Mountain View had everything working Friday night. The Wildcats covered 175 yards on the ground, another 40 through the air and scored four touchdowns, while the defense came up with multiple sacks and two interceptions.
And that was just the first quarter.
By the time it was over, the Wildcats had a 42–9 win over visiting Patrick Henry (Roanoke) and had booked a return ticket to the Region 5D final against Stone Bridge.
“We were clicking early, and I certainly like that,” said Mountain View coach Lou Sorrentino. “They’ve got a big-play team, but when you fall behind as much as they did, that makes it tough, so I’m pleased with that.”
Mountain View stopped Patrick Henry’s opening drive, and running back Ike Daniels broke through on the team’s second play from scrimmage, going 40 yards for the first touchdown before three minutes were off the clock.
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The Patriots tried again, but Nick English picked off a pass to give the ball back to the Wildcats. His 45-yard return was brought almost all the way back by penalties, but it still only took three plays for Mountain View to find the end zone again.
This time it was a 37-yard pass from Jackson Sigler to Jaiden Fair that did the job.
Another Patrick Henry possession included two sacks and a punt.
Daniels broke another long run, and Sigler hit Fair in the end zone again.
Daniels looked to be on his way to a huge game, with 98 yards on just five carries, but he had to leave the game with an injured shoulder.
The Wildcats hope he’ll be healthy for the big game next week, but they managed the rest of this one without him.
Carter Morris picked off another Patriots pass, and Vincent Bond stepped in at running back for the Wildcats. Bond took his first carry 76 yards for another Wildcats’ touchdown, putting them up 28–0 less 10 minutes into the game.
“As soon as I saw my friend Ike got hurt, I was just ready to step up,” Bond said. “I did what I did. I showed out. My whole team believed in me, and that’s all I came to do. I got to tote the ball here tonight, show that I’m able to support the team when somebody’s hurt.”
He scored again in the second quarter, just two carries later, breaking through for a 58-yard touchdown.
He finished the night with nine carries for 171 yards and the two scores.
Patrick Henry finally broke through with less than four minutes to go in the half, when Jahzae Kimbrough scored from 19 yards out, but by then the game was well in hand for the Wildcats.
Jacob Anderson hit a 25-yard field goal to bring the score to 38–7 at the half.
The scoring slowed a bit in the second half. The Patriots added two points with a safety when Sigler chased down a bad snap in the end zone but stepped out the back while trying to escape.
Sigler and Fair wrapped up the scoring with a 39-yard TD connection in the fourth quarter.
Sigler said his team was well prepared for Patrick Henry.
“They gave us the look we watched on film all week,” he said. “We have the guys to do it, and I read the field and I let my guys make plays.”
Next up is Stone Bridge, winners of the semifinal against Riverbend on Friday night.
“Stone Bridge is going to be physical up front, they’re going to be physical in every way,” Sigler said, “so I think we’ve just got to get back in the film room, see what they’re doing, and be ready to execute.”
Sorrentino hopes some of his stars will recover in time for the big game.
“We’re a little banged up right now. Some of our best players didn’t play the second half,” he said. “But I was pleased with the team. The offense was really clicking, and the defense made the stops they needed to.”
The regional final Friday will start at 2 p.m. at Stone Bridge in Ashburn.
“That’s who beat us last year, in the same game,” Sorrentino said. “We didn’t have a good performance last year, but that’s last year. We’re going to enjoy this tonight, and we’ll start working on Stone Bridge tomorrow.”
Patrick Henry-Roanoke | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | 9 |
Mountain View | 28 | 10 | 0 | 7 | — | 45 |
First quarter
MV—Ike Daniels 40 run (Jacob Anderson kick).
MV—Jaiden Fair 37 pass from Jackson Sigler (Anderson kick).
MV—Fair 6 pass from Sigler (Anderson kick).
MV—Vincent Bond 76 run (Anderson kick).
Second quarter
MV—Bond 58 run (Anderson kick).
PH—Jahzae Kimbrough 19 run (Samuel Dowdy kick).
MV—Anderson 25 field goal.
Third quarter
PH—Safety, QB stepped out of the back of end zone.
Fourth quarter
MV—Fair 39 pass from Sigler (Anderson kick).
TEAM STATISTICS
PH | MV | |
First downs | 10 | 15 |
Rushes-yards | 34-102 | 27-318 |
Comp-Att-Int | 9-28-2 | 9-12-0 |
Passing yards | 130 | 139 |
Punts-avg. | 3-26 | 1-40 |
Fumbles lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
Penalties-yards | 4-45 | 5-70 |