HALF MOON BAY – On the track, Sacred Heart Prep senior Maxime Morelle is a thrower – discus, shot put – and a Central Coast Section finalist in both events.
But on the football field, Morelle hardly can be defined by a label or even by his positions of running back and linebacker.
During the Gators’ 37-27 non-league victory at Half Moon Bay on Thursday night, Morelle passed for a touchdown, returned an interception for another, rushed for 91 yards on 14 carries, and had a tackle for loss.
His pick six helped Sacred Heart Prep (2-1) score 30 consecutive second-half points to break a tie and take such a commanding lead that Half Moon Bay’s late 20-point rally still wasn’t enough.
Half Moon Bay (2-1) is an aggressive team that “blitzes as much as any team in America,” SHP coach Mark Grieb said.
To counter that, SHP designed a toss play with a passing option.
On a first-quarter play, Half Moon Bay read the formation and yelled, “Watch for the toss.” The play resulted in an eight-yard Morelle run on third down.
Sacred Heart Prep’s Nathan Fox (6) reaches back to catch a touchdown pass in the first quarter of their game at Half Moon Bay High School in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Facing another third down on the same drive, SHP lined up in the same formation. As the Cougar defense crept up a little closer to the line, expecting another run, Morelle instead pulled up and passed to Nathan Fox in stride down the sideline for a 52-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
“He can throw, he can catch, he can run, he can tackle,” Grieb said of the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Morelle. “He’s just an animal. And he’s fast.”
But it was Morelle’s interception that truly changed the direction of the game.
Half Moon Bay had tied the score 7-7 on a 60-yard hook-and-lateral from sophomore quarterback Paxton Holden to Will Wimsett to Brandon Melo, who took it down the right sideline for the final 50 yards of the journey, with only 28 seconds left in the half.
After SHP scored on its opening second-half possession, Half Moon Bay looked to tie it up again when Morelle jumped a route to intercept a Holden pass and returned it 69 yards to give the Gators a 20-7 lead and the opening it needed.
Scores on its next three possessions, with help of two Half Moon Bay fumbles, enabled Sacred Heart Prep to build a 37-7 fourth-quarter lead.
Sacred Heart Prep quarterback Nico Pollioni (4) throws a touchdown pass to Nathan Fox (6) in the fourth quarter of their game at Half Moon Bay High School in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
“As a team, I think we’re starting to realize how we have to play if we want to win,” Grieb said. “Getting lined up, making the right calls, adjusting to the things that the other team is throwing at you. Being able to account for those ‘backers who were trying to shoot the gaps … I thought our line did a great job making those calls.”
Related Articles
Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Ania Aleshi, Hillsdale flag football
Bay Area high school football 2025: Week 3 preview, schedule
Prep football: Readers pick Vanden at Campolindo game for us to cover
Bay Area News Group high school football predictions: Week 3, 2025
Overnight 49ers hero Tonges recounts Los Gatos High days: ‘I never really even considered’ a WCAL private school
Among other standouts, Fox, a kicker with a big-time leg, caught five passes for 137 yards, scored two touchdowns and kicked a field goal of 27 yards. And linebacker Madyn Misra had two sacks.
Despite the deficit, Holden continued to fight, making good decisions in the precision timing of the run-pass option out of the team’s double wing formations. He ran 18 times for 151 yards, completed 11 of 25 passes for 161 yards, and threw for two touchdowns.
“It’s pretty tough at first in this offense,” Paxton said. “But I learned this on the junior varsity last year. You’ve just got to be disciplined and make decisions quick.”
His father, Keith Holden, moved up from Half Moon Bay’s J.V. coach to return to his varsity head coaching position with Paxton at the helm.
“Tonight was a really good example of who he is,” Keith said. “A lot of things didn’t go right and he was still in there battling, still making plays even when we were kind of out of it. He loves to compete. That’s just his personality.”
Sacred Heart Prep head coach Mark Grieb speaks to quarterback Nico Pollioni (4) while playing Half Moon Bay in the first quarter of their game at Half Moon Bay High School in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Sacred Heart Prep’s Nathan Fox (6) scores a touchdown while being tackled by Half Moon Bay’s Ronin McCauley (28) in the first quarter of their game at Half Moon Bay High School in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Half Moon Bay’s Brandon Melo (44) gestures after scoring a touchdown against Sacred Heart Prep in the second quarter of their game at Half Moon Bay High School in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Half Moon Bay head coach Keith Holden coaches his players against Sacred Heart Prep in the second quarter of their game at Half Moon Bay High School in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)