It’s Capuchino vs Terra Nova, McGinn vs Rush in battle of defensive coaching gurus

Through six games this season, each Cap and Terra Nova has surrendered exactly 126 points, an average of 21 points per game. And with a short week — the game was rescheduled approximately a month ago from Friday to Thursday to accommodate a sparse roster of referees — the defense that recovers from last week’s Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division barnburners for both teams will have the advantage.

“Obviously, playing a team like Terra Nova, we wanted that extra day,” Capuchino head coach Jay Oca said. “But they don’t get an extra day either, so hopefully that works out for us. But sometimes, which is my analogy, you just need to rip the Band-Aid off. You just need to go at it.”

Cap (2-0 PAL Ocean, 4-2 overall) went at it with Jefferson last Friday, turning some late magic on special teams into a 41-34 comeback victory. After junior quarterback Brandon Arceo delivered a 50-something-yard bomb for his second touchdown pass of the year to tie it 34-34 with five minutes to play, the Mustangs recovered a blocked punt at the 1-yard line to set up the game-winning score. Cap then recovered an onside kick to run out the clock.

This week, however, the Mustangs will look to junior outside linebacker Isaiah Cruz to contend with an effective run-heavy Terra Nova offense. That’s where the Mustangs’ not-so-secret weapon McGinn comes in.

“Matt McGinn, he’s a hell of a defensive coordinator,” Oca said. “He’s always well prepared, he schemes great for teams, put our guys in the best positions, makes sure our guys are prepared … to face whoever we’re facing. And I totally, 100% appreciate that.”

Terra Nova (1-0, 5-1) dueled with Carlmont for a 46-22 victory last Friday. But the Tigers’ defense got plenty of momentum in shutting out the Scots in the second half. Subtle, clever adjustments from the man who isn’t technically the team’s defensive coordinator was the secret to Terra Nova’s success, according to Piccolotti.

“[Rush] consoles our defensive coordinator, every day, every minute,” Piccolotti said. “It’s phenomenal. A lot of the adjustments he makes are not often seen at the high school level.”

Senior defensive end Frank Ward has been the star of Rush’s defensive schemes. After starting the season at middle linebacker, Ward moved to the edge and has totaled four sacks on the year. While defensive backs Damian Brenner and Ronin Sargent each had interceptions last week, Ward had one sack, despite the Scots throwing consistent double- and triple-teams his way and added three hurries and two batted passes.

On offense, Cap will counter with a rotation of running backs with a breakout first-year junior in Charlie Barfield. With Ray Ibay and Lucas Zayac providing backfield depth, the Mustangs got their first glimpse of Barfield in a preseason intrasquad game.

“He wasn’t our top first choice as the premier back, but when he comes in he makes things happen,” Oca said. “He just gets chunks of yards.”

The Mustangs also have depth at quarterback. While Arceo had a critical fourth-quarter touchdown chuck last week, senior AJ Rich has seen a majority of the reps in the fly offense.

“You don’t know who’s going to be who this week,” Oca said.

Sneak attacks are Oca’s specialty. This is never more apparent than on kickoffs. Cap is notorious for onside kicks. If consecutive onside kicks were a statistical record tracked in high school football, the Mustangs surely would have broken said record after Oca took over Cap’s varsity program in 2018.

This year has been different, though, as senior kicker Carlos Sanchez has proven a versatile leg this season. But the onside kicks are certainly still in the arsenal.

“We have at least one onside kick every game this year,” Oca said. “And the last two were pivotal — helped us win both games.”

Terra Nova has seen great success in running the modified Wing-T offense this season. This is a departure from the pass-heavy spread offense of years past. But with quarterback Mason Mini taking over this season, the 6-4 former wide receiver — who recently committed to play tight end at University of Idaho — has been a swift and steady wrecking ball as a dual threat.

“He’s 16 years old and he’s stronger, bigger and faster than pretty much anyone around,” Piccolotti said. “He runs through a lot of tackles. He works hard.”

Mini is one of many weapons for a Terra Nova team that has logged 1,685 rushing yards. Junior running back Matteo Corona led the way and is coming off a career-high 147 yards rushing against Carlmont. It was Corona’s fifth triple-digit rushing performance in six games. The Tigers also have senior Rocco Gentile and sophomore Zach Perez, who ran for three TDs last week, in the mix.

“This year we’re blessed, we have three, four kids in there that you don’t really miss too much,” Piccolotti said. “Matteo’s different than anyone, I think, in Bay or Ocean. We do have some depth, and when he went out last week, Zach Perez had three touchdowns.”

With Terra Nova, Capuchino and San Mateo all unbeaten in PAL Ocean Division play, the power structure in the B-league will have more clarity with Thursday’s result.

“Terra Nova has traditionally always been a powerhouse football program, no matter what,” Oca said. Those kids in Pacifica, those kids know, it’s Terra Nova football, they bleed it out there.”

However, Piccolotti said he’s surprised with the Tigers’ strong performance this season, considering they entered the year with eight straight losses in PAL Bay Division play, prompting a demotion to the Ocean Division this season.

“It’s surprising a little bit, but not a hundred percent surprising because of the effort,” Piccolotti said. “These kids come in and fight. They’re tough kids. We’re not the biggest, strongest, whatever or whatever, but we run our system and we run it hard. Yeah, I am a little bit surprised.”

Thursday’s kickoff at Carl Reyna Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.