Mountain View finds offense, first win of 2010

September 16, 2010 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Offense.

It arrived Thursday night just in time for Mesa Mountain View to ward off a possible third straight loss to begin the 2010 football season.

And that offense came in several varieties. Long sustained drives. One-play drives. Gadget plays. Lots of timely plays.

The result was a 36-16 victory over visiting Sunnyside that buoyed the spirits of the Toros that had as many as four defensive starters in jerseys and levis, on crutches or in full uniform minus helmet and pads due to injury Thursday.

"It was a good night for our offense," Mountain View coach Tom Joseph said. "We executed pretty well most of the game, We did what we practiced. They have the tools. They just have to execute."

In losses the first two weeks to Mountain Ridge and Chaparral, Mountain View managed just 11 points and 314 yards total. On Thursday night the Toros finished with 369 yards - 266 rushing and 103 passing.

Mountain View quarterback Jeremy Boatright carried nine times for 74 yards and one touchdown. He also threw a 15-yard TD pass to D.J. Geroux.

"We were due," Boatright said. "We had a solid week or practice. Cut down the mental mistakes. The penalties.I don't think we had come together as a team until this week. We're bonding now."

The last two seasons 100-yard rushing games for a Toro back was common in the form of Jacom Brimhall. Mountain View had its first 100-yard rusher Thursday night as senior Kyle Hustis piled up 137 yards on 13 carries.

Hustis turned in the big play of the evening taking a handoff up the middle on the first play from scrimmage in the second half and taking it 76 yards for a touchdown.

Mountain View had a 15-play, 85 yard march for a TD on its first possession of the game. They added a seven-play 55-yard drive with less than a minute to go in the first half to take a 15-3 lead to intermission.

Their gadget play couldn't have come at a better time. With Sunnyside' outstanding junior back Manny Vera providiing 120 yards rushing and two TDs in the third period, the Blue Devils sliced a 22-3 lead to 22-16 late in the third period

With Mountain View facing fourth-and-12 at the Sunnyside 36, the Toros looked set to punt. Upback Adam Decker, the Toros' backup quarterback, took the snap and waited for punter Cody Stewart to swing to the left flat. Decker tossed a perfect to Stewart pass that netted Mountain View 30 yards and a first-and goal at the Sunnyside 6.

Two plays later, Colten Nielsen bulled in for this second short TD run to boost the lead to 29-16.

An 11-play, 56-yard drive sealed the outcome in the final 2:45 of the contest with Boatright doing the honors on a quarterback sneak.

"This week in practice, I could feel it," Boatright said. "I had a good feeling."