A trick play that even surprised Mountain View’s coach capped the Mavs’ comeback win
Mountain View High football coach Judd Benedick had no idea the trick play that secured his team a 35-28 win at Eagle was coming. He got to sit back and enjoy it like everyone else.
The third-ranked Mavericks (4-1) and second-ranked Eagle (4-1) had battled to a 28-28 draw until the final 5 minutes of the fourth quarter. Facing fourth-and-6 at Eagle’s 32-yard line with 4:45 left, the Mavericks coach/defensive coordinator turned to find his punt team.
But it was too late. Mountain View’s offensive staff already had called the trick play it has relied on in big moments for years.
Colby Peugh and Jake Farris executed it to perfection, breaking off a 26-yard gain on fourth down. Then on the next play, Bronx Barrus punched in the game-winning touchdown on a 6-yard run, finishing off Mountain View’s rally from an 11-point, third-quarter deficit.
“I was like: ‘We need to punt it. We’ve got to pin them deep,’ ” Benedick said. “And they were like, ‘Nope, we already called it. Just watch.’
“There’s nothing you can do at that point but cheer them on and hope it works.”
Starting in the shotgun, Farris approached his offensive line like he was changing the play, then started walking to his right. Running back Steven Butler took the surprise direct snap, then pitched it to Peugh for a wide receiver reverse.
But Peugh pulled up in the backfield and threw it to a wide-open Farris for the back-breaking play.
“I was surprised, too,” Peugh said. “(Coach) said we might bring it out some time during a game, or we might not. But it was a perfect time and perfect play calling.”
The play is a near carbon copy of the Philly Special the Philadelphia Eagles used in the Super Bowl two years ago to beat the New England Patriots. But Benedick said the Mavericks’ version predates Super Bowl LII.
The trick play capped a wild night that also saw Peugh throw a 41-yard TD pass to Kayden Chan on another receiver pass. The former quarterback also completed a two-point pass to Seth Jones.
Mountain View finished the game with 433 yards of offense. But it never found much consistency and was penalized 13 times for 115 yards, forcing the Mavericks to reach into their bag of tricks for a spark.
“They work on them just like regular plays,” Benedick said. “They end up executing them because it’s not just like a one-time deal where it’s … ‘You’re the piece of glass. You’re the bottle cap. I hope this works.’ ”
Mountain View’s defense also put 14 points on the board as it recovered three uncharacteristic fumbles from Eagle quarterback Ben Ford. Barrus made it 10-0 Mountain View in the first quarter with a 37-yard fumble return, and Jarin Baroli returned a fourth-quarter fumble 18 yards to give Mountain View a 28-21 lead with 10:49 left in the fourth.
Zack Elliott then pounced on a low snap with 3:02 left, robbing Eagle of one last drive as Mountain View ran out the clock.
The come-from-behind win exacts a bit of revenge for the Mavericks, who saw Eagle rally from a 16-0 halftime deficit for a victory last year on Mountain View’s home field.
Peugh said the Mavericks held a team meeting after practice Thursday to remind themselves of that loss and the heartache it wrought. And rallying for a win on the home field of the state’s No. 2-ranked team, Baroli said, will serve as a springboard for the rest of the season.
“This is definitely big for us,” Baroli said. “We are just getting started.”
Mtn View 35, Eagle 28
Mtn View | 10 | 0 | 7 | 18 | — | 35 |
Eagle | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | — | 28 |
First quarter
MV — Ethan Holland 27 field goal, 2:02
MV — Bronx Barrus 37 fumble return (Holland kick), 1:20
Second quarter
EAG — Ben Ford 29 run (Austin Frisk kick), 7:49
EAG — Dalton Mashore 40 catch from Mason McHugh (Frisk kick), 0:17
Third quarter
EAG — Ethan Mikita 13 pass from Ford (Frisk kick), 7:54
MV — Kayden Chan 41 pass from Colby Peugh (Holland kick), 6:29
Fourth quarter
MV — Holland 30 field goal, 11:56
MV — Jarin Baroli 18 fumble return (Colby Peugh to Seth Jones pass), 10:49
EAG — Gabe Fesler 7 run (Frisk kick), 7:42
MV — Bronx Barrus 6 run (Holland kick), 4:28
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Mtn View: Bronx Barrus 6-27, Kayden Chan 1-3, Leyton Smithson 11-64, Jake Farris 7-8, Colby Peugh 1-3, Steven Butler 17-114. Eagle: Jackson Stampfli 6-31, Gabe Fesler 6-71, Cam Churchill 1-13, Ben Ford 29-166, Mason McHugh 3-8, Charlie Baker 2-6.
PASSING — Mtn View: Jake Farris 8-20-1 147; Peugh 2-2-0 67. Eagle: Ford 3-6-0 15; McHugh 9-14-0 136.
RECEIVING — Mtn View: K.J. Lynch 3-57, Chan 3-73, Smithson 1-4, Farris 1-26, Peugh 2-54. Eagle: Dalton Mashore 4-81, Fesler 1-4, Connor Morgan 1-2, Churchill 4-35, Ford 1-16, Ethan Mikita 1-13.
This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 10:45 PM.
