Menlo’s varsity boys football team finished its season 9–3. They defeated rivals Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo-Atherton High School for the second consecutive year on their way to a second-place finish in the West Bay Athletic League.

The team’s season ended in the CCS Division II semifinals, where they fell to top-seeded St. Ignatius High School, 42–6. Menlo started the season with a 7–0 record, averaging 46 points per game. “We started off the year really well,” senior quarterback Jack Freehill said. “Every game we played well on both sides of the ball and kept making explosive plays.”

Freehill led the way for the Knights with 31 total touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Trevor Van Der Pyl accounted for 11 of Freehill’s 22 passing touchdowns on the year.

Menlo suffered its first loss of the year to Los Gatos High School and then forfeited its matchup with Wilcox High School due to injury and illness, dropping its record to 7–2. However, the Knights retained the Valparaiso Cup the next week with a 21–6 win over Sacred Heart Prep in the 23rd annual Valpo Bowl. “That was a huge win for us this year,” junior quarterback Caleb Cohen said. “We needed a big win after the [Los] Gatos game, so it was great to get back in the win column entering playoffs.”

Despite falling short of a CCS championship, Freehill was happy with how the team went out. “I’m really proud of the team and how we fought, and how we played that last drive shows how much heart we have,” Freehill said. “We’re down 42–0 to a team that we could have had. We all knew we didn’t play well, and to put the ball in the end zone on that last drive was a great way to end our year.”