Seven TDs! Half Moon Bay running back has game for ages to beat Foothill

PLEASANTON – Adler Halterman’s chest was heaving as he gasped for air, and his legs burned from fatigue while he lined up behind the left tackle and tight end on Friday night in Half Moon Bay’s “Jumbo” formation.

But standing on both the brink of exhaustion and only two yards from the end zone, with all 11 Foothill defenders and every spectator knowing he’d get the ball, nothing would stop the senior running back from his 31st carry.

He dived in to the end zone for his school-record seventh touchdown run of the game.

Half Moon Bay needed every score and each of the running back’s 323 yards to keep host Foothill at bay in the Cougars’ wild 52-45 victory in Pleasanton. 

“I love just pounding the rock, breaking tackles and running behind my line as they’re making holes,” the senior from San Mateo County said. “That’s just smash-mouth, Cougars football.”

First-year head coach Ronnie Ekis – the team’s longtime offensive coordinator who took over from Keith Holden in the off-season – knew Halterman would need a big day with star runner and Adler’s childhood friend Connor Heath out with an injury. 

But 300-plus yards and seven touchdowns, the latter a number athletic director Michael Barragan said was the most in school history? That was a pleasant surprise for the coach of a now 5-0 team.

“We had no intent of getting him seven touchdowns, but that’s the way it worked out because he was running the ball hard and the holes were there for him,” Ekis said of the 6-foot-2 senior who also had a sack and several tackles on defense. 

Even with the Cougars gashing Foothill on almost every down, with quarterback Dusty Dimas and halfback Ali Zavala also combining for 108 rushing yards, the Falcons kept the game competitive.

Jason Knight threw for 455 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for two more. Running back Dylan Souza had 274 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, and wideout Max Shuga had a cool 109 yards and a touchdown reception. 

“The kids showed fight, 100 percent,” Falcons coach Greg Haubner said. “But the fact of the matter is, we couldn’t get a stop at any point.”

Half Moon Bay remained a step ahead all night, answering each Foothill jab with another Halterman uppercut. 

After he rushed for a 47-yard touchdown – his sixth of the day – to put HMB up 39-21 with three minutes left in the third quarter, Knight found Shuga on a 54-yard bomb down the sideline to cut the deficit to 39-29.

The Cougars countered with a 10-play, six-minute march that ended when slippery dual-threat quarterback Dimas collected a bobbled snap on the goal line and powered into the end zone to put the visitors up 46-29 with a little over seven minutes left.

The teams traded touchdowns, and then Foothill cut the deficit to seven with 49 seconds to go as Knight linked up with Liam Shedd for a 58-yard touchdown and Souza caught the two-point conversion. 

Half Moon Bay recovered the onside kick to seal the heart-stopping victory. 

“The last couple of weeks, we talked about not being complacent after the half, and I feel like we’ve been that, so we’ve got to kind of figure it out,” Ekis said.  

Half Moon Bay jumped out to a 33-14 lead at the half as Halterman accounted for every touchdown.

He stayed humble when reflecting upon his big day, opting to give the credit to an offensive line that included mauling center Colton Henry and four other tenacious blockers that gave him openings big enough he said he “could’ve driven a truck through.”

“Colton Henry is a dog, Vince Vella is a dog and Declan Lourenco and Taty Serrano are dogs,” left guard Carlos Moore said. “Dominating up front with them is just fun.”

The Falcons (3-2) will be nursing several injuries as they prepare for Friday’s showdown with crosstown rival Amador Valley before starting East Bay Athletic League Valley Division play. 

Meanwhile, the run-happy and undefeated Cougars will use an upcoming bye week to rest up and get ready for their league schedule and a postseason push.

With Heath expected to be healthy after the break, stopping Half Moon Bay’s duo in Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division play will be a truly daunting task.