score. The team’s ultimate success, however, will hinge on the defense and the ability to stop opposing offenses.

That’s why last week’s game was critical for the Bearcats’ development. Scheller said he has a mixture of returners and first-year varsity guys on defense and an aerial attack like Menlo’s was certain to test San Mateo.

But he also realizes his defense is not fully formed after just two games.

“It’s going to take a couple of games to get used to varsity speed,” Scheller said. “We played Los Altos, which is a ‘B’ league (the El Camino Division). Menlo is an ‘A’ league (actually “A+” division). It helped that we saw Bay speed.”

It also helped that the Bearcats saw a team that throws the ball a lot as they head into the game against a new-look Aragon offense. The Dons, under second-year head coach Ash Parham, have integrated a short-passing attack game, which, through two games, has been the Dons’ bread and butter. Aragon has thrown for nearly 300 yards in each of its first two games — a 26-21 decision over Pioneer and a 41-13 win Oak Grove last week. Both their quarterbacks, Isaiah Johnson and Isaac Martinez, are seeing playing time as Johnson has battled a leg injury the last several weeks.

“The Aragon quarterbacks, I know they’re not huge, but they have accurate arms,” Scheller said.

Wide receiver Nick Mazzola, who had eight catches for 190 yards and three scores in a 41-13 win over Oak Grove last week, is an emerging offensive threat. Tight end/defensive end Nick Castroviejo is proving to be a handful for opposing offenses and defenses. The Dons are, generally, still big and physical.

“They still look like Aragon,” Scheller said. “They just throw the ball more.”

But the one thing missing for the Dons, so far, has been a consistent ground attack. They have yet to crack the 100-yard barrier as a team and have rushed for just 125 yards through two games.

So, while San Mateo appears to be the favorite, it will be the Bearcats who will go into this rivalry game with something to prove.

“I think we have the potential to be really good. We just haven’t hit on all cylinders. We’re hoping this game, we’re putting everything together,” Scheller said. “I told (my team), ‘Whatever you want to do this year (against Aragon), just remember what happened the last two years.’

“We talked about that.”