Westmont recovered from an early Mt. Pleasant touchdown to post a 20-7 win over the visiting Cardinals Friday night. The win by the Warriors (5-3 overall, 3-2 in the BVAL-Santa Teresa Division) forged a three-way tie for third place in the division with Mt. Pleasant (4-4, 3-2) and Leigh (5-3, 3-2), which defeated Andrew Hill 38-23.
The Cardinals took an early 7-0 on an explosive 41-yard TD pass from Gonzolo Garcia with 8:03 left in the first quarter. However, Mt. Pleasant's offense struggled to put points on the scoreboard throughout the rest of the game. Westmont senior RB Ian Harvel responsed to Mt. Pleasant's early strike with touchdown runs of 12 and three yards to put the Warriors ahead 14-7 with 5:35 left in the second quarter, an advantage they would maintain until halftime.
At halftime it was apparent that Mt. Pleasant would have to make some adjustments in order to win. The Cardinals defensively would have to address Westmont's consistent and focused attack that also consequently ran down the clock. Mt. Pleasant was inefficient offensively, unable to complement the passing game with a strong running attack. Westmont's pass rush made the Cardinals pay by hurrying Garcia into numerous incompletions and frustrating the wide receivers, who were often open.
Westmont, however, did not allow Mt. Pleasant to get back into the game. The Warriors scored with 5:17 left in the third quarter on a two-yard run by running back Joe Thompson to boost their lead up to 20-7. The Cardinals did drive 40 yards into the red zone for a chance to make it a one-score game in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but could not convert a fourth-and-goal from the four opportunity as Westmont safety Hunter Wood made a key deflection to clinch the win on a chilly night in East San Jose.
Next Friday night, Westmont hosts Branham (1-7, 1-4), while Mt. Pleasant visits second-place Lincoln (4-3, 4-1). Both games kick off at 7 p.m.
