The SBHS Dons faced the Pacifica Tritons in a big league game on Friday, September 2nd. They lost the game 28-20. Although it wasn’t the outcome that they hoped for, the Dons still fought hard until the clock reached 00:00. They were led by Abel Renteria with immense contributions by wide receivers Kai Mault and Winston Bartley. The running backs were heavily involved in the offense, with Koa Herrera catching a ten-yard touchdown and Nate Barrios running in an 11 yard touchdown. 

The Dons offense was strong, thanks to large contributions from the offensive line. 

“Our offensive line played their hearts out and that made it possible for us to execute our game plan and control the pace of the game. Overall, we played the game we wanted to play and just got super unlucky and missed some crucial moments,” Kai Mault said following the game. “I think all the mistakes in the red zone really hurt us and that could have easily helped us win the game.” 

During the game Koa Herrera was stripped at the one yard line after a 18 yard completion. In addition quarterback Abel Renteria was 32/50 with 343 yards and two touchdowns, and he also threw four interceptions with three of them being in the red-zone. 

Luckily, the defense held up strong and came up with many key stops. The Tritons running back, Josh Joyner, was a handful with 15 carries for 173 yards and three touchdowns. The Tritons had many costly penalties,a huge one being a 46 yard fake punt that was nullified for holding. 

The Dons Safety, Andrew Tobin, had a key interception late in the 4th quarter which led to a long 88 yard drive. The drive resulted in a 19 yard touchdown pass to Kai Mault. The Dons elected to go for two, and Renteria wasn’t able to get an accurate throw off. 

“I agree with the decision to go for it all and win the game but I think that we definitely should’ve done it differently.” said Mault. 

The Dons attempted an onside kick that was recovered by the Tritons and turned into a 51 yard touchdown run executed right up the middle by star running back Josh Joyner. As the clock dwindled down, the Dons had one more chance to drive the field and get the two point conversion, but they ended up turning it over on downs in the Pacifica territory. As the Dons look ahead to the season, they hope to win out and stride into the playoffs with confidence in a shot at winning a CIF championship.

Kai Mault runs off the field as the Dons trail the Tritons [Photo Credit: Luke Gonzales]