Quick strikes carry Menlo

Menlo’s pass attack is anything but finesse as the Knights use their passing as a running game, where the receivers make short catches and they rack up yards after the catch.

But where the Knights really show their hard-nosed intensity is on defense and it was that unit that kept Burlingame in check long enough Thursday for the Menlo offense to get going.

Menlo scored on three quick-strike passes in the second half to turn a scoreless game at halftime into a 21-7 win over the Panthers in a Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division matchup.

“We’ve been playing tough defense for a while now,” said Menlo School head coach Todd Smith. “It was a tough week for us to gear up for Burlingame with just three days.”

Menlo (2-2 PAL Bay, 5-4 overall) so thoroughly bottled up Burlingame’s run game that quarterback Liam Friedman was forced to go to the air more than Burlingame would have liked. The Knights held Burlingame (2-3, 4-5) to just 114 yards of offense in the first half and 289 yards for the game. Friedman was 10-for-21 passing for 108 yards. He also led the team in rushing, finishing with 70 on 16 carries.

This is the type of game that will eat at Burlingame head coach John Philipopoulos for a couple days because he knows his team was just a few plays away from pulling out the win themselves.

Twice in the first half, Burlingame drove into the Menlo red zone. Twice in the first half, the Panthers started drives in Menlo’s end of the field — including a first-and-goal at the Menlo 8-yard line after the Panthers recovered a fumble.

Twice the Knights’ defense forced Burlingame into a field goal attempt and twice did the Knights block those attempts, keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard.

The Burlingame defense, however, matched Menlo’s effort as the Knights struggled to get anything going offensively in the first two quarters themselves. The Knights punted on two of their first three drives of the game — with the fumble sandwiched between them. Their fourth possession saw them turn the ball over on downs and like Burlingame, Menlo found itself scoreless at halftime as well.

But you could see the Panthers were dodging big plays from Menlo in the first half, and there was a feeling it was only a matter of time before the Knights popped one.

After the teams exchanged punts to start the third quarter, Menlo finally found the range. With Burlingame having only 10 defenders on the field, Bianchi made the Panthers pay, hitting Cort Halsey on a quick slant that he caught in stride and went into the end zone for a 67-yard strike and a 7-0 Menlo lead.

Burlingame responded and finished its first drive of the game to tie the score at 7-all. Starting from their 38, the Panthers methodically moved the ball downfield. Lukas Habelt capped the nine-play drive with a touchdown from a yard out.

Burlingame was right back in business when Zach Shapiro intercepted a Bianchi pass at the Panthers’ 30 on the Knights’ next possession, but the Menlo defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball right back and the Knights didn’t waste any time. On second-and-10 from his 46, Bianchi found Robby Enright for a 54-yard catch-and-run to give the Knights the lead for good, 14-7, with 16 seconds left in the third quarter.

Menlo then put the game away with another big play midway through the fourth quarter. After the Knights’ defense forced the Panthers to turn the ball over on downs, they needed just one play to find the end zone. Bianchi hit Halsey again and he again took it to the house for a 75 catch-and-run to put Menlo up 21-7 with just over seven minutes left to play.

Bianchi continued his strong play of late, completing 22-of-38 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Smith said Bianchi is not only fully understanding Menlo’s new offense, “He’s also staying in the pocket and trusting (the offense),” Smith said. “This is a new offensive system. There has to be some patience. You can’t push it.”