Mountain View playoff-bound with big win over Evergreen

Philip Earnhardt had never returned an interception for a touchdown during his three years wearing a Mountain View uniform.

So for the junior to return two in a single game Friday night during the Thunder’s 55-3 rout of rival Evergreen in a 3A Greater St. Helens League game at McKenzie Stadium?

“It feels great,” Earnhardt said. “The team executed and we did our job, and now we’re going on a playoff run.”

That playoff run starts next Saturday at McKenzie Stadium against the KingCo No. 3 seed, which won’t be decided until a three-way playoff Tuesday between Lake Washington, Mercer Island, and Redmond.

Whoever emerges to face the two-time league champion Thunder (7-2, 5-0 GSHL 3A), Mountain View likely be without standout tailback Nile Jones, who was ejected in the third quarter Friday for fighting with Evergreen’s Nick Rossmeisl.

“It’s next man up,” said senior quarterback Glen Perry Jr., who ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another score Friday. “Nothing changes. We feel good going into the playoffs. Playoffs is really what it’s all about.”

Mountain View coach Adam Mathieson wanted to look at the videotape before deciding whether to appeal the automatic one-game suspension that comes with any ejection.

“You have to expect high emotions in a rivalry game,” Mathieson said. “Nile is an emotional kid. You understand it happening in the moment. Both teams did a good job getting people separated.”

Rossmeisl, meanwhile, would sit out Monday’s three-team tiebreaker for the GSHL’s No. 3 playoff seed involving the Plainsmen (4-5, 2-3), Prairie and Hudson’s Bay. The tiebreaker will be at 6 p.m. at Doc Harris Stadium, with Evergreen and Prairie meeting first. The winner takes on Bay for the league’s final Week 10 playoff berth.

Evergreen would have needed to snap its decade-long losing streak in the series to escape the Monday tiebreaker, but its upset hopes were dashed quickly.

The Thunder needed only four plays on their opening drive to score on an 11-yard run by Perry Jr. The Plainsmen answered with a 10-play drive that got down to the MV 7, but three straight negative plays led to a 36-yard field goal by Eli Del Angel.

After that, the Thunder defense took over. They held Evergreen to just 148 yards of total offense, led by Alex Hegel’s three tackles for loss, and had four interceptions.

“Our secondary had a bit a of a lull in the middle of the season where I just felt like they were misfiring,” Mathieson said. “But the last couple of weeks, they’ve been playing with high confidence. They’re flying around the field, trusting each other.”

Makai Anderson almost returned an interception to the end zone himself on the next-to-last play of the first quarter, instead settling for setting up Jones’ 2-yard TD run to give Mountain View a 20-3 lead.

Earnhardt then got into the act midway through the second quarter, stepping in front of a pass in front of the Evergreen sideline at the Thunder 45 and splitting two defenders in his race to the end zone.

“I just read the play and did my job,” Earnhardt said. “We were in key coverage there. I get the flat and I ran it back, so that’s it.”

Earnhardt capped the victory on the first play of the fourth quarter as he snagged a pass in the right flat and sprinted 29 yards with nary a player around him until his teammates found him in the end zone.

“I saw the ball, planted and got it,” Earnhardt said. “It feels amazing. It’s a rivalry game. That’s pretty much it.”

Mountain View has now won 15 straight games in 3A GSHL play and improved to 24-19 all-time vs. Evergreen, including 10 wins in a row in the series.

MOUNTAIN VIEW 55, EVERGREEN 3

Evergreen 3 0 0 0– 3

Mtn View 20 7 21 7–55

First quarter

MV — Glen Perry Jr. 11 run (Aiden Hargrove kick)

E — Eli Del Angel 36 FG

MV — Nile Jones 5 run (kick blocked)

MV — Jones 2 run (Hargrove kick)

Second quarter

MV — Philip Earnhardt 55 interception return (Hargrove kick)

Third quarter

MV — Jack Mertens 16 pass from Perry Jr. (Hargrove kick)

MV — Perry Jr. 32 run (Hargrove kick)

MV — Tyrell Hall 17 run (Hargrove kick)

Fourth quarter

MV — P.Earnhardt 29 interception return (Hargrove kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Mountain View: Perry Jr. 14-152, Jones 7-56, Hall 5-61, Mertens 1-73, team 2-(minus 2). Evergreen: Zyell Griffin 7-0, Trent Hemann 7-17, Triston Fich 7-7, Ryan Blaize 1-5.

PASSING — Mountain View: Perry Jr. 7-11-0-52. Evergreen: Fich 7-18-3-70, Blaize 4-11-1-49.

RECEIVING — Mountain View: Mertens 3-40, Mitchell Delmage 2-7, Makai Anderson 1-8, Hall 1-(minus 3). Evergreen: Nadil Hodzic 4-28, Griffin 3-65, Fich 1-2, Luke Allen 1-8, Hemann 1-13, Miguel Cruz 1-3.