Menlo flashes razzle-dazzle to down crosstown M-A

Menlo quarterback Jack Freehill totaled 337 yards, senior wide receiver Trevor Van der Pyl caught a career-high three touchdown passes, and senior force of nature Palmer Riley was everywhere on defense — totaling a sack, a batted pass, a fumble recovery and an interception — while his No. 52 stood out on offense while catching two passes for 46 yards.

“Our game plan every game is just: Punch ’em in the mouth,” Riley said. “We don’t have the guys, we don’t have as many numbers as other people, so we start off our games strong. That’s always the memo that we go with. Punch ’em in the mouth. And I think we did that.”

With six straight wins to start the year, Menlo has now outscored opponents 272-73.

While Freehill was the catalyst at M-A — the senior was 8-of-12 passing for 245 yards and three touchdowns, while bobbing and weaving for a daredevil 93 yards rushing on 10 carries and another score — the backbreaker for the Bears was a first-quarter turnover that fueled Menlo’s momentum.

The pivotal play came five downs into M-A’s second possession. After moving the ball across midfield, then picking up a first down on a short swing pass from quarterback Teddy Dacey to Monty Turner, the Bears lined up in the pistol only to have the snap sail a tad high on Dacey. The fumble was covered quickly by Menlo as Riley sniffed it out and raced to the spot, with M-A reeling in a turnover epidemic that has been problematic for the team all season.

“It’s happened more than I would like,” M-A head coach Chris Saunders said. “It kills [the momentum]. Those are the kind of mistakes that you prey upon if you’re any team. Another team making a mistake like that is a gift. ... Those are critical errors that can change the outcomes of games.”

The Knights (1-0 PAL Bay, 6-0 overall) used the momentum swing to unleash some razzle-dazzle, as on the very next play Freehill took a double-reverse flea flicker and delivered a pearl downfield to Van der Pyl for a 55-yard touchdown strike to stake Menlo to a 14-0 lead.

Freehill had connected earlier with Van der Pyl on a modest 12-yard scoring toss, as the duo capped Menlo’s first possession, a six-play, 58-yard drive. Facing third-and-10 from the 12, when Freehill rolled left to hit Van der Pyl in the back of the end zone to put the Knights up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

The gem of the bunch came late in the half. After Menlo took a 17-0 lead on a 33-yard field goal from Dylan O’Malley early in the second quarter, the Knights took the ball right back after a quick M-A three-and-out. After moving the ball past midfield on the first play of the possession, Menlo aired it out again, this time with Freehill spinning up a shot up the right side for a 41-yard touchdown pass to Van der Pyl to up the lead to 23-0 with 7:15 to go in the half.

“Definitely, shout out Jack Freehill,” Van der Pyl said. “He’s always serving me up. But it was single coverage on the back side, so they called my number and just ran a straight pass. I was pretty open. I’m glad I caught it.”

Riley put on a clinic on the preceding three-and-out recording a batted pass on second down, followed by a third-down stop by chasing down the scrambling Dacey for a sack and a 3-yard loss to force the Bears to punt.

M-A (0-1, 1-5) managed 251 yards of total offense, led by Dacey’s 11-of-16 passing for 110 yards. Turner added 83 total yards, including 14 carries for 59 yards. But the recurring theme for the Bears was to try and run the ball away from Riley, leaving the 6-4, 235-pound middle linebacker successfully chasing down tackles all night.

“They do tend to run away from me a lot,” Riley said. “It’s OK. I trust all my teammates. They’re going to make plays too. ... But I’m chasing the ball a lot, and I think I do a pretty good job at that.”

After Menlo upped the lead to 29-0 on a 10-yard Freehill run to open the second half, Van der Pyl nearly added a fourth touchdown catch. The Bears got on the board on a 6-yard scoring pass from Dacey to senior Matthew Kwon, but Menlo fired right back, moving the ball to M-A’s 34 for Freehill to connect with Van der Pyl up the right side that left the senior receiver lungeing for the pylon, only to come up short and being whistled out at the 1.

“I was pretty close,” Van der Pyl said. “I got a foot out of bounds. My ankle is a little wobbly right now, so I’ll blame it on that. But I definitely wanted that.”

Senior running back Chuck Wynn ran the next play around the right side for a 1-yard score.

Then Riley punctuated the victory five plays later to snuff out M-A’s advance across midfield, as he blitzed through the exact gap through which Dacey tried a screen pass, and Riley intercepted it right in the QB’s face.

M-A was coming off its only win of the season last Friday, 42-28 over San Mateo, in Dacey’s biggest performance of the season. The Bears have now lost five of their last six.

“The only way is through,” Saunders said. “We’ve had a tough season, there’s no hiding that. We’ve gotten a lot better. So, putting things in perspective is important in moments like this. But every week is a new week, a new game. ... So, we’ve just got to stick to our process and continue to get as much better as we can in five days.”

Next up, Menlo travels to winless Palo Alto next Friday on its mission to continue its unbeaten season.

“Win every game,” Van der Pyl said of the goal. “I think this game shows we have the potential to do it. It’s what we talk about every season.”