Offensive line paves the way for big second half as Mountain View beats Heritage 49-20

The fact that Mountain View beat Heritage 49-20 on Friday at McKenzie Stadium might not surprise many people.

But the fact that the game was much more competitive  than the score would indicate might come as a surprise.

Heritage scored more points Friday than it had the previous three weeks combined, and the Timberwolves were down 28-20  and had the ball in Mountain View territory early in the fourth quarter.

“They gave us everything we wanted,” Mountain View coach Adam Mathieson said of the Timberwolves. “You could tell early on they were playing to win. They went for it on fourth down three or four times in the first half. They were aggressive, so credit to their staff. They put a nice plan together and had us on our heels.”

Aided by three Thunder turnovers, Heritage took a 12-7 lead into halftime. But the Thunder didn’t panic.

“Honestly, the coaches were a little bit more relaxed than I thought they would be (at halftime),” senior lineman Alexis Plummer said. “But inside, we all knew we could play a lot better. And we just told ourselves what we needed to do, and got it done.”

The Thunder offensive line asserted itself in the second half, leading Mountain View to touchdowns every time the Thunder had the ball except the final possession when they took knee to end the game.

The Thunder ran the ball 28 of its 35 second-half plays for 277 yards.

“We challenged them at halftime,” Mathieson said. “In the second half, we played pretty cleanly. That was a much better 24 minutes than the first 24.”

Key players

Akili Kamau, Mountain View — The sophomore running back rushed for 131 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown.

Aiden Nicholson, Mountain View — Another sophomore caught five passes for 68 yards and he added a blocked punt in the first quarter.

LaDaimien McCord — The senior caught six passes for 120 yards and a touchdown and he added 36-yard touchdown run.

Key moments

Two plays after recovering a Mountain View fumble at the 15-yard line, Heritage’s Khalil Osborn hit Aiden Miller with an 11-yard touchdown pass to put the Timberwolves up 12-7 in the second quarter.

After the Thunder started to take control in the third quarter, Osborn hit McCord with a 78-yard touchdown pass to get Heritage with 21-20 in the third quarter.

After the Thunder stopped Heritage in Thunder territory early in the fourth, James Thompson’s 59-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Johnson helped seal the win for Mountain View, giving the Thunder a 35-20 lead.

Quotable

“(Kelso) will be ready. And I say this as a complimentary way, they don’t like us. … Their kids will be ready. It will be a physical game that will ebb and flow. So I thought it was good for us to get a little bit of test tonight,” Mathieson said. The Thunder play at Kelso next Friday.

MOUNTAIN VIEW 49, HERITAGE 20

Heritage 0 12 8 0—20

Mt. View 0 7 21 21—49

Second quarter

H — LaDaimien McCord 36 run (kick blocked)

MV — Mitch Johnson 2 run (Owen Purvis kick)

H — Aiden Miller 11 pass from Khalil Osborn (run failed)

Third quarter

MV — Cameron Magnuseen 4 run (Eli Warne kick)

MV — CJ Gamblin 4 run (Warne kick)

H — McCord 78 pass from Osborn (McCord pass from Osborn)

MV — Akili Kamau 15 run (Warne kick)

Fourth quarter

MV — James Thompson 59 pass from Johnson (Warne kick)

MV — Johnson 1 run (Warne kick)

MV — Hamblin 51 run (Warne kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Heritage: Kedyn Bolds 22-87, McCord 1-36, Osborn 2-(-10). Mountain View: Kamau 16-131, Johnson 12-34, Magnuseen 4-54, Hamblin 6-75, Thompson 2-4, Walker Richardson 2-8, Christian Meushaw 2-2, Dallas Hobbs 1-14, team 1-(-1).

PASSING — Heritage: Osborn 17-29-1-223. Mountain View: Johnson 14-19-1-185.

RECEIVING — Heritage: McCord 6-120, Miller 6-87, Bolds 3-10, James Bailey 2-6. Mountain View: Aiden Nicholson 5-68, Jacob Martin 4-19, Kyle Chen 2-19, Thompson 2-64, Kamau 1-15.