FOOTBALL: M-A Frustrated After Falling To 0-3

Jefferson 17, Menlo-Atherton 0

The Star: In a game in which neither defense allowed more than 165 yards, Jefferson quarterback Cheyenne Meafua made the difference. The senior staked the hosts to a 14-0 halftime lead with a pair of 23-yard touchdown passes – pinpoint strikes that dropped M-A to 0-3 on the year.

The Turning Point: Already in a 14-0 hole, M-A suffered turnovers on its first three possessions of the third quarter – mistakes that thwarted any thought of a comeback. Most costly was the interception that came shortly after M-A's Dan Mohr recovered a Jefferson fumble at the Indians' 43-yard line.

The Quote: "(We're) frustrated because we didn't expect this from Jefferson, to go 0-3. We've got to stay positive."  -- Bears running back Cameron Moody, who had a game-high 41 rushing yards on 10 carries.

What's Next?  A bye week – a break that figures to be a pivotal time in M-A's season. Then the Bears visit San Mateo on Oct. 1.

Bottom Line: If Menlo-Atherton has two great weeks of practice, the talented but winless Bears might be able to turn their season around. But if frustrations from the rough start boil over, M-A, which finished 1-9 in 2009, could be staring at another long year.

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The winless Menlo-Atherton High football team is entering its bye week with its season likely hanging in the balance.

The Bears had high hopes of atoning for last year's 1-9 campaign at the beginning of the year. But after falling to 0-3 with a surprising 17-0 defeat to Jefferson in Daly City on Friday night, M-A now has an extra week to mull its fortunes.

First-year coach Sione Taufoou knows his players are frustrated, but he believes there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

"This will be a good team," Taufoou said after the Jefferson game. "We keep kicking ourselves in the butt. We need to handle these things, and we'll be fine."

M-A's loss to vastly-improved Jefferson revealed just how quickly a program's fortunes can turn.

Two years ago, the Bears were a Central Coast Section champion coming off their second straight perfect season in the Peninsula Athletic League's top-level Bay Division. And Jefferson had gone 2-18 from 2007-08 – finishing in the PAL basement both years.

But in Friday's meeting, Jefferson was the far more polished team. The Indians forced six turnovers – three interceptions and three fumbles – and held M-A's offense to 113 yards on a night when the wet fog put on a premium on ball-handling.

The Bears' defense also played well – allowing 165 total yards – but Jefferson perfectly executed a pair of 23-yard touchdown passes that proved to be the difference.

On the heels of a 34-20 loss to Wilcox and a 35-3 defeat to Los Gatos – both difficult opponents – M-A thought it would get its first win against Jefferson. Now, the Bears are trying to determine exactly what went wrong.

"We came into this game thinking we were going to overpower this team," M-A running back Cameron Moody said. "We came into this game overconfident."

"I think most of all, we just need to work on our mental game," added linebacker Dan Mohr, whose third-quarter fumble recovery marked M-A's lone takeaway. "They were one as a team. We're out here playing mostly as individuals. If we got to that point where we're all just playing as a team, I think we'd be a lot better."

Jefferson quarterback Cheyenne Meafua was the game-changing player. First, he fired a sharp pass over the top of M-A's defense to find Kyani Harris untouched for a 7-0 lead with 5:54 left in the first quarter.

Then shortly after Christian Gordon blocked a Bears' punt, Meafua hurled a nice spiral to the left corner of the end zone to connect with Bernard Deberry on another 23-yarder to make it 14-0 just over a minute before halftime.

"I don't care what the record shows – that's going to be a helluva team," Jefferson coach Ako Poti said of M-A. "We had to move the ball on the outside. There was no way I could run the ball up the middle on them. I had to hit the perimeter."

Five M-A turnovers in the second half ruined any hope of comeback.

The Bears' imposing defensive front allowed 84 yards on 36 carries. Semisi Mataele had a seven-yard sack of Meafua.

But the M-A offense found few running holes of its own. The Bears rushed 26 times for 45 yards.

After its bye, M-A has one last non-league game – a visit to reigning PAL Ocean champion San Mateo on Oct. 1. Then the Bears open the PAL Bay season against The King's Academy.

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Jefferson 17, Menlo-Atherton 0

M-A  0 0 0 0 – 0

Jeff.  7 7 0 3 – 17

 

J – Harris 23 pass from Meafua (Gonzalez kick)

J – Deberry 23 pass from Meafua (Gonzalez kick)

J – 26 FG Gonzalez

 

RUSHING: M: Moody 10-41, Klein 1-5, Piper 2-8, Sakalia 4-8, Fonua 4-minus-5, Hoech 1-minus-9, team 4-minus-3. Totals: 26-45.  J: Visesio 13-31, Z. Nunu 2-31, Harris 1-5, E. Nunu 3-18, Rose 1-4, Montalbano 5-13, Meafua 5-minus-11, Bailey 5-6, team 1-minus-13. Totals: 36-84.

PASSING: M: Fonua 5-13-3-68, Hoech 0-3-0-0. Totals: 5-16-3-68.  J: Meafua 6-14-0-81.

RECEIVING: M: Moody 3-51, Culhane 2-17.  J: Harris 2-30, Deberry 1-23, Luavasa 1-16, Gilson 1-11, E. Nunu 1-1.

FUMBLES/LOST: M: 7/3.  J: 3/1.

RECORDS: Menlo-Atherton 0-3. Jefferson 2-1.