The second game of Mountain View High’s playoff revenge tour hit all the right notes Friday in a 38-34 rematch win over Branham in the Central Coast Section Division IV semifinals.
A year after losing 68-45 to Branham (9-3) in the same playoff scenario, the Spartans (6-6) took their chance after building a 31-14 lead at halftime and grinding out the win with some critical defensive stops.
“Everyone on our team wanted to beat them,” Mountain View quarterback Kevin Conway said. “We had their number since we saw the brackets for playoffs. We were looking forward to this game.”
The Spartans took a commanding early lead, thanks to senior running back Arturo Hernandez, who ran for 62- and 59-yard touchdowns in the second quarter and a 65-yard touchdown to start the third to make it 38-14. Hernandez finished with over 230 yards rushing and got big touchdown runs by cutting and juking back across the field after the defense had swarmed to the ball, breaking tackles and showing great instincts to know when and where to change direction and speed.
“I felt like it was more of an instinct; I just kept seeing them run to that side, and I was like, I’m faster than these guys; if I just cut the opposite way, then I had it,” Hernandez said.
The Spartans started slow and were down 14-10 in the second quarter when Hernandez scored his first touchdown with 8:57 left in the second to start a 28-0 run and gain a lead they never relinquished. The run included his three touchdowns and a 46-yard touchdown pass from Conway to receiver Lex Silver with 1:36 left in the second quarter. However, Conway noted the first half was all down to Hernandez and his ability to break tackles and score when it looked like no creases and openings were available at the line of scrimmage.
“He has meant literally everything,” Conway said of Hernandez. “He gets a touchdown out of something that looks like a 4-yard, 5-yard loss. He’s something special, and we are lucky to have him – that’s what everyone thinks.”
Hernandez said he focused on the next play throughout the game and felt all the hard work put in over the summer was worth it.
“I played one of my best games today, and I’m proud of myself right now,” he said.
During halftime, Mountain View head coach Tim Lugo said he told the team it wasn’t executing at a clean enough level, and the main reason they had a 17-point lead was because of Hernandez.
“Luckily for us tonight, we had the best player on the field,” Lugo said.
Branham did not let up in the second half and were just a couple of failed two-point conversions away from tying the game. Branham’s Gabriel Morgan scored on an 8-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left in the third and scored a two-point conversion to make it 38-22.
Mountain View also made mistakes to aid Branham in the second half, including two fumbles, both recovered by the Bruins. The Bruins added another touchdown with 3:11 left in the fourth off a fumble recovery but failed a two-point attempt to make it 38-28. Branham tried multiple onside kicks in the game, with one finally working after kicking it off a Mountain View player and recovering the ball with approximately three minutes left. The Bruins then had a 15-play drive in just over two minutes to push it within four at 38-34 with 46 seconds left. However, the Spartans stopped the two-point conversion again and prevented Branham from recovering the onside kick to seal the win.
Lugo said while he was concerned about the late touchdowns and was reminded of last year’s game, he felt the team was close-knit and would come through for one another in the end. Conway added that Branham never got complacent with losing, and he credited the Mountain View defense with making big plays late when momentum was against them.
“They were trying to get back the whole time, and the two fumbles definitely gave them some confidence, some momentum, but in the end, our defense came up big on the two-point conversion stops, and that’s the reason we won right there,” Conway said.
Lugo said the coaching staff focused on game planning rather than last year’s game, but he felt the players wanted to reach the final for the seniors who didn’t get that opportunity last year.
Mountain View has been to the CCS semifinals the previous two years, losing both times. The Spartans beat Burlingame last week 49-21 in the CCS quarterfinals after losing to them in the regular season and will now face Palo Alto 1 p.m. Saturday at San Jose City College for the Division IV championship. The Vikings (7-5) finished second in the Peninsula Athletic League De Anza Division and beat Mountain View last year in the regular season 48-35.
“I’m just really proud of our kids,” Lugo said. “Everything we have been through this year. To see them smile with a genuine love of what they are doing, I can’t even put that into words right now.”
