10.25.2019 –The Menlo football team held San Mateo close through the third quarter before falling 21-10 in a PAL-Ocean game on the road Friday night. 

The Knights move to 1-3 league, 3-5 overall and will head to Sequoia (0-3, 3-5) next Friday for a final league match-up. 

At the end of the second quarter, the Knights, bolstered by a strong kickoff return by senior Jaden Richardson, the Knights got down to the Bearcats’ 31. Senior Samson Axe  pulled in a screen pass from junior Ellliot Kinder and bolted for a 31-yard touchdown with 41.8 seconds left before the half. San Mateo (3-1 league, 7-1 overall) struck first and quickly, stringing together a pair of runs before senior Luke Bergstrom fumbled then scooped up the ball again while advancing and rumbled in for a TD. 

On the next drive,  Axe opened with an 18-yard run. Junior quarterback Elliot Kinder connected with senior Jaden Richardson twice for gains of 20 and 10, and mixed with Axe runs moved the Knights downfield. Senior Santi Garcia-Mendez connected on a 37-yard field goal with 5:37 left in the first.San Mateo then had an extended 15-play scoring drive that finished in the second quarter. At the end of the first, the Bearcats fumbled and Menlo was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty after the ball bounced and hit a Knights player’s foot. The Bearcats scored on Lucas Castillo’s 1-yard TD for a 14-3 lead.

In the fourth, San Mateo scored after a turnover put the Bearcats on the Knight’s 30 and they converted on Castillo’s 2-yard run with 2:04 left in the game.

 
Menlo School   3   7   0    0  - 10
San Mateo       7   7   0    7  - 21
First quarter
SM - Luke Bergstrom 42 run (Olle Mandorf kick), 9:20
M- Santiago Garcia-Mendez 37 FG, 5:37 
Second quarter
SM – Lucas Castillo 1 run (Mandorf kick), 10:12 
M – Samson Axe 31 from Elliot Kinder  (Garcia-Mendez kick), 41.8
Fourth quarter
SM – Castillo 2 run (Mandorf kick) 2:04

JV

Menlo 45, San Mateo 0