Analytics for high school football? Why not?
San Marcos High crunched some numbers on PAT conversions this week and the verdict was to go for two.
Fortunately for the Royals, they got a lot chances to check the math Friday night in a 46-6 Channel League win over Cabrillo at Warkentin Stadium. Senior running back Henry Herrera racked up two PAT runs, to go along with four touchdowns, totaling 28 points in the first 16 minutes of the game.
You don’t need a computer readout or Stat Cast to know that kind of production will work every time.
“We got it rolling there,” said quarterback Ben Partee. “The line was doing a great job of opening holes and Henry was doing a great job staying on the blocks.”
Herrera capped a 50-yard drive on the game’s first possession with a 15-yard run behind clear-out blocks by Nico Chavez and Jack Huffman. Partee found Josh Brown for the first of four straight successful 2-point conversions.
“We did a little data study on PATs, going for two or kicking,” explained San Marcos coach Jason Fowle, whose Royals improved to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the Channel League. “We had some trouble with (the kicking one-pointers) last week, we looked at the numbers, and thought we’d mix it up this week.”
After Cabrillo (0-7, 0-2) responded with a 53-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard run by Zack Ramos-Botello and a missed PAT, San Marcos quickly went to work again. A perfect strike down the right sideline from Partee to Huffman went for 57 yards and resulted one play later in an 8-yard TD by Herrera and a run by Partee for the PAT.
After a fumble recovery near midfield, the Royals went 42 yards for a score, keyed by a 23-yard third-down scramble and run by Partee and finished by a screen pass to Herrera behind a key block by Jorge Medina. Herrera punched in the PAT.
San Marcos, which held Cabrillo without a first down for the remainder of the first half, forced a punt and marched 48 yards for eight more points on a 6-yard run and PAT run by Herrera.
When Cabrillo mishandled the ensuing kickoff and Andre Castillo came up with the ball at the 27, it took the Royals two plays to score on a 9-yard run by Partee. Jayden Duncan kicked the PAT and he reprised that old-school maneuver just before halftime when Partee found Brown for a touchdown one play after the Conquistadores tried a fake punt and failed to get the first down from their own 11.
Herrera finished with 75 yards rushing on 13 carries — all in the first half. Partee 54 yards rushing while completing 8-of-11 passes for 135, almost all of it by halftime. Huffman led the receiving corps with 79 yards on three catches.
“Jack (Huffman) is one those kids who has really matured and shown personal growth this season,” said Fowle. “He’s become one of our leaders, both at receiver and at middle linebacker; how’s that for an unusual combination, but he’s doing a great job of leading by examples on both sides of the ball.”
Cabrillo was led by the relentless running of J.J. Lambrano, who racked up 100 yards on 22 never-say-die carries. The Conquistadores nearly notched the only score of the second half when Lambrano ran 8 yards cross the goal line, but the play was negated by a penalty and Joaquin Sandoval snuffed out the threat with an interception in the end zone in the final minutes.
Cabrillo coach Al Pateras, in post-game comments to his team, cited receiver Hunter Barthel (four catches for 51 yards) for solid play on “both sides of the ball.”