The football team succumbed to the Acalanes Dons 41-13 on Friday night. M-A struggled to contain the Dons’ offense despite several strong stops.
The Bears began the game on defense and immediately made an impact. Sophomore cornerback Spencer Ama intercepted an Acalanes pass less than a minute in, giving M-A an early opportunity to take control. However, the Bears struggled to get their offense moving. A handoff was stalled, followed by an incomplete rollout pass and a false start that left M-A needing significant yardage. Senior quarterback Milo Lazare quickly changed the momentum, launching a deep pass to senior receiver Zachary Sokol for a 37-yard gain that put the Bears in the Dons’ territory.
After an encroachment penalty pushed M-A back, senior running back Marlo Jackson picked up five yards on the ground. Senior receiver Lucca Keighery then fought for a pass against an Acalanes defender and drew a penalty, giving the Bears another first down. A pass interference penalty against the Dons allowed M-A to advance 10 yards. Jackson took advantage of the opportunity, running the ball in from the outside for a touchdown to give the Bears an early 6-0 lead with 5:55 remaining in the quarter. The extra point was no good, and a penalty on the touchdown play was enforced on the kickoff.
Acalanes responded by pushing downfield, but the Bears’ defense continued to make plays, including tight coverage from Jackson at cornerback. A penalty on fourth down, however, gave the Dons a first down with 2:24 left.
Acalanes capitalized on the extended drive, scoring a touchdown and converting the extra point to take a 7-6 lead with 1:39 remaining in the first quarter. M-A was unable to respond offensively, ending the quarter trailing by one.
The Dons carried their momentum into the second quarter. After a punt by the Bears was ruled down by contact, Acalanes took possession deep in M-A territory and scored another touchdown with 10:52 remaining. The successful extra point extended the Dons’ lead to 14-6. Senior kick returner Beau Courson gave M-A good field position with a powerful kickoff return, but the Bears once again struggled to move the ball and punted from their own 26-yard line.
Acalanes continued to attack downfield, eventually connecting on another long touchdown pass, but a missed extra point made the score 20-6 with 7:31 left in the half. Courson once again provided a spark on special teams, returning the following kickoff into Acalanes’ territory. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Dons pushed the Bears even closer to the endzone.
“Our excitement needs to be there for the whole game, not just the beginning,” junior receiver Oscar Barron said.
A screen pass to senior slot receiver Xavier Bedolla moved M-A heavy into Don territory. Lazare later found Bedolla for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 20-13 with the extra point by junior kicker Juanpablo Maciel. The Dons wasted no time when they regained possession, continuing to find openings in the Bears’ defense and scoring again with 2:27 remaining in the half, making it 27-13.
M-A had trouble on the following kickoff return when a lack of communication resulted in a fumble, although the Bears were able to recover. A deep connection between Lazare and Keighery was nearly caught but fell incomplete, and M-A was forced to punt. Sophomore defensive end Justice Toilolo continued to make aggressive plays defensively as the Bears tried to slow down the Dons. Acalanes nevertheless found the endzone once again with just 18 seconds remaining in the half, extending its lead to 34-13 heading into halftime.
The Bears kicked off the start of the second half on offense with an impressive run by Ama, but M-A remained short of the line. Later, Bedolla remarkably caught over the middle and took the Bears to first down. With another amazing catch by junior receiver Naim Mungia, he advanced the ball to bring M-A into the Dons’ territory. Ama took control of the ball once more and carried the team to gain two yards for a third consecutive success from the 31-yard marker.
Unfortunately, the Bears could not convert a turnover on downs; inevitably, the Dons continued to push downfield with the Bears struggling to stop them. M-A forced a change of possession, taking the Bears to offense.
M-A strategically stalled deep in their own territory, protecting their field position, and then punting it away.
Back on defense, Toilolo imposingly stopped Acalanes’ run, the Bears forced a change of possession on downs, and again were deep in their own territory on offense.
The Bears’ final offensive drive barely advanced. Lazare connected the pass with Mungia, successfully capturing a first down at the 30-yard line. This success didn’t last long, however, as Acalanes intercepted the connection downfield, changing possession once more. Acalanes added one final touchdown, ending the game 41-13 in favor of the Dons.
“We learned just how harmful penalty yardage can be for the team’s momentum,” Sokol said.
“Hopefully this lights the fire under us to help us win next week and keep going,” junior center Jaime Parada said.
The Bears will travel to face the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs on Friday at 7 p.m.
