By DON DELCO

ORINDA, Calif. — The Acalanes freshman football team scored touchdowns on its first four offensive possessions, leading the Dons to a convincing 30-8 win over Miramonte on Thursday, Oct. 15. It was the most points Acalanes scored in a single game this season.

The victory in the season’s final road game lifted Acalanes’ record to over .500 for the first time at 4-3. Meanwhile, it was Miramonte’s fifth consecutive loss, as they fell to 1-5.

“From the offensive line blocking to the quarterback understanding footwork and reads to the receiver running routes like they should, all 11 of those pieces of the puzzle are fitting together,” Acalanes coach Dana Hemmingsen said. “The kids are doing their job. (Offensive coordinator) Vim Keosian is a good play caller. The result is they were marching down the field.”

Acalanes’ Tate Foster opened the scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run — his first of three rushing touchdowns on the night — with 5:45 left in the opening quarter, capping a quick four-play 55-yard drive.

After a second consecutive three-and-out by Miramonte, Acalanes marched 72 yards on eight plays, ending with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Eli Cooper to Kai Harmeyer with seven seconds left in the first quarter. The Dons overcame two offensive holding calls, as the drive was highlighted by a 28-yard reception by Trey Renno. The Dons’ wideout beat one-on-one coverage with a twisting, one-handed catch as he fell to the ground at the Miramonte 21-yard line.

Miramonte’s third straight three-and-out set up Acalanes at midfield and four plays later Foster scored on a 36-yard run, as he spun out of a would-be tackler at the 25-yard line, giving the Dons a 20-0 lead with 7:53 left in the second quarter.

At this point, Miramonte’s offense had -1 yards of total offense and no first downs. The Matadors switched to an up-tempo offense for their fourth possession and found success in the air. Miramonte put together a 12-play drive that included converting a fourth-and-10 before facing another fourth down at the Acalanes’ 14-yard line. Miramonte quarterback Niklas Ng threw in the end zone for wide receiver Jake Bishop, but the pass was broken up by Acalanes’ defensive back Jovani Bordi.

Acalanes took over and drove 86 yards in 10 plays, buoyed by a 21-yard tipped-ball reception by Caelen Birrell that set up the Dons in the red zone. Four Foster runs later, he scored from one yard out, giving the Dons a 27-0 halftime advantage.

“From day one, we’ve been building and building,” Hemmingsen said. “Now you’re seeing the improvement and yesterday everything on both sides of the ball looked more advanced. The kids are really starting to get it.”

Nico Beuchotte added a 28-yard field goal on Acalanes’ opening possession of the second half following a nine-play drive that ended at the Miramonte 10-yard line.

Miramonte’s lone touchdown came on a trick play. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Ryder Smyly took a lateral from Ng before chucking it deep to Bishop, who got behind the Acalanes defense for a 63-yard touchdown reception. The Matadors would not get another first down for the rest of the game. Miramonte finished with a total of four yards rushing on seven carries. Ng was 16-for-31 passing for 157 yards and Bishop caught eight passes for 106 yards.

Defensively, Luca Delco and Yannick Ngako both had passes tipped at the line, Max Visnick and Foster joined Bordi with pass break ups and Dylan Andersen had a tackle for a loss. Delco committed the game’s lone takeaway with an interception from his defensive end position with 5:12 left to play in the game.

Miramonte’s offense alignment provided a bit of a different look for the Acalanes defense. In the short week leading into the game, Hemmingsen, also the Dons’ defensive coordinator, had to install a different look for the Dons’ defense. When the Matadors offense went uptempo, Acalanes needed to adjust again.

“I was telling the ends, Luca and (Massimo) Cangini to look to the running back, if he comes to your side, stop rushing the quarterback and go to him,” Hemmingsen said. “Both were doing it and one time Luca did it perfectly and he got the pick.

“That just shows you how advanced the entire team is getting. We can make adjustments during the game. They are now taking ownership of their position and are able to come off the field, give us coaches feedback, we coach them up and they go out and compete. They didn’t do that in game one.”

After the interception, the Dons took over at the Matadors’ 19-yard line, but the drive stalled. Beuchotte’s would-be season-long 43-yard field goal attempt was down the middle, but missed short by only a few yards.

Offensively, Foster led Acalanes with a season-high 128 yards rushing on 12 carries. As a team, Acalanes rushed for 190 yards on 30 attempts. Cooley finished 14-for-16 passing for 168 yards while Harmeyer caught nine balls for 104 yards and Renno had two receptions for 41 yards.

GAME CAPTAINS — Dylan Andersen, Caelen Birrell, Luca Delco and Tate Foster

SCOUT TEAM PLAYER OF THE WEEK — Case Feinberg

NEXT GAME — Acalanes returns home to play host to Clayton Valley Charter at 5 p.m. for its first of two home games to finish the season. The Dons finish with Campolindo at 5 p.m. on Oct. 29.

“These last two games are going to be a challenge,” Hemmingsen said. “But we’re looking forward to that challenge.”

Clayton Valley enters at 5-2 overall and coming off a bye week. One of the two Eagles’ losses was a forfeit Sept. 24 against Amador Valley. Clayton Valley opened the season with wins over Edison (14-6 on Aug. 27) and San Rafael (34-0 on Sept. 3) before falling to San Ramon Valley (26-0 on Sept. 10). The Eagles rebounded with victories over De La Salle (9-7 on Sept. 17), Northgate (20-6 on Oct. 1) and Dublin (32-0 on Oct. 8).

Last season, Acalanes beat Clayton Valley 21-9.