San Mateo bulls past Balboa in 2024 football opener

Not only was Fitzgerald sidelined, but senior running back Xavier Zaragoza departed after three plays. That’s when San Mateo turned to quarterback Cam Palma and running back Jovani Hernandez, who combined for 213 of the Bearcats’ 330 rushing yards.

“We feel confident with anybody we have at running back,” Scheller said. “With Xavier going down on the third play, [Hernandez] really stepped up and ran hard; and they were committed to stopping the run ... and they did a good job. Just at the end I think we had a little more stamina than they did.”

Playing in his first varsity game, the junior Hernandez brought home the win with a tremendous second-half workload. He carried 19 times for a game-high 126 yards throughout, with 16 carries and 102 yards coming after the halftime break.

“I didn’t expect to get that much playing time,” Hernandez said. “But then my teammate went down and I just had to be ready to step up for him.”

The Bearcats (1-0) took a 17-0 lead into halftime, and their defense was on point most of the night. The only hiccup on the scoreboard was when Balboa broke loose with an 81-yard pass reception by Joseph Smith on a short out route off the arm of quarterback Rylen Thien-Jones. Smith shook one tackle then bolted up the sideline to get the Buccaneers on the scoreboard with 4:58 to play.

“We were shorthanded this week ... so he played safety, he played running back, he played receiver,” Balboa head coach Fred Velasquez said. “So we ran a screen to the right and just made a couple guys miss and made the play.”

All told, Balboa was held to 129 yards of offense.

The Bearcats picked up fantastic field position for their first turn on offense of the season. Balboa (0-1) opened with a three-and-out, and a fumbled snap on the punt attempt put San Mateo at the Balboa 20-yard line. After two sturdy ground gains by Zaragoza to move the chains, senior running back Logan Davis glided into the end zone on a 9-yard option pitch around the left side, giving the Bearcats a 7-0 lead.

Balboa moved the ball for a better tempo on its second possession, but San Mateo ultimately made the stop deep in its own territory. A missed field goal attempt by the Buccaneers gave the Bearcats the ball at their own 20, and going the length of the Mateo a chance to get its option running game in rhythm. This time, Davis set the tone with a 9-yard carry on an option pitch around the left side. It was the first of four straight plays the Bearcats moved the chains, before Palma finally went to the air to strike pay dirt.

Sophomore receiver Dean Qutteineh got freed up in the flat, and Palma hit him right in the hands on a quick comeback look. Qutteineh then spun around a fired up the engine to motor to the end zone, giving San Mateo a 14-0 advantage with 14 seconds to play in the first quarter.

“I’m super confident in this offense,” Palma said. “I mean, I’ve been running it for four years. I know the ins and outs, my reads. I mean, I’m super confident, I’m confident in my team, I have trust in my line who has a lot of experience. I love this offense and I’m willing to die by it.”

The Bearcats defense forced another three-and-out to give Palma and company the ball back just over a minute later. Hernandez immediately moved the ball across midfield with an 8-yard pickup, the first of six straight rushing plays to move the ball into the red zone. The drive stalled with San Mateo recovering its own fumble on second down, and Balboa stopping James Coudsi short of the goal line.

But Yianni Fitzgerald delivered a 20-yard field goal to cap the first-half scoring, sending San Mateo into the locker room with a 17-0 lead.

Despite being down two running backs — including San Mateo’s leading rusher of a year ago in Emmanuel Fitzgerald — Palma’s play calling did not waiver throughout the first half.

“Not at all,” Palma said. “We’ve got a bunch of physical backs in the backfield. We’re confident in each one of their skills. I think we’re confident in all three of our backups, and they’re all physical. We called all the same plays and it just worked out.”

Palma finished with 10 carries for 87 yards, while Copus contributed five carries for 57 yards.

Hernandez, though, ended the night owning the highlight reel with his strong, gutsy runs.

“He did amazing,” Palma said. “Coming up as a junior ... he’s really bringing the physicality. We love that. He’s running hard and he’s getting the ball down the field. We’re just putting the ball in his hands and he’s making magic. If he continues to do that, we’re going to continue to give him the ball.”

San Mateo was plagued by some Week 1 mishaps. The Bearcats committed seven penalties for 80 yards, 70 of those yards marked off in the first half. They also turned over the ball three times, with two lost fumbles and an interception by Palma to start the second half.

“The guys played great, we just made a lot of mistakes,” Scheller said. “A lot of mental errors. And the penalties just killed us. You get into the first game, those kind of things will happen. These guys are really amped up. And we’ve just got to try to calm them down a little bit because they’re so amped up. So, we’ve just got to build on that.”