Mountain View football gets revenge on rival Meridian. But it came by mere inches.
The Mountain View High football team heard the chatter all offseason.
Crosstown rival Meridian snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Mavericks last fall. That led to all sorts of talk about how the Warriors were the next big thing in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference.
But Mountain View still entered the year as the favorite to win the SIC. And it showed why Friday, rallying in the second half for a 14-13 win and a bit of revenge.
“It was heavy,” Mountain View senior running back Quintez Evans said. “I wanted this game super bad. I said, ‘We’re not losing, by any means necessary.’ And the team stepped up. Everybody had energy. It was great.”
The win came by mere inches though. Meridian (0-1) backup quarterback Brady Lindley led the Warriors on a potential game-winning drive, setting up a first down at the Mavericks’ 15-yard line.
But Mountain View (1-0) senior Jackson Beck dropped Lindley for a sack on third down. Those yards proved crucial when Meridian kicker Eli Arsenault pulled a game-winning, 33-yard field goal wide left with 54 seconds left.
The final red-zone stand put a cherry on top of the night for the Mavericks’ defense, which pitched a second-half shutout. Meridian opened the game with an 18-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, then added another 16-play, 65-yard touchdown drive in the first half.
Mountain View never surrendered a big play. But it couldn’t get off the field either.
That changed after halftime, when the Mavericks forced two turnovers on downs deep inside its own territory and shifted the momentum.
“Coaches always say adversity is gonna happen, and it’s just how you respond,” Beck said. “They dropped 13 on us in the first half, and we came back and did our thing. And we stopped them every time.”
Evans put Mountain View on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run up the gut, capping a 12-play, 81-yard drive with 3:28 left in the third quarter. Evans finished with a game-high 131 yards on 22 carries. But change-of-pace back Dallas Slocum broke free for the winning score, hitting the left edge and scampering 22 yards down the sideline with 16 seconds left in the third.
A loss to Meridian last year dropped Mountain View to 0-3. The Mavericks responded by winning five straight to make the state semifinals. But that loss still stuck with them all offseason, Mountain View coach Judd Benedick said.
“We got out physicaled last year,” Benedick said. “When we played them, they took it to us, and that hasn’t happened to us in a long time.
“... Our guys were really motivated in the weight room to not get pushed around and to not get out physicaled.”
Mountain View may have entered Friday as the favorite. But Beck said it still had plenty to prove to itself and the rest of the SIC.
“Preseason rankings are preseason rankings,” Beck said. “We’re the type of team that’s going to go out there and we’re gonna prove it.
“We’re not gonna try to do too much smack talk. But we’re just gonna go and prove it.”
MERIDIAN LEADERS: Quarterback Malakai Martinez ran for a touchdown and threw another before leaving with an apparent injury. He finished 12-of-27 for 157 yards, adding 33 yards on 10 carries.
Senior running back Kross Antonnachhi added another 109 yards on the ground and caught a touchdown too.
NEW TURF FIELD: Mountain View debuted a new artificial turf field Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony before kickoff.
Every other West Ada School District high school already had artificial turf, which they also use for soccer, lacrosse and a slew of other events. Installation this summer at Mountain View and Owyhee, which opened this fall, ensure all six high schools now have artificial turf in their stadiums.
UP NEXT: Mountain View travels to Rocky Mountain (1-0) for the Battle of the Mountains next Friday. The winner of the rivalry matchup gets a 3-foot ax for a trophy. Rocky Mountain has won the ax three years in a row.
Meridian hosts Centennial (1-0) in its home opener next Friday. Both games kick off at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 11:54 PM.
