ATHERTON, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 27: The Menlo-Atherton football team prepares to take the field behind flag-bearing Cameron Johnson before their game with Bellarmine, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, in Atherton, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
ATHERON — After falling in a 20-point hole to Bellarmine last week, Menlo-Atherton made a point to strike first Friday night against Elk Grove.
Five-star wide receiver Jurrion Dickey needed only 48 seconds to do just that in the Bears’ 40-20 win over the Thundering Herd.
On the second play of the opening drive, senior quarterback Billy Johnson launched the ball to a sprinting Dickey who ran it in for a 79-yard touchdown.
It was the first of two touchdowns for Dickey, who led the Bears in a thrilling comeback win in Week 1. Dickey’s second score of the night game in the second quarter when he made a 41-yard catch-and-run play that put the Bears up 13-7. By halftime, the transfer from Valley Christian had already recorded 141 receiving yards.
“I’ve had the pleasure of coaching some very special athletes… but he is his own man, and we all see it,” M-A coach Chris Saunders said. “No words that I can say can describe what he does better than his play.”
Dickey, who’s impact goes far beyond the box score, didn’t get as much action in the second half Friday as he did last week. Not that the Bears necessarily needed him to.
Junior do-it-all tight end Alek Marshall impressed with his two touchdowns and 48 receiving yards. His second score came in the third quarter — a five-yard pass up the middle — to give the Bears a 26-14 advantage with 5:28 left.
While there’s been a lot of attention on Dickey, who’s committed to Oregon, Saunders believes Marshall could be one of the team’s dark horses this season.
“He’s 6’8, he can run, he can catch, he can block, he’s the complete package,” Saunders said. “The second I met him when he was a freshman, I knew he was going to be good, and it wasn’t until really he hit the weight room this year I realized he was going to be special.”
Elk Grove tried to rally back in the second half. Herd senior running back Mason Vazquez, who had 77 rushing yards on nine carries, broke through a mob of maroon to score a 59-yard touchdown to close out the third quarter. It was his second touchdown of the night. But the Bears stunted any momentum the Herd garnered on the scoring drive when M-A senior Kameron Hawkins blocked their extra-point attempt.
After going scoreless on the Bears’ next drive, Menlo-Atherton recovered a fumble on the Thundering Herd 19-yard line. The mid-peninsula school a took advantage of the premier field position, with Jayden Moss putting the final nail in Elk Grove’s coffin with a 13-yard touchdown catch.
With 7:28 remaining, Moss clapped along with the blackout-themed student section as they chanted, “This one’s over.”
Moments later, his teammates started dancing on the sidelines as the defense got the stop.
Elk Grove coach John Heffernan was proud of the way his team battled, but the Herd weren’t able to properly execute the game plan
“We just gave up plays we shouldn’t have,” said Heffernan, whose team had two fumbles in the second half. “We turned the ball over and in our offense, we can’t turn the ball over. So we got behind a little bit and it just changes what we want to do.”
Elk Grove (1-2) will look to rebound from the back-to-back losses next Friday when it comes back to the Bay Area for another game, this time to Danville to take on San Ramon Valley.
Meanwhile, the Menlo-Atherton (2-0) will relish in remaining undefeated on the season, though Saunders noted his team has plenty to polish before the Bears will head up to Loomis, northeast of Sacramento, to play at Del Oro in two weeks.
“We can’t afford to have the bye week blues where people let their guard down. You have to hit the gas,” he said. “So we’ll rest up, but we got work to do.”
Originally published at Madeline Kenney