Not often is a team 150 miles away considered a rival, but for the second straight year, the Mountain View Thunder have taken a gut-wrenching loss at the hands of Peninsula.
And when you’re the Thunder, who faced the Seahawks in the Class 3A first-round state playoff game in back-to-back years, and met for the fourth time since 2012, a 10-7 defeat was a little tougher to swallow in a game that ended its season at 8-3 overall.
And in a game in which the defense dominated as much as the penalty flags on both sides, the Thunder still had a chance for the potential game-winning score on a drive that began with 1 minute, 18 seconds to go.
But quarterback Glen Perry, Jr.’s pass on fourth down from the 26 intended for Jack Mertens was batted away on the game’s final play.
That ended Mountain View’s season at 8-3 overall, while the Seahawks of Purdy near Gig Harbor advance to next week’s state quarterfinals.
Peninsula’s shutout streak against Mountain View since last season’s 17-0 win extended into the first three quarters of Saturday’s game at McKenzie Stadium.
It was a quick-paced scoreless first half, and Ben Stanford’s 30-yard field goal accounted for Peninsula’s third-quarter scoring and a 3-0 lead entering the final 12 minutes.
That’s when Mountain View took its first and only lead.
On first-and-25 from the 28 because of a holding penalty to end the third quarter by Mountain View, Perry connected with Makai Anderson for a 72-yard strike for a 7-3 lead with 11:45 remaining.
That touchdown drive was kept alive by a successful fourth-and-1 run late in the third by Nile Jones, who made it a mere inches to move the chains. But a holding call on the ensuing play to end the quarter backed the Thunder up significant yardage.
That’s where some of the mental mistakes and errors came into play. The Thunder were hit with three personal fouls in the second half.
Frustrating, senior Tyrell Hall noted.
“It wasn’t perfect,” he said. “We’d get the momentum rolling, and we’d get stopped short. Pushed 15 yards back and try to knock the next one, but it wasn’t working.”
Even when Mountain VIew knocked on the door again, this time with a 30-yard field-goal attempt by Aiden Hargrave, a false-start call pushed it back 5 yards to a 35-yarder.
It was blocked by Peninsula’s Michael Foreman, who also recovered the ball and ran it back to the 41 to put the Seahawks in respectable field position with 3:42 remaining.
It was Foreman’s 22-yard touchdown reception that put the Seahawks up good at 10-7.
With 1:18 to go and Mountain View starting its final drive at midfield, Perry hit Anderson (7 yards) and then Garrett Moen, who came in for Perry who lost his helmet on a play, hit Hall for 12 yards to the 26. But the Thunder had four incomplete passes inside 15 seconds.
Perry injured his foot on the game’s final drive and was tended to by training staff in the end zone after the game.
The 3A Greater St. Helens League’s Offensive MVP was carried off the field, unable to put weight on his foot.
This defeat, though, has the Thunder ready for 2018.
Said Mertens, a junior: “This was a good group. We’ll be back next year.”
PENINSULA 10, MOUNTAIN VIEW 7
Pen 0 0 3 7 – 10
MV 0 0 0 7 – 7
Third quarter
P – Ben Stanford 30 FG
Fourth quarter
MV – Makai Anderson 72 pass from Glen Perry, Jr. (Aiden Hargrove kick)
P – Michael Foreman 22 pass from Burke Griffin (Stanford kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Peninsula: Braedon Potter 10-38, Michael Foreman 5-7, Cameron McDonald 1-5, Burke Griffin 6-42, Sean Skladany 1-1; Mountain View: Glen Perry, Jr. 21-112, Nile Jones 8-48, Jack Mertens 4-14, Tyrell Hall 1-(minus-3), Michael Urruchua 2-18.
PASSING — Peninsula: Burke Griffin 13-19-0-151; Mountain View: Glen Perry, Jr. 5-16-0-121; Garrett Moen 1-1-0-12.
RECEIVING — Peninsula: Michael Foreman 3-36, Braedon Potter 4-36, Jace Keim 3-48, Alex Beloate 3-31; Mountain View: Tyrell Hall 1-12, Mitchell Delmage 2-39, Michael Bolds 1-3, Makai Anderson 2-79.
