On a rain-soaked afternoon, the Mission Bay High School (MBHS) football team blanked division rival Hoover High 16-0 on Nov. 4. The win allowed the Buccaneers (4-4-1, 2-2) to close out their final regular-season home game with a needed victory at Dennis A. Pugh Field. “The defense was outstanding,” said Bucs head coach Willie Matson. “Hoover can really pile up some points on you quickly but our defense came out on a mission. The kids tackled and covered really well. I’m proud of them.” A steady downpour, along with sudden strong wind gusts, provided sloppy field conditions, which led to many mishandled plays. In the end though, MBHS’ determined ground game and pass rushing was too much for the Cardinals, whose spread offense proved difficult to maneuver in the mud. Mission Bay senior quarterback Nate Long, whose athleticism has been on display all season, suffered a hobbling ankle injury in the first quarter. Although Long was relegated to hopping around on one leg in-between plays, he missed only one series because of the injury. “I couldn’t let that happen in my last home game of my high school career, so I decided to suck it up and play and we pulled out the win, so I’m happy,” Long said. In tough field conditions, the first score is always crucial and it was MBHS that got on the board first. Its swarming defense, led by linebacker Donshay Bandy, gang-tackled Hoover quarterback Dionte Whitfield in his own end zone for a safety and a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. Bucs senior running back Chris Byrd followed up the safety by returning the ensuing free kick 72 yards for a huge touchdown and 9-0 Mission Bay lead. Byrd has made a name for himself this year with several long, electrifying scoring runs. Although Long was almost exclusively asked to play it safe and hand the ball off, he still made his mark. With 6:13 left in the first half, Long connected with senior wide receiver JaQuan Madyun on a perfectly executed fade route on fourth down. The 18-yard scoring strike gave MBHS a commanding 16-0 lead. “They were playing up [toward the line], so coach called a fade,” Madyun said. “I gave him (the defender) a fake inside and Nate put it in a good spot to let me go get it.” Madyun played a big role on special teams, punishing Hoover’s kick returners. “I like hitting and being on defense,” he said. The second half belonged to the Bucs defense. It dominated the line of scrimmage and caused havoc in the opponents’ backfield again and again. Junior linebacker Dylan Lieto had a big sack for MBHS to go along with 11 tackles. “We know where the potholes are. We knew it was going to be raining and it was going to be bad but we just came out and played football,” Lieto said. The Bucs will end the regular season with a game at La Jolla High on Nov. 10. News and notes • MBHS senior linebacker Isaac Griffin had a team-high 12 tackles and one sack. • Sophomore tailback Devante Kinder provided tough running in the trenches while gaining 105 yards on 21 carries. • Visit us online at www.sdnews.com to see what team Mission Bay will draw in the CIF playoffs. The Bucs could potentially play a home game in the first round of CIF. Bucs scoreless in deja vu with Point Loma

By Scott Hopkins I Beach & Bay Press
For the second straight year, the Mission Bay High School (MBHS) Buccaneers were disarmed by an alert canine corps. The Bucs docked at Point Loma High for an Oct. 28 attack on the resident Pointers, but it was the Dogs who administered a 13-0 drubbing. The score almost identically matched the result of last year’s matchup (14-0) between the teams — with the Pointers coming out on the winning side. The loss dropped the Buccaneers to 3-4-1 (1-2 in Western League) while the Pointers improved to 6-2 (3-0 in Western League). Like last year, the Bucs’ defense gave the hosts all they could handle, limiting the Pointers to a single touchdown, which came on Point Loma’s first possession of the game. After that, field goals by two different Pointers were all the hosts could muster. Isaac Griffin, Dylan Lieto and Franklin Gaylord led Mission Bay in tackles while Aaron Cobbler recorded a quarterback sack. Griffin was also credited with a fumble recovery. The Pointers might likely still be motivated by the memory of a 49-27 beating the Bucs administered during Point Loma’s hosting of Mission Bay High in 2009. In that game, Dillon Baxter led the Bucs with more than 300 yards in offense to spoil the Dogs’ Homecoming. Those were the last points the Bucs have scored on the Pointers.  Indeed, the visitors were only able to record 46 yards of offense in their ship’s log against the stingy Pointers, who didn’t yield even a first down to the visitors until the third quarter. Bucs quarterback Nate Long was sacked five times and intercepted once. Mission Bay got back on the winning track Nov. 4 with a shutout of their own last week as they handcuffed league foe Hoover in a 16-0 victory at home.