KEARNY MESA – Mission Bay High started the season with a dominant 55-0 win at Kearny last Friday night.
Mission Bay QB Trey Arnold, a second-year starter for the Buccaneers, had a career night, finishing 21-for-29 for 457 yards and six touchdowns.
Coming into the season, Mission Bay head coach Greg Tate noted how well Arnold was commanding the offense during the offseason.
That practice paid off.
“Trey did a great job of playing within the offense,” said Tate. “He showed a lot of trust in his guys to go out and make plays. We have a saying of ‘playing point guard’ by distributing the ball and letting playmakers make plays. He looked good all night back there.”
Arnold would connect with eight different receivers in Friday’s win. Junior Sean Lander and senior Kia Barrios received the most work, with Lander hauling in three passes for 125 yards and two scores, and Barrios grabbing seven catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns, respectively.
Running back Shane Brushie also turned in a productive night, carrying the ball twice for 44 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a pass for a 43-yard score.
“We are really deep at the skill positions,” said Tate. “Kia and Sean made plays on the outside all night, but our slot guys also had solid nights. If you do stop a receiver, we still have Shane Brushie in the backfield who had three touches and three touchdowns.”
The Bucs’ defense held the Komets to 104 yards of offense, including 28 passing yards. Their front four generated a consistent pass rush, logging five sacks on the night.
Junior Nero Kraft led the way for Mission Bay, recording 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks.
“As a freshman and sophomore, Kraft was mainly over at defensive end, but we moved him this season to off the ball and let him drop out in space. For his first game, he showed he was capable of doing that,” said Tate. “He’s 6-foot-4 inches tall and about 215 pounds, and is a mismatch for a lot of teams.”
Mission Bay will have more of a contest at home this Friday when they play Holtville, which finished 10-1 last season, including a win over Mission Bay. Tate and Mission Bay hope to flip the script this year.
“Against Holtville, we just need to play patient and be physical,” said Tate, “To me, it’s going to come down to what team bows down first because I think it’s going to be a hard-hitting game.”
Next game
Holtville will visit Mission Bay for the Buccaneers’ home opener at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29.
