Nathan Mollat / Daily Journal Carlmont’s Brian Barret appears to make a sensational catch over Mills’ Erik Kramer. Barret could not hang on to the ball once he hit the ground. Barret still had a big game, making three catches for 108 yards, including a 75-yard scoring strike from quarterback Craig Bartkowiak.

Last week, Carlmont once again crushed Gunn, 60-28, albeit it was the second week of the season. Was that performance just a fluke or was a foreshadowing of things to come?

It appears the latter as the Scots put together a near complete performance in a 43-22 dismantling of visiting Mills Friday afternoon in Belmont.

“At times, we executed well,” said Carlmont coach Dylan Shelley. “We have a long way to go on mental focus.”

Carlmont (2-1 overall) is quickly making a name for itself as a passing team and it was the aerial attack in the first half that did in Mills (0-2). In the second half, however, the Scots proved they’re not a one-dimensional team. Irwin Suguitan, who rushed for 47 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, finished the game with 121 yards on 19 carries and added a third touchdown as the Scots finished the game with 163 yards rushing.

“You can’t pass without the run, you can’t run without the pass,” said Carlmont quarterback Craig Bartkowiak. “Everything has to work together.”

Through the first quarter-and-a-half it was the passing game that carried the Scots. Bartkowiak connected 4 of his first 6 passes, good for 157 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, it was long touchdowns on consecutive possessions that broke the game open for the Scots. Carlmont took a 12-6 lead after Bartkowiak hooked up with Brian Barret for a 75-yard catch-and-run. Mills came right back with a scoring drive of its own. After Tevita Lataimua gave the Vikings good field position with a kickoff return to the Carlmont 46, the Vikings needed seven plays to find the end zone, tying the score at 12 when Jared Puamau scored from 6 yards.

It was a short celebration for Mills, however, as the Scots took the wind out of the Vikings’ sails on the next play from scrimmage. On first down from his own 32, Bartkowiak dropped back and floated a perfect pass to Michael Rosenberg, who was running a fade pattern down the left side line. He caught the ball in stride and out-ran the defense for a 68-yard touchdown and a 19-12 lead.

For the game, Barret caught three passes for 108 yards while Rosenberg had two catches for 82 yards.

“My receivers are really good,” Bartkowiak said. “They run the routes so well.”

From there, Suguitan took over. He scored on a 24-yard bull run with 7:17 left in the first half, breaking a half dozen tackles before finding his way to the end zone. Less than three minutes later, he found paydirt again. This time, scoring from a yard out with 4:36 left in the first half to give Carlmont a 34-12 lead at halftime. In the second half, he carried the ball 14 times for 74 yards and added a 5-yard scoring run.

The Carlmont defense, meanwhile, stiffened as the game went along. Mills gouged the Scots for large chunks of yardage in the opening quarter before the Scots found their groove. The only big play Mills managed in the second half was a Puamau 62-yard scoring run to get Mills within 17, 37-20, late in the third quarter.

“To be honest, the adjustment was made by players who stuck with the game plan,” Shelley said of the defense’s turnaround. “Doing what they were coached to do.”

To their credit, Mills did shut down Carlmont passing attack after those two long Carlmont scoring tosses as Bartkowiak and backup Nick Passanisi combined to go 0 for 10 from the middle of the second quarter on.

“[Mills] went to more of a pass defense,” Bartkowiak said. “So we stepped up in the run game.”

Shelley had a more simple answer as to why to passing game specifically — and the offense in general — appeared to bog down more in the second half. The Scots scored 34 of their 43 points in the first half.

“Mills just wanted it more. I give credit to Mills. They made an adjustment and we didn’t respond well,” Shelley said. “We just need more focus and more desire.”

Burlingame 447, Capuchino 13

The Panthers committed seven first-half penalties for 50 yards, lost starting running back T.J. Murray to a second-quarter injury and allowed scoring runs of 63 and 99 yards to Mustang running back Nate Newman — and still managed to blow out the Mustangs.

After struggling to score in its first two games, Burlingame (1-2) found the end zone early and often. The Panthers scored on five of their six first-half possessions to take a commanding 33-13 lead at halftime. They also scored on the first two drives of the second half for good measure.

Filling in admirably for Murray was sophomore Ilan Lesov, who rushed for a team-high 128 yards and a score on just 11 carries. Junior quarterback Nick Martinez also had the best game of his varsity career, completing 9 of 11 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns — one to Jordan Pessah and one to Brandon Francesconi.

The Burlingame defense, which was gutted by Newman to the tune of 162 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone, buckled down and held Capuchino (0-2) in check the rest of the way. Newman was shaken up in the second quarter and was never the same. Of Capuchino’s 237 yards of offense, 158 came in the first quarter alone.

Newman finished the game with 174 yards and two scores on 15 carries.