CUPERTINO — Gunn doesn’t mind running the ball over and over. After all, the Titans are pretty good at it.
“We’re a power running team,” said coach Dethrick Slocum.
That they are. And on Friday night at Monta Vista, Gunn ran the ball 52 times, controlling the clock and constricting the flow of the game en route to a comfortable 28-0 win.
The victory improved the Titans to 4-0 this season and 2-0 in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Lake Division. Gunn’s early success comes two seasons after the Titans finished 0-10 in 2022, Slocum’s first year in charge.
Gunn’s Kareem Gabareen Mokhtar (45) shouts after defeating Monta Vista High School 28-0 at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
“It feels great,” Slocum said. “Coming from where we were when I first got there, 0-10, getting our ass whupped all over the place to right where we at, you know what I’m saying? It’s a beautiful feeling. It’s nice to see that these guys are buying into the program, understanding what I’m trying to do, what we’re trying to do as coaches.”
On the same night that nearby Stanford picked up its first win as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Gunn made its collegiate neighbors proud with a thorough display of intellectual brutality.
“There’s no mentality,” said senior running back Yonatan Smolyar. “Just play with your heart.”
Smolyar provided plenty on Friday, scoring two of the Titans’ three rushing touchdowns, plus another that was called back for holding. The other two were scored by Samuel Dellenbach, whose scoring plays included more variety.
Gunn’s Samuel Dellenbach (3) scores a touchdown against Monta Vista High School in the 1st half at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
Dellenbach caught a long second-quarter pass from quarterback J.J. Racz near the end zone, fending off pass interference and staying on his feet to get across the goal line. And for Gunn’s final score of the game, he upped the ante.
Dellenbach collected a loose snap on a botched field goal attempt, then weaved 10 yards through Monta Vista’s defense for an unexpected TD.
“The one thing that I was telling everyone else, it’s all about the mistakes,” said MV coach Ceazar Agront. “Being in this division, it could be the little details that change everything. We compiled everything from the very beginning to the end of just mistake after mistake after mistake.
“And then when you start compounding that, you start to overstretch yourself and do things that you don’t typically do, which leads to more mistakes. Fumbles, or just forcing things to happen. And so I feel like that was kind of the big thing.”
Monta Vista’s Trevor Chan (0) is tackled by Gunn’s Alex Silverman (6) in the 1st half at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
Monta Vista fumbled four times in the second half, losing two. Gunn also converted three fourth downs, including one in minus territory, while the Matadors failed to convert on a fake punt.
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Coupled with Gunn’s dominance of time of possession — the Titans held the ball on the opening drive for nearly the entire first quarter — it was a recipe for Gunn to swallow up Monta Vista’s available points. The Titans have now allowed eight points all season — a sterling average of two per contest.
Gunn has been nearly perfect defensively, shutting out three of its four opponents this year.
“They go out there and they hustle, and they take a lot of pride in the defensive side,” said Slocum. “I mean, everybody wants to play on the defensive side of the ball. I put a game plan together, and they go out there and execute it. They do the things that they need to do to win these games on the defensive side of the ball.”
Monta Vista’s Graham Ischo (26) is brought down by Gunn’s Yonatan Smolyar (18) in the 2nd half at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
