SHP comes back twice to win Valpo Bowl

It may be cliché, but it’s true. The Menlo School squad found that out the hard way as Sacred Heart Prep converted three Knights turnovers into three touchdowns as the Gators rallied from a 28-16 fourth-quarter deficit to beat Menlo 31-28 in the annual Valpo Bowl Friday night at Woodside High.

It was the second time in the game the Gators had to comeback from a two-touchdown hole. Menlo led 14-0 41 seconds into the second quarter as Sacred Heart Prep could not do much on either side of the ball in the opening 12 minutes. But in the second quarter, the Gators’ offense finally found its rhythm. After kicking a field goal, they took advantage of a four-yard punt and a short field to score their first touchdown of the night with less than a minute to play in the first half.

Then things went sideways for the Knights. Quarterback Jack Heneghan was blindsided by Sacred Heart Prep’s Sean Mayle, popping the ball out of Heneghan’s hand. Derek Hunter snatched the ball out of the air and rumbled 33 yards the other way for a touchdown with six seconds left in the half to give the Gators a 16-14 lead at halftime.

Menlo recovered and played a dominating third quarter, scoring twice to take a 28-16 lead going into the fourth quarter. Again, Sacred Heart Prep righted the ship and took advantage of two fourth-quarter Knights turnovers.

After the Menlo defense held the Gators on fourth down, Sacred Heart Prep got the ball back two plays later when Mike Covell cut in front of a Menlo receiver and picked off a pass and returned it to midfield. The Gators promptly marched 51 yards on nine plays, with Andrew Segre bulling his way into the end zone from two yards out to cut their deficit to 28-23 with 5:04 to play.

The Gators got the ball right back when Heneghan fumbled the ball at his own 25-yard line and Sacred Heart Prep was back in business. It took them five plays to find pay dirt as Ben Burr Kirven scored his second touchdown on as many carries and just like that, the Gators took a 31-28 lead with 3:05 left in the game.

The Knights had one last shot, starting their final drive at their own 34. They got as far as the Gators’ 29, but three straight incompletions set up a fourth-and-10. Heneghan hit Connor Stastny on an underneath screen, but the Gators’ defense dropped him after a 6-yard game to seal the win.

In the first quarter, Menlo did little wrong. Heneghan shredded the Gators’ defense on the Knights’ second possession of the game, throwing for 54 yards as they drove 80 yards on 12 plays, with Heneghan finding Stastny on a 2-yard scoring pass for a 7-0 lead with 3:22 to play in the quarter.

After forcing a Sacred Heart Prep punt, Heneghan and the Menlo offense went back to work. Heru Peacock gained 17 yards on a run and three plays later, Heneghan hooked up with Peter Bouret for a 27-yard gain down to the Gators’ 29. Two plays later, Heneghan threaded a perfect pass to Bouret for a 29-yard score on a post pattern and Menlo led 14-0.

Heneghan finished the game completing 20 of 34 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns. He was also Menlo’s leading rusher, gaining 60 on 20 carries. Connor Paterson caught six passes for 65 yards for the Knights, Bouret had two catches for 56 and Stastny finished with 50 yards on five catches. Each also caught a touchdown pass.

From there, however, the Sacred Heart Prep defense buckled down. Although the 28 points allowed was a season high, the Gators’ defense allowed 31 yards of total offense. After allowing 136 yards passing in the first half, the Gators held Menlo to just 92 in the second half and they sacked Heneghan six times.

Offensively, the Gators had two rushers go over the 100-yard mark. Ryan Gaertner finished with 107 yards on 19 carries, while Segre had 106 on 16 carries.