Menlo knocks off M-A in CCS flag football semis

The Knights will face third-seeded Los Gatos (22-5) in the Open Division championship game Saturday at Santa Clara High School at a time to be determined. The Wildcats punched their ticket to the inaugural Open Division title game by holding off second seed Sacred Heart Prep, 6-0.

“She’s like Fran Tarkenton,” Lubarsky said, comparing Allen to the 1970s Minnesota Vikings quarterback who was the first to really scramble around to keep plays alive.

“I think Coach Steve (former Menlo assistant coach and NFL hall of famer Steve Young) gave her that moniker,” Lubarsky continued. “What a nightmare to defend.”

Those who remember Tarkenton remember his ability to avoid trouble and keep plays alive with his legs, which Allen does with aplomb. Allen was her usual lethal self as she combined for 358 of the Knights’ 377 yards of offense. Allen completed 34 of 42 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns. She also had a game-leading 82 yards rushing on 18 carries.

“It’s like trying to stop (Baltimore Ravens quarterback) Lamar Jackson,” Knowles said. “She was death tonight. She runs their offense so well.”

Kaelee Wang was Allen’s favorite target as the sophomore finished with 16 catches for 103 yards. Most of those catches came within a couple of yards of the line of scrimmage and it was her YAC yards — yards after the catch — that set up the Knights in good position time and again.

The play, which is essentially an underneath screen, is a part of the Knights’ offensive repertoire, but with the Bears conceding the play, Menlo went to the play often.

“We didn’t want to get beat deep,” Knowles said, adding he was willing to give up yards underneath and have his defense rally to the ball to make the play.

“Our offensive play calls are dictated by what the defense gives us,” Lubarsky said.

But M-A (13-3) made Menlo (15-2) work for every yard and point. The first half was mostly a defensive battle as both teams struggled to move the ball. The Bears punted on the first possession of the game, followed by Menlo turning the ball over on downs on its first possession.

“I knew defensively (M-A) was very good,” Lubarsky said of a Bears’ unit that had shut out seven opponents this season and hadn’t given up more than 19 points — until Wednesday.

M-A punted on its second possession before Menlo got its offense in gear. A pair of Allen runs, including one for 11 yards, picked up a first down for the Knights before she threw three straight incompletions.

But the Knights caught a break on the third one when the Bears were whistled for roughing the passer, giving them an automatic first down and the M-A 29-yard line.

A play later, the Knights were up 6-0. Allen took the snap and rolled to her right before coming to an abrupt stop.

If there was another former NFL player to compare Allen, it would be former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders, who was known for his elusive cuts and nimble footwork.

Allen used all of her skills to keep the play alive before she found Maren Mulloy behind the M-A defense at the back of the end zone. Allen unloaded a laser to Mulloy for a 29-yard scoring strike for the 6-0 lead with 2:22 left in the opening quarter.

Mulloy grabbed six passes for 78 yards and the score.

M-A punted on its third straight possession and Menlo went back to work. Starting at their own 35, the Knights methodically moved the ball down the field, using seven plays to drive down to the Bears’ 16-yard line.

But then M-A stiffened. With Menlo facing fourth and goal at the M-A 16, Allen tried to force a pass into double coverage in the end zone, looking for Anika Shah. But M-A defender Alex Alvarado made an acrobatic, over-the-shoulder interception for a touchback.

The Bears’ offensive struggled continued as they punted again and this time Menlo finished its drive, going 40 yards on five plays with Allen hitting Wang underneath, who them weaved her way into the end zone for an 8-yard score and a 13-0 lead.

M-A got back into the game right before halftime as the Bears put together their best drive of the half. Starting at their own 21, the Bears moved down to the Menlo 22-yard line before quarterback Mae Kunihiro swiveled 22 yards for a score as the Bears trailed 13-6 at halftime.

But the halftime break did not slow Menlo’s momentum. The Knights took the ball to start the third quarter and they marched 66 yards on 10 plays, with Allen completing eight passes in a row — including the 15-yard score to Sophie Housser in the back of the end zone for a 20-6 Menlo lead.

M-A’s offense, meanwhile, maintained the rhythm it found at the end of the second quarter by scoring on its second drive in a row. The Bears matched the Knights with a 66-yard scoring drive, culminating with Kunihiro shot putting a pass to Elise Koo in the back corner of the end zone to close to 20-12 with 3:41 to play.

The Bears, however, would not cross midfield again as the Knights put the game away on Housser’s second scoring catch of the game, an 8 yarder from Allen to put Menlo up 27-12 with 3:43 to play.

Housser finished with five catches for 40 yards and the two scores.

“We just ran out of magic,” Knowles said.

Lubarsky said he purposely tried to keep his team’s attention on Wednesday’s game and not Saturday’s championship game. But now that they Knights are going to the final, Lubarsky impressed on his team the importance of the game.

“Right after the game, I congratulated them on making history,” Lubarsky said of his post-game talk Wednesday.

“But we’re not done yet.”