SAN FRANCISCO – Judge Nash had the defender on his hip. His feet moved toward the end zone – eyes locked all the while on Michael Mitchell’s rainbow pass.
And after mere seconds, Nash had the ball secured in the corner of the Archbishop Riordan end zone for his third touchdown reception on a sunny Saturday afternoon in San Francisco.
“I saw the defender inside and I attacked his leverage,” Nash told the Bay Area News Group. “And then it was, just go win.”
The senior receiver was the focal point of the Crusaders’ unstoppable air attack in their season opener, one that eviscerated perennial Oakland powerhouse McClymonds 41-18.
The Harvard-bound wideout caught five passes for 77 yards and those three scores.
Mitchell completed 14 of 18 passes for 153 yards and five touchdowns, with Cynai Thomas and Michael’s younger brother Maxwell Mitchell each pulling in a score.
The Crusaders’ senior passer was in complete control of the offense, using nimble feet to scramble for yardage or buy time for passes downfield when necessary.
“Man, don’t even get me started,” Nash said with a smile when asked about his quarterback. “Mike is the best. An amazing quarterback. An absolutely incredibly talented player.”
Riordan jumped out to a 27-0 lead by the second quarter, with power back Adonyae Brown also rushing for a touchdown as part of a 92-yard day behind blocks by linemen such as Michael Langi and Tommy Tofi.
The visitors, despite having around 20 varsity players, still put up a fight until the end. Cal Poly commit Berell Staples was a gamer at quarterback, enduring hard hit after hard hit while throwing for 180 yards and three touchdowns.
Prince Staten led Mack (0-1) with 96 receiving yards, and Rahsjon Duncan – wearing a protective oven mitt cast on one hand, caught a 48-yard bomb for a touchdown.
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Noah Bonner also brought in one touchdown for the team that will play host to another West Catholic Athletic League powerhouse – St. Francis – next week.
“We’ve got a tough one next week, and we’ve just got to keep pushing forward,” McClymonds coach Michael Peters said. “As long as we get better each day, I’m fine with it.”
While McClymonds’ passing game was stellar, its vaunted rushing attack was held to under 100 yards. Edge rusher DJ Sanchez and linebacker Skylar Tiatia anchored a stout front seven.
Riordan (1-0) will travel to Monte Vista on Friday, and then turn its attention to a home game against Pittsburg in Week 3.
It will be another tough test for a Crusader roster that looks forward to testing itself against the best the Bay Area has to offer.
“Playing great competition gets everybody read, and what we’ve got to work on,” Sanchez said.
