Football: Though Inexperience Shows, Campo Beats Albany

Campolindo 21, Albany 6

The Star: Campolindo sophomore quarterback Brett Stephens completed 8 of 9 passes for 94 yards.

The Turning Point: After Albany hung in through most of the first half, Stephens hit Erik Baker for a 28-yard touchdown with 1:31 remaining in the second quarter, giving Campolindo a 14-0 lead.

The Quote: "They're talented and they play hard, but their inexperience really shows. That's going to be the theme of this season. We've just got to guys some experience so they don't make those mistakes." -Campolindo coach Kevin Macy on his team.

What's Next?: Campolindo travels to Hayward to play Mt. Eden on Sept. 10.

Bottom Line: Though its defense was dominant, Campolindo struggled to move the ball against an Albany team that won only three games in 2009. With young players stepping into new roles, the Cougars will need to mature quickly as they move toward DFAL play.

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Campolindo High was dominant at times Friday night, and the Cougars' 21-6 win over Albany was rarely in doubt. But when coach Kevin Macy was asked to assess his team's overall performance, reviews were mixed.

"We played hard and did some good things," Macy said, "But some mistakes really hurt us."

The defense was dominant, swarming to the ball and limiting Albany's opportunities, stuffing the running game and barely allowing the home team's aerial attack to get off the ground. In the first half, Albany had minus-12 yards of total offense. The Cougars' defense created more sacks (eight) than they allowed completions (six). And if not for an Albany touchdown with 11 seconds remaining in the game, Campolindo would have pitched a shutout.

"Their front four was able to get serious pressure on us," Albany coach Scott Shevelson said. "We had some missed blocks, and (our quarterback) held on to the ball too long a few times, but they really created a lot of pressure."

But despite his team's defensive dominance, Macy was less concerned with dwelling on his team's success and more concerned with fixing its mistakes. And the mistakes were plenty.

Penalties stalled several Campolindo drives, and pass interference calls gave Albany first downs when its offense seemed incapable of gaining any significant yards. The Cougars turned the ball over four times, including once on a punt that bounced off a player's leg.

"We can't have those mistakes," Macy said. "Penalties and turnover really hurt us."

The Cougars are inexperienced, in part, because they suffered offseason injuries to several key veteran leaders, most of whom play wide receiver and defensive back. In their place junior varsity call-ups and converted running backs, as Macy cobbled together whoever he could to fill his team's void.

"They did just enough as a group," Macy said. "They gave us enough to win."

Campolindo's offense was held largely in check, gaining only 175 yards on the night. The Cougars played two quarterbacks, senior scrambler Nick Zolintakis and sophomore pocket passer Brett Stephens. Zolintakis led the Cougars on their first scoring drive, which was completed with a five-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Havel. Stephens entered the game in the second quarter and completed 8 of 9 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 28-yard pass to Erik Baker (two catches, 69 yards) in the second quarter.

"Both quarterbacks played well," Macy said. "It was really just about getting Stephens some experience."

Derrick Margerum led the team in rushing with five carries for 26 yards and Reiner Ebarle also gained 23 yards on five carries.

Macy saw plenty of room for improvement.

"They're talented and they play hard, but their inexperience really shows," he said. "That's going to be the theme of this season. We've just got to get guys more experience so they don't make those mistakes."

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Campolindo 21, Albany 6

Campolindo 7 7 7 0 — 21

Albany 0 0 0 6 — 6

Scoring summary
2:14, 1st: C — Aaron Havel 5 pass from Nick Zolintakis (Jarrett Milner kick)
1:31, 2nd: C — Erik Baker 28 pass from Brett Stephens (Milner kick)
8:00, 3rd: C — Derick Margerum 5 run (Milner kick)
0:11, 4th: A — Ben Roberson 5 pass from Robert Crowley (kick failed)

Individual statistics
Rushing (car-yards): C — Margerum 5-26, Reiner Ebarle 5-23. A — Akwasi Agyekum 6-30, Avi Rosenblum 7-21.
Passing (comp-att-yards-ints): C — Brett Stephens 8-9-94-1, Nick Zolintakis 1-6-21-0. A — Crowley 6-15-54-1.
Receiving (Rec-yards): C — Erik Baker 2-69, Pierce Naton 3-23. A — Ben Roberson 3-24, Andy Choi 1-17.

Team offense (rushing-passing-total)
Campolindo — 76-99-175
Albany — (-15)-54-39

Fumbles/lost: C — 4/3, A — 0/0
Records: Campolindo 1-0 (0-0 DFAL), Albany 0-1 (0-0 BSAL)

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