For most of the first half against King’s Academy, the Mountain View football team’s ball control game plan was working.
A combination of running to control the clock and opportunistic special teams plays had the Spartans only down 12-7 with 3:34 left in the second quarter and with the ball. However, the Spartans had two stalled drives at the end of the half that allowed King’s Academy (2-4) to score two touchdowns with under a minute left in the half to take a 26-7 lead at halftime and eventually win 32-7 Thursday night.
“They’re very skilled on the outside, and they put a couple of quick scores on the board,” Mountain View head coach Rick Esparza said. “We got behind the 8-ball and had to abandon our run. Tough to march the ball down the field and take time off the clock when you are down by two to three scores. That was kind of our plan coming in, ball possession, but once they got up two to three scores, that game plan got away from us.”
After punting back to King’s Academy with 1:37 left in the second quarter, the Knights took an 18-6 lead with an Aaron Duncan 42-yard touchdown catch from Reid Black with 56 seconds left, with the game delayed on the drive after chippy personal fouls on both teams. An interception by King’s Academy on the following drive at the 36-yard line led to a Kristian Santos 36-yard touchdown catch and a 2-point conversion with three seconds left, leaving Mountain View with a steep 26-7 deficit and a different complexion to the game.
“There was about a five-minute stretch in the game where they had quick scores,” Esparza said. “We went three and out offensively. We were trying to do things that are not really in our DNA. We are trying to protect a young quarterback, and we asked him to do a little bit too much in those situations, which led to them getting another possession. In the moment, we thought it was the right thing to do, but I’m sure we will go back and watch the film, and hindsight is 20-20.”
The special teams for Mountain View were special in the first half, with a punt fumble recovery by Yannick Slimani at the King’s Academy 20-yard line. The Spartans capitalized on the fumble recovery three plays later with a 26-yard touchdown catch down the middle of the field by wide receiver Luke Orrock on a pass from sophomore quarterback Ishan Devarapalli to take a 7-6 lead with 10:35 left in the second quarter.
“It was a double post concept,” Orrock said. “There was no safety over the top, so I was free, and I knew once I was off the ball I was going to be open.”
On the next drive, junior linebacker Brigham Robinson intercepted a quick pass on a fake punt attempt with 8:13 left in the second quarter when King’s Academy went for the fake on its own 40 on fourth-and-3. Robinson anticipated the play thanks to the Spartans working on potential punt fakes from King’s Academy after the coaching staff noticed the Knights liked to attempt punt fakes on fourth and medium near the middle of the field.
“I thought our special teams overall did very well tonight,” Esparza said.
The second half saw King’s Academy go on a seven-play drive on its opening possession that culminated with an 11-yard touchdown catch from sophomore wide receiver Aaron Duncan to give the Knights a 32-7 lead and eventual win.
While the season has been tough on a young team and the new head coach after falling to 0-6 this year, Esparza said the team would keep fighting for the seniors for the rest of the season. Mountain View plays Aragon Friday at 7 p.m.
“We’ve just got to find a way to win a ball game, and we are going to get back to it tomorrow and watch the film and do the best we can for next week,” Esparza said.
