The Half Moon Bay Cougars capped off an incredible regular season Friday night with a 35-21 road victory over Palo Alto, finishing with a perfect 9–0 (5-0 in league) record! The Cougars came out strong, jumping to a 21–0 lead in the first half before holding off a determined Palo Alto comeback to secure their ninth consecutive victory.
The Cougar rushing attack was unstoppable, piling up 378 yards on the ground as three players surpassed the 100-yard mark! Paxton Holden led the way with 135 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Luke Pimentel added 121 yards and two touchdowns. Joedoln Flores contributed 115 rushing yards, including an explosive 38-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that helped seal the victory. HMB finished with 411 total yards of offense and 22 first downs, converting an impressive 7 of 10 third-down opportunities.
Defensively, the Cougars came up with some big plays when they needed them most. Lane Miller led the defensive effort with four tackles, six assists, a sack, and a tackle for loss, while Brandon Melo and Max Plancarte each added three tackles and two assists. The Cougar defense also forced two turnovers, including an interception and a recovered fumble, while limiting Palo Alto to just 94 rushing yards.
With the victory, the Cougars are a perfect 9–0. They became the 6th Cougar team to be undefeated league champions and the first to win the De Anza PAL Championship.
Rocky Perry Players of the Game
Offense- Senior Slot, #6 Carlos Sanchez
Defense- The entire D-Line, #84 Chester Collins, #27 Riley Jackson, #72 Vince Parmann, #52 Wuilder Cifuentes, #71 Dante Jeronimo, #9 Joedoln Flores
Special Teams- Senior Special Teamer, #5 Lane Miller
Scout- Senior RB, #17 Brian Ventura and Senior WR, #88- Preston Wyatt
Community Cougar: Kelly Hoffman-Davis
It’s Rivalry Week as our Cougars gear up to battle Terra Nova for The Skull —and we couldn’t ask for a better leader to anchor our community than HMBHS Booster President Kelly Hoffman-Davis!
A Montara local, Half Moon Bay High alum, and owner of GraphicWorks, Kelly is the heartbeat behind so much of our program’s off-the-field energy. Beyond leading the Boosters through big weeks like this one, she was previously the president of the Mavericks Community Foundation/Coastside Gives and was instrumental in helping raise over $12 million for local nonprofits over the past 11 years.
Most importantly, she’s a proud Cougar mom to players Tahlon and Brayden.
Games like The Skull bring out the absolute best in Coastside spirit, and Kelly exemplifies that dedication every single day. Thank you, Kelly, for everything you do for our players, coaches, and school! Let’s bring home The Skull
JV Update
The JV Football Team beat Palo Alto Friday afternoon 33-19. The Cougars were down 19-14 at the half but scored 19 unanswered points in the second half for the win. Brody Barton rushed for 118 yards and scored 4 Touchdowns! Wyatt Gunning ran for 104 yards. Manny Hernandez ran for 44 yards, had 66 yards of kickoff return, and caught a Touchdown Pass from Tristan Reilly.
On Defense, Jorge Vasquez-Hernandez had 7 Tackles and a sack of the QB. Wyatt Gunning had 7 Tackles, 3-Pass Defends, and an Interception. Camden Crowell had 7 Tackles and 2-Sacks of the QB. Tristan Reilly had 6 Tackles. Brody Barton and Jaxson Angelini each had 5 Tackles and a Sack of the QB. Eli Blake had an Interception and Kalu Draper had a Sack. Manny Hernandez and Colton Posner each had 3 Tackles.
On the Kickoff team, Anthony Salazar and Ritzie Normant each had 2 Tackles.
