Prep begins before game

Something as simple as drinking plenty of water throughout the day can be the difference between making it to the end of a game and being forced out with muscle cramps. I guarantee you, the second half of the first few football games of the season will slow to a crawl as players from both teams will be stricken with cramps — with the calf area the usual culprit. But cramps aren’t the only result. Decision making can be off, fatigue can set in sooner and just overall success can be harder find.

The National Federation of State High School Associations released a report in 2018, outlining ways to optimize hydration before, during and after practice or games. The report also addresses the usage of sports drinks (which can be OK and useful) as well as energy drinks (which can be detrimental).

I am not trying to tie the deaths of these high school athletes to dehydration, but I figured it presented the opportunity to let student-athletes know that there is a certain responsibility to be properly prepared to compete at an optimum level and it starts before you take the field.

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While doing research for my story about Half Moon Bay’s Quinn McCauley, I stumbled across an interesting tidbit that was later confirmed by head football coach Keith Holden. Apparently HMB’s three-year starting quarterback, Will Moffitt, goes by the nickname of “Wee.” I actually saw the name listed on the MaxPreps website and wrote it off as a typo.

But in talking to Holden about Quinn, Moffitt’s name came up and he referred to him as “Wee.”

“That wasn’t a typo?” I asked.

Holden said no and in fact, “I’ve always called him Wee. I don’t know how he got that name,” Holden said.

The Cougars have had a lock on nicknames the last few years. Before “Wee” it was Tristan “Chinny” Hofmann — who got his nickname when older brother, Chase, could not pronounce as a 3-year-old the name, “Tristan.”

Those two would be hard-pressed to beat out the best name of all, however: Notre Dame-Belmont sophomore golfer Savvy Sweet.

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John Horgan, longtime Peninsula reporter and current Daily Journal columnist, provided the Lounge with some interesting football tidbits.

The Lake Division is home to the last six teams in the Peninsula Athletic League. But three of those teams have had significant football traditions at one point. Horgan pointed out that Sequoia won 33 games in row in the late 1950s and early 1960s; South City won 28 in a row in the 1960s, while San Mateo won 29 straight in the 1980s.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: Nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 650-344-5200 ext. 117. Results and statistics can be emailed to: sports@smdailyjournal.com.