While the result of the game could have been better, the Menlo-Atherton football team’s trip to Colorado was a real eye-opening experience.
“The guys got to learn what a college road trip feels like,” M-A coach Adhir Ravipati said. “It was an experience they’ll remember forever and an opportunity to build bonds. It was an awesome experience.”
The Bears dropped a 27-0 decision to Valor Christian, the No. 1 ranked team in the state of Colorado.
“That was a great team, probably the best team we’ll face all year,” Ravipati said.
M-A arrived in Colorado on Thursday and attended a team dinner with Valor Christian on Thursday night. On Friday, after study hall and a walk through, the team toured the University of Colorado football facilities and the campus.
“I’m proud of the way the kids handled themselves at all times,” Ravipati said.
The Valor coaching staff was loaded with ex-Denver Broncos players, including head coach Ed McCaffrey. And then come game time their friends and former teammates started coming around, guys like Peyton Manning, who was on the sideline.
The Bears hung with Valor early, trailing 6-0 at halftime. But after losing starting quarterback Justin Anderson to a shoulder injury in the first quarter they were never able to mount much of an offense.
“They had two Division I kids on defense and they stacked the box, controlled the line of scrimmage,” Ravipati said. “We made plays here and there but couldn’t put drives together.”
M-A pooch kicked to start the second half and recovered at the 30, but eventually turned it over on downs at the 10. Valor responded with two third-quarter touchdowns to go up 20-0.
“The kids battled, but against a great team like that you can’t make mistakes,” Ravipati said. “(Valor) was loaded with talent and very well coached, They could probably beat everyone in Northern California outside of Folsom and De La Salle.”
Cross country
The Menlo School cross country teams followed a strong performance in their season opener with another one, including a second-place finish at the Pacific Tigers Invitational hosted by St. Mary’s at Elkhorn Slough on Saturday.
The girls’ team took second place in the Small Schools Division behind Vista De Sol, in the 36-team field.
Junior Kyra Pretre was the Knights’ top finisher in 18:38.9 on the 5K course, good for fifth overall. Fellow junior Charlotte Tomkinson was eighth in 18:50.1 and freshman Pia Gallo was 23rd in 19:40.6.
Sophomore Maddie Sanders finished in 20:00.8 and junior Katie Aufricht in 21:19.0 to complete the scoring. Junior Cameron Boom ran 23.30 for the Knights in the 284-athlete field.
In the boys’ race, the young Menlo squad was 27th in the 40-team field. Sophomore Kamran Murray was seventh overall in 16.17.9 among 373 athletes. Junior Jackson Aldrich was 18th in 18:31.0 and senior Josh Eichbaum was the Knights’ third finisher.
Senior Max Dostart-Meers and junior Ned Eyre rounded out the scoring. Juniors Teddy Liang, Luke Virsik and Adley Vogel gave the Knights a deep team.
The Knights girls were the first Division IV team, and continue to make strides.
“I’d say that I’m very happy with how the team is doing at this point. The girls have all been working really hard and it shows. There have been some huge PRs so far and we have been moving up in the rankings,” Pretre said. “Our freshman, Pia, has been a great addition to the team and has been handling the transition into high school racing really well. Maddie, a sophomore, has been improving like crazy, and Marisa, another sophomore, is (injured) but is doing a good job managing it and cross-training.
“And Katie and Charlotte, the other juniors, have amazing work ethic and keep everyone working hard,” Pretre continued. “The 7th varsity member isn’t set in stone yet but there are so many girls working hard for that spot and our JV team is going to be awesome too. I’m really excited to see how the season progresses for the team, and I think we have so much potential.”
Pretre, who also plays soccer and runs track for Menlo, said the Pacific Invitational race was a good test to the team’s physical and mental training.
“We’ve been training really hard and I’ve started to see that come out in my fitness and races. I’ve been working on making the mental transition from track to cross-country, which is tough but I think I’m making progress,” she said. “This past weekend was a bit of a breakthrough mentally because even though I was hurting I was able to push through and push myself further than I thought I could.”
In the junior varsity race. sophomore Sutton Pinkus crossed the finish line of the girls’ 2-mile in 15:21.3 as the second individual not on a team and 20th overall.
— Menlo Athletics’ Pam McKenney contributed to this report.
— Menlo Athletics’ Pam McKenney contributed to this report.
— Menlo Athletics’ Pam McKenney contributed to this report.