Acalanes @ Archbishop Mitty, August 28

The Acalanes Dons football team lived up to the hype in the season opener. The win was fueled by a broad team effort. The game opened with a quick score by Mitty. Acalanes answered with a pass from QB Tyler Winkles (6) to AJ Del Santo (2). That would not be the last time those two connected. Del Santo (2), had 10 receptions on the night. Mitty then countered and scored again. It was feeling like it was going to be an offense shoot-out, but then the Dons defense showed up. An interception by Finn Rivera (13) in the first quarter, was the turning point. After that Mitty did not score again.

The defense was relentless. Top tacklers on the night were Danny Dunne (77) and Dax Vail (44) with eight each. Sean Tandler (87) was a force with five tackles. The front four pack of: Cash Ricker (55), Grady Branagh (71), Kyle Sanftner (54), Brandon Simmons (84) combined for a total of 12 tackles. It was not just the line that stepped up, the backs had a busy night. Mason Andersen (27) logged an interception as well. The backfield squad of: Rivera (13), Dylan Icay (21), Jake O’Brien (17), Luke Dafferner (18), Andersen (27) and Max Volpin (7) combined for nine tackles. Volpin (7) had four pass breaks ups and had the TFL of the night, out of nowhere, the Mitty back did not stand a chance.

And if you liked how the defense played, the offense really lived up to the hype. Tyler Winkles (6) threw for five touchdowns. Winkles (6) also had 12 keepers, while broadly distributing the ball to seven teammates. Two of those passes were to Jackson Boselli (4) for touchdowns. One for 40 yards, the other for an impressive 62 yards. Rivera (13) also a standout with two touchdowns. The good hands team also included: Tandler (87), Finn Aiken (15) and Joaquin Bordi (26), all with receptions. Bordi (26) was a workhorse on the ground with 11 carries. All that said, this offensive performance starts with the line: Ricker (55), Oliver MacLeod ((52), Graham Welton (75), Branagh (71), Matt Lee (56) and Gino Rubio (50), no glory, but all the guts. Keep up the good work gentlemen.

Let’s take a moment to compliment the sophomores that stepped up on the big stage. Aiden Jefferies (99) made his presence known on the line, and snagged his first tackle of the season. Jake Mikalis (9) had an impressive reception. Leland Stone (20) was a defensive presence in the back field, blanketing receivers and grabbing his first tackle. Kicker, Jonny Rubin (16) was 5 for 5, unflappable, even when faced with penalties that pushed the ball back. He also made a touchdown saving tackle. We will clearly be hearing more about these four in the weeks to come.

* Photo credit: Brian Houston – thx!
**Stats collected by this author in real-time, please don’t take them to the “bank” 🙂