OAKLAND — The omnipresent, summertime anthem that is Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” — a song that Bishop O’Dowd’s football program has embraced — did not pollute the night sky after the final seconds of Friday night’s all-Oakland matchup withered away.
McClymonds had earned the sound of silence — and silence slapped in its own way.
Led by three rushing touchdowns by running back John “Sharky” Tamale and another rushing touchdown by quarterback Berell Staples, No. 9 McClymonds (1-2) earned its first win of the year with a 28-14 win over No. 15 Bishop O’Dowd (2-1).
“They said that they’re ‘not like us’,” said McClymonds head coach Michael Peters. “They’re not like us either. We’re 19 players. I had to bring up some (junior varsity) guys. They not like us. We don’t have the nice facilities and all that kind of stuff. We’re just grinding it out.”
Saliou Sow accounted for Bishop O’Dowd’s lone offensive touchdown of the night while John Teti recorded two interceptions, the latter being a pick six.
“Too many mistakes overall,” said Bishop O’Dowd head coach Hardy Nickerson Sr. “You got to take your hat off to Mack. They played a great game.”
Following a scoreless first quarter, Bishop O’Dowd opened up the scoring with a four-yard rushing touchdown from Saliou Sow. On the heels of last week’s 24-20 upset over Monte Vista, a win that Nickerson called one of the program’s biggest in a half-decade, the Dragons had the early makings of another stunner.
The Warriors quickly put that to bed.
McClymonds responded to Bishop O’Dowd’s touchdown with its own score, utilizing a noticeably more frenetic pace to march 75 yards in less than three minutes and provide the equalizer. Tamale accounted for 62 of those total yards, punctuating the game-tying drive with a 29-yard touchdown run.
Before the half’s end, the Warriors would take the lead — a lead they would never relinquish. Tamale, again, took center stage, reeling off a 44-yard touchdown run to give McClymonds a 14-7 lead and exchanging words with the home team’s student section upon crossing the goal line.
The Warriors began the second half by gaining total and complete control of the ballgame. On their first defensive possession, Rahsjon Duncan recorded a red zone interception. On their first offensive possession, they took a commanding 20-7 lead as Staples snuck his way into the end zone with about six minutes left in the third.
In the fourth quarter’s opening minutes, McClymonds marched deep into Bishop O’Dowd territory and was on the verge of putting the game away. Teti, instead, willed his team back into the game.
On third-and-nine at the Dragons’ 11-yard-line, Teti recorded his second interception of the night and returned it 97 yards to the house. Instead of falling behind three scores, McClymonds’ lead had dwindled to 20-14.
Trailing 20-7 in the 4th quarter, @ODowd_FB’s John Teti takes an interception 97 yards to the house pic.twitter.com/2LKxPBqz5W
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) September 14, 2024
But just like the first half, the Warriors had their response. Beginning the drive with 7:55 left in regulation, the orange and black methodically drove down the field before Tamale completed the hat trick with a 17-yard score.
In addition to taking a 26-14 lead, McClymonds left Bishop O’Dowd with less than two minutes to work a miracle. Any hopes of a comeback were put to bed when the Warriors recorded a safety with a little over a minute remaining, increasing their lead and gaining possession.
“The game shouldn’t have even been close,” Peters said. “I’m going keep it 100; the game shouldn’t have even been close.”
