By DON DELCO

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Behind four touchdown passes from Granada High School quarterback Dalton Lutz, the host Matadors’ offense continued their torrid pace defeating visiting Acalanes 48-14 on Thursday, Sept. 24 at Kevin Drake Stadium.

Granada won its fourth consecutive game to start the season, buoyed by a balanced offensive attack. The Matadors are averaging 44 points per game and are beating their opponents by an average margin of 37.8 points.

“We knew it was going to be a battle, but we didn’t realize they were that physically stout,” Acalanes coach Dana Hemmingsen said. “They were like a JV team. When you get kids of that size giving that kind of effort, in the third and fourth quarters they start leaning on you.”

Granada gained control of the game within a 57-second span of the third quarter. After leading by only 12 points at halftime, the Matadors opened the second half with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Lutz to Zach Hine. On the ensuing possession, Acalanes fumbled a handoff exchange on a third-and-10 from its own 13-yard line. This time, Granada would turn to its ground game. Running back Nico Rodrigues ran three consecutive times, culminating with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to extend the Granada lead to 40-14 with 8:38 left in the period.

Lutz would throw his fourth and final touchdown pass with 2:55 left in the third quarter, as he found Liam Boyer for an 84-yard score. Lutz ended his night 11-for-20 passing for 292 yards and four touchdowns (18, 17, 60 and 84 yards). Rodriguez contributed to a balanced Matador offense, carrying the ball 15 times for 82 of Granada’s 95 rushing yards.

“They were well coached and they had players to be able to implement and execute,” Hemmingsen said. “It was just a good team with good effort.”

The first half featured four lead changes. Granada scored on its opening possession with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Lutz to Boyer with 3:30 left in the first quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Acalanes’ Caelen Birrell returned it 88 yards untouched down the sideline for the touchdown. The point after attempt by Nico Beuchotte gave the Dons a 7-6 lead.

“I’ve been telling Caelen he’s going to get one,” Hemmingsen said. “That was pretty awesome, but again it was one of those games as soon as we got a little momentum, they took it right back.”

Granada answered Birrell’s score with its own kick return for a touchdown. Rodrigues returned the subsequent kickoff 82 yards to give the Matadors the lead back at 12-7.

Acalanes regained the lead early in the second quarter on an 11-yard run by Tate Foster. His score was set up three plays earlier. Dons’ quarterback Eli Cooley overthrew his intended receiver, Birrell, as the pass fell into the hands of Granada defensive back Ryan Willis. As Willis began to return the interception, Birrell came from behind to knock the ball loose. The fumble was recovered on the Matadors’ 23-yard line by none other than Dons’ H-back Kai Harmeyer, who now has four fumble recoveries in five games.

“His play on even a couple of his receptions was inspirational,” Hemmingsen said. “He just kept fighting. He never gave up. He’s blossomed this season as all the kids have. They are all just different people now in terms of their football prowess. They’ve made so much progress and I’m so very proud of all of them.”

Acalanes lead was again short lived. Granada scored on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Rodrigues and a 17-yard touchdown reception by Parker Gillette to give the Matadors a 26-14 halftime advantage.

Foster led Acalanes with 19 yards rushing on seven attempts. Cooley finished 12-for-19 passing for 84 yards and Harmeyer caught seven passes for 52 yards.

“To me, I think our players got wary, but I don’t think they gave up,” Hemmingsen said. “The players were giving it their best but eventually it caught up to us. It was one of those games where you have to play it perfectly. This is a move-on game.”

Granada continued to find success against schools from the Acalanes Union High School District. The Matadors also defeated Campolindo 35-7 on Aug. 27 and Miramonte 49-8 on Sept. 3.

EL CAPITANS — Acalanes game captains were Dylan Andersen, Caelen Birrell, Eli Cooley, and Tate Foster.

SCOUT TEAM PLAYER OF THE WEEK — Mateo Potts

NEXT GAME — Acalanes is back on the road at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1 at San Leandro. It will be the Dons’ fifth game away from home in six weeks. Last year, Acalanes defeated San Leandro 36-6 in the season’s final game.