Menlo defeated King’s Academy 31-21, highlighted by senior Evan King’s three touchdowns. Photo courtesy of Pam Tso McKenney.
By Jack Gold
After losing their first league game to Half Moon Bay, the Knights bounced back to defeat King’s Academy. Despite a close first half, the Menlo Knights pulled away in the second half.
Menlo was slow to start off the contest, and King’s Academy took advantage. TKA led 7-0 after the first quarter thanks to Michael Johnson Jr., a Division I bound sophomore quarterback, who ran the ball in for the touchdown.
In the second quarter, senior Charlie Ferguson picked up two rushing touchdowns in the quarter, and seniors Hayden Pegley and Evan King connected for a touchdown. However, TKA answered with two touchdowns of their own in the quarter, and maintained a two point lead over Menlo as the first half came to a close.
As Menlo transitioned into the second half, the Knights adjusted their defensive gameplan. As a result, they shut out TKA for the final two quarters of the game.
Juniors JH Tevis and Landon Smith were the main contributors to Menlo’s dominant second half defense, who combined for 19 tackles. On offense, King snagged two more touchdowns, both thrown by Pegley. King finished the night with 8 receptions for 79 yards and three touchdowns, while Pegley completed 16 of his 19 passes, and threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns.
“I was able to exploit the defense because the play calling put us in the right situations,” King said. “I had the advantage over the cornerbacks, so I was able to get by them and [Pegley] put the ball in the right place for me to go get it. None of this would have happened without the line.”
Pegley agrees that the team played a strategic game that led to a big win. “We were efficient on offense and stout on defense,” Pegley said. “We managed to put together multiple drives of over 70 yards.”
After handling one of their toughest competitors of the season, the Menlo Knights hope to ride their success into the upcoming games. Next Friday, the Knights take on South San Francisco for their homecoming game.
