FOOTBALL: Johnson, Scots Handle Cap

The Score: Carlmont 48, Capuchino 7.

The Star: Despite battling a knee injury, Carlmont running back Robert Johnson enjoyed a 242-yard, four-touchdown day. Three of his scores went for over 40 yards as the visiting Scots rolled to their first Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division win.

The Turning Point: With less than two minutes left in the first quarter, Capuchino was coming off a promising drive and looked poised to cut into a seven-point deficit. But then Carlmont's Kenton Buckley returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown, making the score 21-7.

The Quote: "We have figured out these past two years that we can't underestimate an opponent. Last week, we underestimated Hillsdale, and they killed us." -- Carlmont's Robert Johnson, after his team bounced back from a 51-13 defeat to Hillsdale with a big win.

What's Next? Carlmont returns home to face El Camino on Oct. 29 at 3 p.m., a battle of teams looking to stay in the PAL Lake title hunt. At 2:45 p.m. on that day, Capuchino has a tough home test against Hillsdale, the league's defending champion.

The Bottom Line: After a 0-5 campaign in the PAL Ocean last year, Carlmont improved to 1-1 in the PAL Lake behind Johnson's stellar showing. Now, Capuchino is the PAL's lone team without a league win since 2008.

_______________________________________________________

Despite sustaining a knee injury last week, running back Robert Johnson carried the Carlmont High football team to its first league win since 2008 on Friday afternoon.

Johnson totaled 242 yards and four touchdowns on just 15 carries in a 48-7 rout at Capuchino in a Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division game.

"I wasn't sure last week whether or not I was going to play," Johnson said. "The knee felt normal, except for the first touchdown."

That first touchdown run went for 38 yards, and it gave Carlmont (4-3, 1-1 PAL Lake) an early 7-0 lead.

On the next drive, Capuchino's Philip Fizulic completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jon Wild to even the score.

Capuchino (1-5, 0-2) needed to rewrite its playbook after losing John Bacchi, its only true quarterback, for the season with a knee injury early in the year. Multiple players lined up behind center on Friday, including Tim Gretter, who added a running threat.

"We added options into the offense to mix things up," Mustangs coach Jordan Seiden said.

Early on, Carlmont  had difficulty adjusting to Capuchino's new offensive scheme.

"They came out in a different look that we hadn't seen before," Scots coach Jason Selli said.

Just as Capuchino appeared able to keep up with heavily-favored Carlmont, Scots linebacker Kenton Buckley returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown that gave the visitors a 21-7 lead with 1:48 left in the first quarter.

Then Carlmont recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. From there, Johnson and the Scots ran all over the host squad on a damp, grassy field.

"We have figured out these past two years that we can't underestimate any opponent," said Johnson, whose team rebounded from last week's 51-13 loss to Hillsdale.

"We were not in a position to overlook anyone," Selli said.

Near the end of the game, a scary scene developed as two Capuchino players -- star wide receiver Logan Soli and running back Damon Stansbury -- lay motionless on the ground.

San Bruno medical personnel responded, and both players left the field on stretchers and were taken to the hospital in separate ambulances with apparent concussions.

Carlmont can certainly be excited about evening its PAL Lake record and breaking the program's PAL losing streak. Now the Scots hope they can use the victory as a springboard to get into the Lake title hunt.

"Every win is a good win," said Selli, whose program faces a solid test when El Camino visits Belmont on Oct. 29. "We just tried to come out and execute."