Day After Report: Mountain View 25, Skyview 22
The strength of a team is often not measured in its starters, but in its bench.
And even though receiver/defensive Troy Pacheco didn’t catch a pass, he made have made the biggest play of the night.
When running back Anthony Ramirez suffered a broken hand, it forced Mountain View to change some things up.
With Ramirez limited to the defensive side of the ball, senior Brandon Walker saw more time in the offensive backfield.
It also meant a new holder. And that’s where Pacheco comes in.
Pacheco was the holder when Colin Biggs kicked the game-winning 20-yard field goal, sending Mountain View to a 25-22 win over Skyview.
“We practiced that all week in practice, just field goals getting it down and down,” Biggs said. “Snaps were great all night, same with the hold. We’ve got a new holder because Anthony broke his hand. … He did great, no problem at all. He got it down on the tee, and I did my job.”
THE BIG SWING PLAY
Friday’s game was one of momentum.
The Thunder appeared to have it in the first half, running 25 of the 31 plays from scrimmage in the second quarter.
Skyview must have considered itself lucky to be down only 15-8 at halftime with as little the Storm had the ball in the second quarter.
But the Storm defense swung the momentum in the second half, forcing the Thunder into punts on their three third-quarter possessions. That allowed Skyview to take a 22-15 lead early in the fourth. Jeremiah Wright had a 59-yard touchdown pass from Brady Barnum, and Blake Ingram had a 5-yard TD run.
A 52-yard touchdown pass to Darien Chase on fourth down allowed Mountain View to tie that 22-22 with just under four minutes to play.
Skyview appeared to be on a game-winning drive. A 38-yard reception by Braden Hadfield was the big play as the Storm drove 56 yards to the Thunder 24 with a little more than a minute to play.
It appeared that Preston Jones delivered the tackle that forced the ball loose from Skyview, and Eric Campbell came up with the recovery at the Thunder 11.
With 1:11 to play and 89 yards from the end zone, the Thunder has no thoughts of overtime.
“We had the heart and desire,” Biggs said. “We marched down the field, got in position to win it.”
“(Our goal was) just get it as close as possible for the field goal,” Chase said.
Jones’ 53-yard run on the Mountain View’s first play of the drive got the ball to the Skyview 35.
Jones ran twice more for seven yards, and Taj Albeck gained another four to the 24. Biggs found Chase for 10 yards to the 14, and Jones ran 11 more to the 3.
Each play moved Biggs closer to his field goal range.
“I believe (Coach Adam Mathieson) had heart in me, but you just want to get it closer down the field,” Biggs said.
ROOKIE SENSATION
The Thunder may have found a new weapon in freshman receiver Biggs.
With the Skyview defense having success stopping the running, the Thunder turned to the air, and Biggs found Chase seven times for 113 yards — all in the second half.
“We went with our strength in the first half,” Chase said of the ground attack. “Then we changed things up in the second.”
The big play was a 52-yard TD reception on fourth-and-7 that tied the game 22-22 with 3:59 left.
“I just tried to make a play, and I made it,” Chase said. “I just cleared my mind and tried to make a play. Colin made a great throw.”
