Second-half explosion

“It was a sloppy game,” M-A head coach Adhir Ravipati said. “But any time you win 30-8, you’ll take it. But I didn’t think we played particularly well.”

Neither side could get anything going in the way of offense during a defensively dominated opening half. Terra Nova racked up four sacks in the first half. M-A countered with seven, and went on to total nine in the game.

The only score for either team in the first half came when Terra Nova botched a snap on a punt play, forcing punter Giovanni Borzoni to dive on the loose ball in the end zone, resulting in a safety with four minutes remaining in the half to send M-A into the locker room leading 2-0.

“We thought we had it,” Terra Nova senior Layne Couri said of his team’s attitude at the break. “We just thought we were shooting ourselves in the foot.”

M-A (2-0 in PAL Bay, 4-2 overall) started the second half with a bang though, courtesy of “Big Play” Barker. The senior was filling in for the Bears’ injured starting quarterback Justin Anderson, but the natural running back did what he did best on the second play from scrimmage.

With M-A’s front five spreading the Terra Nova defensive line, Barker didn’t hesitate taking the shotgun snap out of the wildcat, shooting through the A-gap and high-stepping through one potential tackle, hitting the accelerator and sprinting right up the heart of the field for a 75-yard touchdown.

“That was great,” M-A senior lineman Noa Ngalu said. “That started building the momentum and everyone started going off.”

The Bears went on to score three touchdowns in the third quarter to break it open.

The M-A defense, still in shutdown mode, forced a three-and-out. And with the Bears getting the ball back at their own 47, it took just two more plays to get in the end zone again, this time on a 50-yard pass from Barker to sophomore receiver Troy Franklin, who nabbed a bubble screen near the line of scrimmage and bolted up the left sideline for the score.

Franklin was involved in two more scores, but both came from the defensive side.

With two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Terra Nova (1-1, 5-1) advanced to the M-A 27-yard line. But on third-and-2, Franklin picked off a Jared Julian pass in the end zone. Three plays later from the Bears’ 20, Barker turned in his third big play of the quarter, hitting senior Malik Johnson 10 yards up field, and Johnson did the rest, getting inside the cornerback in a 1-on-1 matchup and flying up the middle of the field to pay dirt for an 80-yard touchdown score.

Franklin pushed the score to 30-0 midway through the fourth quarter, picking off a Julian pass. With Terra Nova trying to force the ball in the end zone from M-A’s 17, Julian’s pass over the middle got tipped up and into the arms of Franklin, who nabbed the ball at the Bears’ 4 and returned it 96 yards for a pick-6.

“You have to remember, he’s still just a sophomore,” Ravipati said. “I think Troy Franklin is going to be playing football for as long as he wants to.”

Barker finished the game with 265 total yards, including 10 rushed for 94 yards and one touchdown, while going 7 for 11 passing for 171 yards and two more scores. He ran for over 100 forward yards, but got hit for negative yards on three of his last four carries to knock him down to 94 rushing yards.

“I thought that we kept our heads in the game,” Couri said. “All of their touchdowns were on big plays. So it was just the little things that hurt us.”

Julian finally drove his offense downfield on Terra Nova’s last possession to break up the shutout. After moving the ball to the Tigers’ 41, Julian completed consecutive passes of 18 and 17 yards.

He then nearly through another pick-6 when junior cornerback J.D. Carson flew toward the sideline to get between the ball and the receiver. Carson had nothing but daylight for the length of the field as the ball hit him in the hands, but he couldn’t hold on, giving Terra Nova another chance.

This time, Julian converted, connecting with junior Raphael Bendo for a 24-yard touchdown; Julian then completed a 2-point conversion pass to Bendo to finish the day’s scoring.

Julian took a beating all game long, consistently getting racked by hard hits from the M-A defense. The 6-3, 210-pound senior just kept bouncing back to his feet though. All told, he gained 284 total yards, going 14-of-27 passing for 230 yards, while rushing 23 times for 54 yards.

“He’s a player,” Couri said. “He’s a real competitor. I love Jared. He gets emotional, but it’s for the better. He always does what’s best for us.”

With the win, M-A is technically tied for first place with two other teams; Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo School, both opening league play Friday, are each 1-0. The Bears remain the top-ranked team in the PAL, entering the day No. 17 in the San Francisco Chronicle Metro rankings.