SUNNYVALE — “If it’s in the air it’s my ball.”
That was the explanation Adrian Barnett gave and it certainly seemed to be the case Thursday as Barnett caught nine passes for 145 yards and three second-half touchdowns as The King’s Academy came back from a six-point halftime deficit to defeat San Mateo 28-14 in a Peninsula Athletic League De Anza Division game.
On this occasion Barnett was the preferred target for sophomore quarterback Ricky Gutierrez, who completed 18 of 23 passes for 225 yards.
“I have confidence my quarterback will put the ball in the right spot, in a spot I can catch it,” Barnett said. “And like I said, if it’s in the air it’s my ball.”
San Mateo took an early lead when Ricky Gomez scooped up a fumble and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown.
TKA responded with a 61-yard drive that concluded with Gutierrez scoring on a 1-yard run. The snap on the extra point was fumbled, but holder Aaron Duncan picked up the ball and threw it to Justin Turner for a two-point conversion and an 8-7 lead.
The Bearcats quickly regained the lead. Lukas Fitzgerald connected with Selupe Mosca on a 35-yard pass completion and two plays later Jovani Hernandez Cruz scored on a 4-yard run.
The Knights trailed 14-8 at the half, but the second half was a different story.
“We saw who they were optioning to and we made the necessary adjustments,” TKA coach Dante Perez said. “They’re a really good team. They run their system really, really well. Our boys showed up tonight and made plays when we needed them.”
San Mateo came in averaging 310 yards rushing per game with its triple option, service academy offense. TKA held the Bearcats to a season-low 169 yards on the ground, forced a season-high 10 pass attempts and held them scoreless in the second half
“That’s a really underrated defense,” San Mateo coach Jeff Scheller said. “They don’t get enough credit. We haven’t seen teams that can hold us the way they did.”
And when TKA had the ball in the second half, the Gutierrez-to-Barnett connection got cranking. The Knights took the second-half kickoff and drove for a tying touchdown, a 3-yard pass to Barnett. The extra point was blocked, leaving the score 14-14.
A 7-yard scoring pass to Barnett gave TKA a 21-14 lead with 6:01 left in the game. And then after forcing a punt, TKA got the game-clincher, a pass the 6-foot-4 Barnett elevated to catch over considerably shorter San Mateo defensive backs, and then broke away, galloping the rest of the way for a 69-yard touchdown.
“Physically we were overmatched but the heart was there,” Scheller said. “I thought the defense played great.”
Barnett and 6-5 Jaiden Flores make for an imposing pair of wide receivers.
“The kid is phenomenal,” Perez said of Barnett. “Him, Jaiden Flores and Aaron Duncan, with those three boys I truly believe we have one of the top wide receiving corps in Northern California. The thing about it, they come to work every single day. Makes my job easy because I can just coach them.”
Drew Martinez added 79 yards on the ground for TKA in 16 carries.
With the win, TKA (6-1, 2-0) is the only unbeaten team remaining in the De Anza Division. San Mateo dropped to 4-3, 1-1.
“We feel confident we will make the playoffs and see what we can do there,” Scheller said.
