The Bears defeated the Wilcox Chargers in the Homecoming game, 41-33, in a second half comeback on Friday night.
M-A began the game on defense after winning the toss and choosing to defer their possession to the second half.
The Chargers were quick to attack, utilizing long passes to gain yardage. After less than two minutes, Wilcox was able to score, securing an early 6-0 lead.
The Chargers missed the extra point, and the Bears looked to respond on offense. However, Wilcox proved strong with smothering defense, sacking junior quarterback Bishop Manumaleuna. M-A continued to fight with passes to senior wide receiver Xavier Bedolla, but was eventually forced to punt.
Back on defense, senior lineman Sam Huddleston led the Bears with powerful tackles, complicating the Chargers’ offensive strategy. Sophomore defensive end Justice Toilolo applied immense pressure, closing the pocket quickly. Even so, a lengthy third-down pass scored another touchdown for Wilcox, setting the score at 12-0 with 3:18 on the clock.
Wilcox failed the two-point conversion, and M-A immediately got to work on offense with numerous passes to senior wide receiver Zachary Sokol and Bedolla. After getting a handoff, senior running back Marlo Jackson broke through the Chargers’ defense, dodging copious defenders to eventually score a touchdown for the Bears. The extra point was successful, putting the score at 12-7 with a minute left on the clock.
“I think I played my best game. Coach Saunders has a saying: It’s not a not. It’s not the amount of reps you get, but it’s what you do with the reps. I think I did the best I could with my reps,” junior center Jaime Parada said.
On the next possession, Parada instantly took control on the defensive end, forcing a fumble with a dominant tackle. The quarter ended with M-A in possession, trailing 12-7.
Junior wide receiver Kyle Gabriel carried the intensity into the second quarter, swiftly scoring a touchdown with a ball heaved deep to midfield. A missed extra point left the score with the Bears narrowly ahead 13-12.
“I was really just getting with the momentum because we came off a little bit slow, with the other team scoring two touchdowns before we could respond, and just coming back and tying it, and then scoring with the extra point to go into half with the lead was just big for us,” Gabriel said.
Iron-clad defense by senior cornerback Diego Madrid kept the Chargers at bay. Jackson halted runs to only a few yards through stifling tackles and pressure, flipping possession back to M-A.
The Bears struggled with false starts, pushing the line of scrimmage back 10 yards. However, Bedolla and senior tight end Griffin Birk continued to move the chain for M-A, utilizing screen passes down the sides of the field.
Despite this, Wilcox forced an incomplete pass on fourth down, regaining the ball with four minutes left in the first half
Wilcox kept pushing their way down the field, but an interception by sophomore cornerback Blake Danielewicz flipped the momentum and put the Bears in scoring position. An unsuccessful trick play by the Bears ended the half with M-A up 13-12.
The Bears kicked off the second half with fiery energy fueled by precise bullet passes by Manumaleuna. After a few plays of miniscule gain, Manumaleuna found Sokol down the field for yet another touchdown, putting M-A ahead 20-12.
“I saw the ball up there. I said, ‘I gotta go get that.’ Bishop threw that up there. The [offensive] line gave Bishop so much time in the pocket, which is always key to scoring touchdowns. So shout out my [offensive] line for that touchdown,” Sokol said.
This lead was easily protected due to skillful tackles by Danielewicz, who came up with several key stops. The Bears held Wilcox with a tackle by sophomore linebacker Kini Tau on fourth down.
M-A remained dominant on offense with similar tactics of long passes. Gabriel and Sokol managed to progress the ball down the field as the clock expired, ending the third quarter with the Bears leading 20-12.
Senior quarterback Milo Lazare began the fourth quarter with a near touchdown run, but was stopped just short of the end zone. Jackson was quick to capitalize on the position with a touchdown to make the game 26-12 with 11 minutes on the clock.
The Chargers tried to retaliate with lengthy passes of their own, but a pick-six by Danielewicz silenced their efforts and gave M-A a 33-12 advantage.
Wilcox’s scoring struggle continued as their next drive was filled with incomplete passes. The ball was quickly returned to the Bears, who kept the momentum going. Birk and Jackson advanced the ball with excellent route dedication and agile runs. However, the Chargers took over possession after a fumble by M-A, and Wilcox cut the lead down to 33-18 after a fracture in the Bears’ defense.
M-A immediately bounced back with a deep pass to Sokol, who juked several players to progress the Bears. With only a few minutes left, junior running back Kennedy Monroe secured a touchdown with a run down the middle. Proceeding, the Chargers scored off the kickoff return, making the score 41-24 with M-A still in the lead.
After an onside kick by Wilcox, the Bears remained on defense. A long pass marked a touchdown for the Chargers, and a successful two-point conversion reduced M-A’s lead to 41-33 with less than a minute left in the game.
“We have to be able to finish games and not ever give momentum back. We gave up a kick return touchdown, which just can never happen,” Sokol said.
On the subsequent drive, the Bears took a knee, solidifying the 41-33 victory and pushing their win streak to three games.
“I think we’re going to come out with a lot of fire next game. It’s senior night, and we’re playing Los Gatos, which is always a big game. I think we really just need to come together as a group, and we need to play both sides of the ball really well,” Sokol said.
The Bears will take on the Los Gatos Wildcats on Saturday at Sequoia at 1 p.m.
