THE SPORTS DESK
Prep Football: ’Cats open throttle, surge past Indians
BY KURT NICOLL
Mountain View began its late-season push toward the Division 5 playoffs with a dominating effort against the Stafford Indians on Friday night, 63–21.
The Wildcats (5–3, 3–3) totaled nearly 400 yards of total offense, including 349 yards in the first half when Mountain View forged a commanding 56–14 advantage.
In their first two possessions, the Wildcats picked up positive yards on 13 of 14 plays with only an overthrow of an open DaeSean Hamilton misfiring.
The Indians (3–5, 3–3) answered with a 70-yard scoring run by Da’Shawn Harris on their second play from scrimmage, but Stafford had trouble keeping up with its guest afterward.
“It was great; it was fun,” said junior running back Gordon Collins, who finished with four touchdowns to go with 118 rushing yards. “The team played great. The O [offensive]-line came out and gave all their effort. We came into the game really confident. We realized it was a big game and came ready to play.”
Quarterback Elijah Burress also had a stellar game, accounting for five scores, passing for three and running for two of his own.
“Coach told us this was a big game and I just wanted to start clicking right away,” Burress said afterward. “I have to credit my teammates for all the help—the O–line, DaeShawn and the other receivers for some great catches and the running backs ran well.
“It was very important to start our playoff run and I think we made a pretty big statement,” he concluded.
Hamilton accounted for the Wildcats’ first and fourth TDs on receptions covering 13 and 10 yards, finishing with a game-high 114 yards on five catches.
Senior Robert Gambrino accounted for two of the three takeaways achieved by the Wildcats defense with a pair of first-half interceptions, both leading to scores.
And Mountain View will have two weeks to savor its win before playing at Orange, enabling the Wildcats to recover from some of the bumps and bruises they have received in recent games.
“We have been banged up and we challenged the kids that it was real big game,” head coach Lou Sorrentino said. “I thought we were really efficient and offensively had the whole game there. Where we have done that in spurts, but we haven’t done that in whole games.”
Indians quarterback Billy Bolinsky Jr. did not have his best game of the season, but held his own in an emotion-laced contest. Before the opening kickoff, the Strength & Honor motorcycle club donated $1,000 to the football team in the memory of his late father, who was a founding member of the group.
The senior connected with Trey Spindle for 57-yard scoring play in the second quarter, then found Evan Greening in the right corner of the end zone from 10 yards out for the Indians’ other score.
Next Friday, the Indians renew their “Battle for the Bell” against homecoming opponent North Stafford.
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Mountain View 21 35 7 0 — 63
Stafford 7 7 7 0 — 21
First Quarter
MV-D. Hamilton 13-yard pass from E. Burress (D. Fraser kick)
St-D. Harris 70-yard run (A. Williams kick)
MV-E. Burress 15-yard run (D. Fraser kick)
MV-G. Collins 8-yard run (D. Fraser kick)
Second Quarter
MV-D. Hamilton 10-yard pass from E. Burress (D. Fraser kick)
MV-E. Burress 1-yard run (D. Fraser kick)
MV-G. Collins 1-yard run (D. Fraser kick)
St-T. Spindle 57-yard pass from B. Bolinsky (A. Williams kick)
MV-G. Collins 9-yard run (D. Fraser kick)
MV-D. Smith 3-yard pass from E. Burress (D. Fraser kick)
Third Quarter
MV-G. Collins 13-yard run (D. Fraser kick)
St-E. Greening 10-yard pass from B. Bolinsky (A. Williams kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
MV St
First downs27 11
Rushing yardage36-194 19-127
Passing yardage201 147
Passes12-17-0 11-28-2
Punts-Avg.2-32.0 5-33.8
Fumbles-lost1-1 3-1
Penalties-yards5-31 9-79
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Stafford—Da’Shawn Harris 5-77, TD; Billy Bolinsky 7-27; Zevin Holley 1-10; Traevon Richardson 1-7; Steven Cropp 3-3; Devin Stowell 2-3. Mountain View—Gordon Collins 17-118, 3TD; Elijah Burress 6-50, 2TD; DaeSean Hamilton 1-12; Quinton Gray 1-7; Kirron Sleydin 3-5; Greg Hoffman 1-3; Skyler Zane 2-2; Collin Hasenecz 4-0; Natalie Davis 1-(-3).
Passing: Stafford—Billy Bolinsky 9-24-2 136, 2TD; Steven Cropp 2-4-0 11. Mountain View—Elijah Burress 12-16-0 201, 3TD; Kirron Sleydin 0-1-0 0.
Receiving: Stafford—Evan Greening 4-75, TD; Trey Spindle 3-74, TD; Da’Shawn Harris 1-27; Clayton Johnson 2-11; Devin Stowell 1-11. Mountain View—DaeSean Hamilton 5-114, 2TD; Dillon Smith 4-54, TD; Quinton Gray 3-33.
Kurt Nicoll: 540/374-5440
sports@freelancestar.com
