December 05, 2003

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Palo Alto Online

Palo Alto's title hopes rest with stopping the run

by Keith Peters

Twelve games and only two losses. Any football team would be pleased with such a record, including Palo Alto.

Those two setbacks, however, raise a concern for the Vikings heading into the Central Coast Section Division III championship game tonight at Burlingame High. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Opposing fourth-seeded Palo Alto (10-2) is No. 3 San Mateo (10-2). The Bearcats run a veer or option offense, the same offense that Los Gatos and Wilcox used to beat the Vikings this season.

Los Gatos rushed for 297 yards in a 41-14 win over Paly while Wilcox rushed for 277 yards in a 35-21 triumph.

"That veer bothers me," said Paly head coach Earl Hansen. "We have to take away the dive."

The components of the option offense are simple: the first option is a handoff up the middle. The second option is the quarterback pulling the ball away from the first ballcarrier and keeping it himself. The third option is a pitch to a second back.

If the quarterback is adept at hiding the ball, the veer attack can be a tricky thing to stop. Palo Alto has tried, and failed, in its two attempts this season.

San Mateo certainly could present a problem with senior quarterback Jose Avina, senior running back Toke Kefu and sophomore running back Vena Tuipulotu. In the Bearcats' 28-14 semifinals victory over Terra Nova last weekend, Kefu carried 23 times for 162 yards, Tuipulotu had 13 carries for 133 yards and Avina added 85 more yards on nine carries as San Mateo had 386 rushing yards.

Avina does a good job of putting the ball into Kefu's belly and holding it there until the very last moment, before letting go or pulling it out. If Avina decides against sprinting outside or cutting in behind a block, he can pitch it to Tuipulotu. Against Terra Nova, Avina used Kefu's dive as a decoy after Terra Nova limited the rushing standout to 72 yards in the first half. Kefu wound up with his 162 yards after gaining 75 on his final three carries.

"The thing about it is, they can key on Kefu all they want," said San Mateo head coach T.J. Ewing, "and that's fine. But, sooner or later you're going to have to stop our other guys."

Kefu, however, is San Mateo's main threat. He has rushed for 2,417 yards this season and is closing in on the all-time CCS career rushing mark of 5,233 by Onan Reyes of Burlingame (1995-97). Kefu has 5,098 career yards and needs 136 to pass Reyes. Second on the all-time CCS list is Tyreese Knox of Jefferson with 5,217.

In the loss to Los Gatos, Paly gave up 243 rushing yards to Matt Bates. In the setback to Wilcox, the Vikings issued 148 yards to Anthony Reyes.

"We've faced a lot of good running backs this season," Hansen said.

While Bates was quick, shifty and almost impossible to bring down, Reyes was more of a straight-ahead runner. The 5-10, 210-pound Kefu, however, is unlike either. Kefu is strong, has outstanding balance, stays on his feet and keeps low. He's a freight train with a green light to the end of the line.

Paly will have to rely on its new five-man defensive front, which was finally pressed into service last Friday in a 27-13 victory over Aragon. Hansen said he didn't use the that defensive scheme during the regular season for a number of reasons.

"Getting five consistent players was one reason," he said. "That, and we couldn't get enough players to go both ways early in the season."

Paly's big linemen weren't in shape yet during the warm months.

"Heat takes its toll on the big guys," Hansen pointed out.

Against top-seeded Aragon, which went undefeated to win the PAL Bay Division, Paly's two-way linemen were in shape and the cool, rainy weather also helped. Courtney Ewing, whose listed at 300 pounds, and 285-pound Nathan Taber both had big-time games for the Vikings.

"The better weather helped and our depth has improved," Hansen said.

While defense definitely is the focal point of tonight's game, Paly's passing attack will have to be at its very best, too. If San Mateo is vulnerable, it's against the pass.

That means Paly junior quarterback Nathan Ford and his receivers, senior Adam Dexter and junior Matt Wismann, may need to have similar efforts to the ones they had in a 26-21 win over Gunn. Dexter had eight catches for 118 yards and Wismann had seven catches for 130, as Ford completed 19 passes for 250 yards.

Dexter, who started the season playing both ways in addition to punting and placekicking, had a sub-par game (for him) against Aragon. However, there were mitigating circumstances. Only two days earlier, his family's house on University Avenue burned down.

In addition to the passing game, Paly's defensive key will be to force San Mateo to pass. The Bearcats usually throw fewer than 10 passes a game. Against Terra Nova, Avina completed three of eight for 13 yards. Then again, statistics can be misleading. Avina threw for 138 yards and his teammates rushed for 319 yards against Menlo-Atherton, and the Bearcats still dropped a 50-33 PAL Bay Division game.

"They've given up a lot of points this season," Hansen said of San Mateo.

Those who know both teams, however, look for a close game with each squad perhaps scoring 20 points or more. Turnovers will play a role, like the four Aragon lost against Paly.

The Vikings' offensive line will have to protect Ford, who has 30 touchdown passes this season, while the defensive line can't let the Bearcats run wild. Paly's linebackers and defensive backs will have to support the line play, as well.

Should all that happen and Palo Alto pulls out a victory, the Vikings will match the 11-2 mark turned in by the 1995 team that captured the CCS Division IV championship.

San Mateo, meanwhile, will be playing in its first section championship game in 17 years. Ewing grew up in San Mateo and was an eighth-grader when he watched the Bearcats win their last CCS title in 1986.

"I've heard about the old rivalry, but I don't know much about it," Ewing said. "But, I think it's great that two of the oldest schools on the Peninsula are playing for the title."

The last time these teams met in the final game of the season, Palo Alto posted a 42-14 victory to cap a 10-0 season. That was in 1950.

The series between the teams began in 1911. Palo Alto holds a 29-16-5 advantage in the 50 games the teams have played.

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