Acalanes JV football lost 27-14 to Archbishop Mitty in its season opener at Foothill College on Aug. 28. The Dons scored 14 unanswered second-half points to close the gap, according to a game recap on the Acalanes Boosters site.
Trailing 14-0 at halftime, the Dons opened the third quarter with tight end Mateo Valenzuela ripping off a long kickoff return. Valenzuela became a chain-moving target for quarterback Will Feinstein throughout the half, catching multiple passes.
The highlight came on a flea-flicker. Feinstein took the snap and lateraled to Luke Kelly, who pulled up and threw downfield to Jackson Cooper. Cooper made the grab and scored to put the Dons on the board.
Acalanes kept pushing. Feinstein found Stone Jaquet near the goal line on the next scoring drive. Jaquet caught the pass, kept the play alive and launched himself into the end zone for the second touchdown. Feinstein then connected with Jayden Lifson on a two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 27-14.
Running back Andre Lewis was tough to bring down in the second half, repeatedly driving through tacklers for extra yards. Kellan Middleton also carried the ball as the Dons worked more backs into the offense.
The defense gave Acalanes a chance early. Kelly broke up a long pass and nearly turned another into a pick-six. Lifson's tackle forced a turnover on downs, and Valenzuela made multiple stops on that side of the ball.
Up front, Harrison Clark, Beau Tandler, Anthony "AJ" Bishop, Luke Fratarcangeli, Kanishka Giridhar, Reese Caicedo, Arian Majlessi and Salvatore 'Salvo' Coniglio, along with Valenzuela, held their own on both sides of the line. The group gave Feinstein time to throw and generated pressure on Mitty's quarterback.
The Dons lost receiver Zenai Kaplanes-Jones to a fractured foot early in the game after he made several key catches. His return timeline had not been announced as of Sept. 1.
The Dons' next JV game had not been announced as of Sept. 1.
