Extra Points: Prep Football Week in Review

Cruising through some notable performances in San Mateo County high school football action:

Non-league King – Sequoia: The Cherokees just don’t lose non-league games under coach Rob Poulos. After a 28-7 win over Mazama in southern Oregon, Sequoia now stands 12-0-1 in regular-season games outside the PAL in Poulos’ three-year tenure. Against Mazama, quarterback Mike Taylor threw four touchdown passes, the first scores through the air this season for the 3-0 Cherokees.

Scoring Machine – Menlo-Atherton’s Taylor Mashack: The fleet senior had his fingerprints all over the Bears’ 35-17 victory at Half Moon Bay. Mashack amassed five touchdowns – four rushing, one interception return – in continuing his highlight-reel ways of the early season. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Mashack carried 15 times for 172 yards, including a 72-yard TD burst. And in the fourth quarter, he intercepted a pass and returned it 90 yards for a score, his longest play of the year.

Multi-threat QBs – Terra Nova’s Chris Forbes and South San Francisco’s Brad Los: The north county signal-callers both led their teams to big wins using their arms and legs. In addition to throwing for 269 yards and one TD in Terra Nova’s 50-27 home win over San Mateo, Forbes ran for a career-high 150 yards (on 14 carries) and equaled his career-best with four rushing TDs. (Ironically, his previous four-TD rushing effort came in another 50-point outburst against San Mateo, in 2010.) Meanwhile, Los threw for 143 yards and passed for two TDs and also ran for a pair of TDs as South City won 32-14 at Jefferson. Los’ 8-of-13 passing night was his most efficient performance in the Warriors’ 4-0 start.

Rising ‘D’ – Capuchino: A week after forcing five turnovers in a 35-14 victory over Harker, the Mustangs used another impressive defensive performance to win consecutive games for the first time since late in the 2008 season. An early Jordan Griffiths interception set the tone as Cap pitched a shutout to beat Mt. Eden for the second straight year. Behind their 27-0 road win, the 2-2 Mustangs equaled their top win total of the last two years.

Jack of All Trades – Menlo’s Dylan Mayer: A game-opening 92-yard TD run was just the beginning for the 6-2, 225-pound senior in Menlo’s 35-7 win over Hillsdale at Woodside. Mayer, a running back/linebacker, rushed for two more TDs, completed a 25-yard pass and added an interception as Menlo improved to 3-0.

Breakout Performance – Sacred Heart’s Pat Bruni: The lanky wide receiver hauled in a career-high seven passes for 179 yards as the Gators improved to 4-0 with a 31-15 home win over Scotts Valley. Bruni’s 51-yard TD catch from Jack Larson put the game away in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-2 senior has averaged 19.4 yards on his 14 receptions this year.

Head-turning Effort – Burlingame’s Chris Graham: The versatile Panther was a pass-rushing terror at outside linebacker in totaling six sacks during a 26-24 loss at Mountain View. Graham also kicked a 27-yard field goal that gave Burlingame (2-2) a 17-14 lead in the third quarter.