M-A’s Devin Hyde stars on Senior Night

“It’s not every day you get to have your Senior Night and homecoming at the same time, and it’s kind of a mini-rivalry for us,” said Hyde. “A lot of us know them through rugby or just through extended family.”

Menlo-Atherton (6-2, 2-1 PAL Bay) allowed just one offensive touchdown, held Palo Alto (5-3, 1-2) to just 21 rushing yards and shut out the Vikings in the second half.

“His training is unparalleled, but it’s not just Devin,” M-A head coach Chris Saunders said. “I would take our d-line against anybody. We’ve got an ability to make plays at every position.”

Hyde, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound monster, was in the backfield all night. He picked up his first sack just two plays into the game and teamed up with Evaimalo Ama to stop fullback Paula Pongi for a loss of 4 midway through the second quarter, a crucial play as the Bears prevented the Vikings from scoring on a drive that covered more than eight minutes.

“He has a motor and works his pass rush moves,” Palo Alto head coach Dave DeGeronimo said of Hyde. “He just never stops.”

Columbia commit Xander Eschelman then hit Angelo Marin to convert a second-and-20, and the pair connected again on the highlight of the night, a 54-yard pass to the 1 that saw Eschelman escape a sack before throwing to Marin, who caught the ball in tight coverage seated on the turf.

“That was just an amazing catch. That really hurt,” DeGeronimo said. “The coverage was decent, and the kid on the ground makes the catch.”

Torin Barker’s 1-yard touchdown run on the next play gave the Bears a 20-6 lead.

Isaiah Phillips returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards to send the visitors into halftime down just one score, but they never found the end zone again. Palo Alto got a shot in the arm when Joseph Kessler recovered an M-A fumble at the goal line four minutes into the third quarter, but Hyde and defensive tackle Henry Uili stopped Dylan Taylor for a loss to force a punt.

“The team chemistry we have with each other is just so apparent,” Hyde said of his team’s response after the fumble. “When we have a goal, everybody collectively feels it at the same time, and we go out there and we just do it.”

Ama’s 1-yard touchdown run with 9:12 left was the final score of the night. Hyde sacked Justin Fung on the next possession, leaving the Vikings with no choice but to punt on fourth-and-25, and Anthony Van der Meer picked up two sacks on the final drive.

Despite losing top wide receiver and safety Jeremiah Fung (two catches, 70 yards) to a shoulder injury in the second quarter, Palo Alto never folded, largely thanks to senior linebacker Roman Jacobs.

“We call him the Tasmanian Devil,” DeGeronimo said of Jacobs, who had six tackles for loss (all solo) and three sacks. “He’s just a tackling machine.”

The Bears didn’t escape unscathed either. One play before Kessler’s fumble recovery, Eschelman took a heavy hit just shy of the goal line and entered concussion protocol. Before the injury, he completed all seven of his passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns.

Backup Teddy Dacey took over in his absence and finished the night 5 of 7 for 45 yards. Dacey also ran four times for 20 yards and lined up at both receiver and running back before Eschelman’s injury. He took a screen pass for a 19-yard touchdown to put M-A up 13-6 late in the first, and took a reverse from Eschelman before throwing a screen to Ama for an 18-yard pickup in the second.

“Xander missing the first couple games (with a hamstring injury) impacted our ability to roll that out,” Saunders said. “We’re just kind of fitting it into game plans at this point. Getting those two cooking is good for us.”

Eschelman started the night with a bang, hitting JT Roeder for an 80-yard touchdown on the Bears’ first offensive play. Palo Alto had driven into the red zone to start the game, but Marin picked a pass off in the end zone.

Justin Fung hit Jeremiah Fung for a 46-yard touchdown to tie the game at 6 with 4:01 left in the first quarter. The sophomore completed 15 of 19 passes for 237 yards but was sacked four times, twice by Hyde and twice by Van der Meer. Jake Wang led the Vikings with eight catches for 116 yards, while Kessler ran seven times for 47 and had a 26-yard reception.

Ama ran 13 times for 87 yards and caught two passes for 16, while Marin caught five passes for 115 and had a 7-yard carry.