| | Published October 29th, 2008
| Miramonte Outplays Acalanes
| | By Guy Dotan |  | | Quarterback Taylor Caldwell (8) Photo Doug Kohen
|
In a battle between two fierce Lamorinda rivals, the Matadors were able to put down the Dons on Oct. 24 thanks to an explosive first half and shut down defense in the second half. This win puts Miramonte in sole possession of third place in DFAL with a 5-2 record, one game behind Campolindo and Las Lomas' 6-1. The loss dropped Acalanes to 2-5, fourth place, creating an even larger gap between the Dons and Matadors in the DFAL standings.
Miramonte came into Friday's game with a vengeance after losing to Campo in a tight 7-0 game the previous week. Acalanes, on the other hand, was looking to end their three-game losing streak. As if to make up for a lack of scoring in their previous games, both teams exploded for touchdowns in the first half.
The Dons struck first as kicker Nick Manning hit a field goal in the first quarter. However, the Dons never saw their team on top again for the rest of the game. Miramonte quarterback Conor Lowery led the Matador offense surges, throwing for multiple first half touchdowns to receivers Alex Epstein and James King. Even the running game was flowing for Miramonte, as Kevin Paulsen was the Matadors' main source of offense in the second half.
Despite a very slow start in the passing game for Acalanes-zero first half yards-Tyler Malley's running helped the Dons stay in contention. Malley rushed for 144 yards in the game, almost all of those coming in the first half.
The second half was a completely different game, as both defenses began to shut down the opposing offense. Neither team was able to put up a third quarter point. A fourth quarter touchdown run by Paulsen ended the second half scoring drought. On the Dons' final possession, quarterback Tyler Caldwell made up for his slow start by leading the team on a downfield drive, culminating in a touchdown pass to Robert Mull. Lowery kneeled the ball after the ensuing kickoff for Miramonte, ending the game with a final score of 31-17.
Acalanes defensive end and junior Trevor La Honta believed that his team's "biggest problem on Friday was that they didn't execute in the spots when they needed big plays." As for the rest of the season, La Honta claimed that, "we just need to be prepared to eliminate our mistakes and play our game, not our opponent's."
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 | | Miramonte quarterback Conor Lowery (2) Photo Doug Kohen
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA