Foothill quarterback Bryce Lombardi had just scrambled to his left and hit senior Pete Montini on a 22-yard wheel route for a Falcons’ touchdown, seemingly closing the gap to five points headed into halftime, as just 37 seconds remained in the second quarter. But Monte Vista senior Jacob Oliphant had other plans, taking the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to the house and the Mustangs held off Foothill from there in a 35-29 victory during EBAL-Mountain play.
The visiting Falcons entered the game with plenty of momentum after taking down San Ramon Valley the previous week, and they started the game on fire, forging a 10-0 lead with 1:18 left in the first quarter when Lombardi hit tight end Josh Anderson on a tight-end pop pass after faking the dive at the line of scrimmage for a 22-yard score. But the Mustangs (5-2, 1-1) responded with a six-minute stretch in the second quarter that turned the tide of the game.
Jack Stewardson threw for three touchdowns in half of a quarter, first connecting with Nate Rutchena down the left sideline to make the score 10-7. Foothill (5-2, 1-1) shot itself in the foot with a fumble on its next drive, and Monte Vista needed just three plays to take its first lead of the game, as Stewardson and Connor Shay hooked up for a score and a 14-10 advantage. Then, with 3:20 left in the first half, Stewardson found Noah Rivas down the right sideline as Rivas beat his coverage and raced to the end zone for the 21-10 lead.
“We have an explosive offense when we are rolling. Each team plays us a little differently, so sometimes it takes us a bit to figure it out,” said Monte Vista coach Matt Russi. “But we have guys who can make plays at every skill position.”
It appeared that Foothill had stemmed the tide with its following drive, which ended in the scoring pass from Lombardi to Montini, but Oliphant’s burst gave the Mustangs a 28-16 lead at the break.
Foothill got the ball first in the third quarter, but after a three-and-out, lightning struck again for Monte Vista, once again in the form of Oliphant, who took the punt back 72 yards for another touchdown and a 35-16 lead. It would be the final points of the night for the Mustangs, however, as the Foothill defense did not allow a score over the final 27-plus minutes of the game.
“We kept fighting all game long because that’s what we have to do every week,” Montini said. “We are not the biggest or fastest team, so we know we need to have that mentality to always fight.”
With 11:48 left in the game, Lombardi dumped a short pass over the middle to Montini on a shallow crossing route. Montini avoided one would-be tackler and he raced past the front left pylon for a 15-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 35-23. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Falcons drove inside the Monte Vista red zone again, but the Mustang defense got to Lombardi on fourth down to cause a turnover on downs, one which end up being critical to the outcome when Foothill reached the end zone one more time with 1:05 remaining.
“We couldn’t get the ball back in the second half, only ran about eight or 10 plays in the final two quarters,” Russi commented. “Foothill did a great job sustaining drives and they are really creative on defense, did a good job making us uncomfortable like they do to all teams.”
The Falcons’ final touchdown of the night was a near carbon-copy of the previous score, with Montini dragging in front of the Monte Vista linebackers on a shallow crossing route, taking the short pass from Lombardi and splitting two Mustang defenders to reach the end zone. The score came just a few plays after Montini took the ball on a fly sweep to the right side on fourth-and-two, gaining four yards to keep the drive alive. Monte Vista was able to recover the ensuing onside kick, however, and run out the clock.
“I’m just trying to go out and make plays for my team, and make up for last season, when I only got to play in two games after getting hurt,” Montini added.
Monte Vista hosts California next Friday, after the Grizzlies suffered their first defeat of the season this week, falling to De La Salle. Foothill looks to bounce back at home against Clayton Valley, in a must-win type of game for the Ugly Eagles, who fell at home to San Ramon Valley on Friday night and need one more win to get playoff eligible.
