Sep 6, 2008

Gunn falls on opening night

Defense plays well, but mistakes are too costly

By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer

A crescent moon hovered to the west of the new FieldTurf at Gunn High, the night a balmy aftermath from the day's heat.

A pregame ceremony included a ribbon-cutting and Palo Alto Superintendent of Schools Kevin Skelly throwing out the first pass. The Titans baptized their colorful venue by hosting Lincoln-San Francisco in a non-league football game, which turned out to be an old-fashioned defensive battle.

Gunn had its chances, but couldn't overcome costly mistakes in a 14-6 defeat to the Mustangs. The Titans (0-1) were hurt by three bad snaps out of the shotgun formation that combined for a net loss of 67 yards. That helped lead to a net rushing total of 14 yards. Gunn was held to 107 yards of total offense on the night.

"We practice those snaps every day," Gunn coach Matt McGinn said. "We had a lack of precision out there. That's what the game came down to. We don't have to go back to the shed. We just need to tweak a few things."

The Titans' defense played well overall. The main challenge was trying to contain the Mustangs' work horse back Eric Beverly, who rushed for 135 yards on 31 carries. Beverly scored both Lincoln touchdowns. After the Titans were nearly caught twice behind their own end line for a safety, a short punt from their 3-inch line set the ball up on the Titans' 17-yard line. Beverly carried the ball five of the next six plays, finalizing the drive with a one-yard plunge with 4:10 left in the half. Deshon Marman burrowed over for the two-point conversion.

After a high snap went over the head of Titans quarterback Danny Luskin, Mustangs linebacker Denzel Russell scooped up the loose ball 37 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Beverly gained 16 yards on the next two plays. On third down, the junior Beverly burst over right guard for a 25-yard TD scamper with 6:05 left in the game. The run failed and Titans were down eight points, still within reach.

Luskin connected with his favorite target, Jon Zeglin, for an 8-yard gain with Zeglin making a diving catch. A personal foul penalty on the Mustangs was assessed, moving the ball out to the Lincoln 48. Zeglin, who caught five passes for 69 yards, was on the receiving end of a 7-yard pass from Luskin on the ensuing play. However, the Titans coughed up the ball on third down as Mustangs' hefty tackle Ricky Ohlssen recovered.

Gunn got the ball back one more time, taking over on its own 22 with 2:22 to play. Luskin connected on a swing pass to Maceo Parks in the right flat. Parks cut inside nicely for an 18-yard gain. Once more, the Mustangs were guilty of a personal foul as Parks lay on the fake turf injured. Parks had to be helped off the field. Luskin, who was 7-for-18 for 89 yards, threw three straight incompletions. On 4th-and-10, the Titans gambled with a draw play to Nikko Jackson and it only picked up a yard. The Titans never got the ball back.

Jackson had run that same draw on Gunn's third play from scrimmage of the second half. Jackson found a huge hole, then cut to the left, galloping for a 66-yard run. On the next play, Parks took an end around, then cut back across the grain for 16 yards, scoring the Titans' lone touchdown of the game at the 11:09 mark of the third quarter. Luskin tried to pass for the tying two points, but the pass to the corner of the end zone was incomplete.

The Titans' defensive front, which had a goal line stand early in the second period, played well. Nick Rengifo sacked Mustangs quarterback Ronnie Marania for a 7-yard loss in the second half. Nose tackle AJ Tabalno blew up a play late in the third period, causing Marania to take a 9-yard loss. Two plays later, Scott Keenan sacked Marania for a loss of nine yards.

"Our defense played their hearts out," McGinn said. "Lincoln is an athletic team, but we rose to the challenge. Mistakes killed us."

"Gunn played well," Lincoln coach Phil Ferrigno said. "They did a great job. Matt McGinn does a great job with that program."

The Titans host Carlmont-Belmont in a non-leauge game next Friday at 7:30 p.m.

E-mail John Reid at

jreid@dailynewsgroup.com



Lincoln-SF 0 8 0 6 - 14

Gunn 0 0 6 0 - 6

First Quarter

None

Second Quarter

L-Beverly 1 run. (Marman run) 4:10

Third Quarter

G-Parks 16 run (Pass failed) 11:09

Fourth Quarter

L-Beverly 25 run (Run failed) 6:05

RUSHING-Lincoln, Beverly 31-135, Des. Marman 9-51, Marania 8-(-18), Dev. Marman 1-(-1). Gunn, Jackson 3-71, Parks 5-14, Johnson 2-(-30), Godoy 2-(-4), Chamo 3-3, Luskin 4-(-51), Sonuga 4-11.

PASSING-Lincoln, Marania 1-6-0-45. Gunn, Luskin 7-18-0-89, Johnson 1-1-0-4. Totals 8-19-0-93.

RECEIVING-Lincoln, Wong 1-1-45. Gunn, J. Zeglin 5-69, Cisneros 1-4, Parks 2-20.