Mountain View didn’t have its high-scoring offense.
But the Thunder stood toe-to-toe with a physically larger Rainier Beach team and earned a hard-fought 7-6 win in the 3A state quarterfinals Saturday at McKenzie Stadium.
The Thunder (11-1), will take on the defending state champion O’Dea next week for the right to play for the 3A state championship.
It’s Mountain View’s first trip to the state semifinals since 2002.
Mountain View came into the game averaging more than 50 points a game.
But the Thunder were held to a lone touchdown, which came on its opening drive of the game on a Jack Mertens two-yard run.
Rainier Beach scored a touchdown of its own later in the quarter on a 30-yard pass from Trey Morris to Orin Patu, but senior Michael Bolds blocked the extra point and it proved to be the difference.
“I never thought I was going to get one (a blocked extra point), but I finally did in the biggest game of the season. Crazy that it came down to that,” Bolds said.
Rainier Beach (6-4) had a huge size advantage, outweighing the Thunder by 50 pounds per player in the trenches and featured 250-pound battering ram Xzavier Burton at running back. But Mountain View used other elements to run the ball effectively, outrushing Rainier Beach 175-58.
“We were just faster than them,” senior center Zachry Curry said. “Our line has a lot of speed and we were able to use that to our advantage. We saw that their ends were rushing vertically so we played on that.”
Senior quarterback Garrett Moen added “the gaps were wide open and we took advantage. We knew we had the speed and technique to combat their size.”
Moen led the Thunder with 79 yards rushing and converted two key fourth downs in the final drive, when Mountain View ran the final 5:32 off the clock.
Mertens added 67 yards rushing on 13 carries. Most of the carries were on quick-hitting plays between the tackles.
Another key play in the game was earlier in the fourth quarter, as Mountain View had the ball on a third down deep in its own territory.
Enter Bolds, who put on his play-calling hat and Moen delivered a perfect pass to Bolds, who caught the ball and stayed inbounds for a 24-yard play and a key first down.
“I told coach to run that play,” Bolds said. “It was a great pass and I was able to make the catch.”
Bolds also had his eighth interception of the season, which is believed to be a school record.
It was a highlight for a strong defensive showing by Mountain View. The Thunder allowed only 229 yards to a Rainier Beach team that averaged nearly 30 points per game this season.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 7, RAINIER BEACH 6
Rainier Beach 6 0 0 0—6
Mtn. View 7 0 0 0—7
First quarter
MV — Jack Mertens 2 run (Dominic Odermatt kick)
RB — Orin Patu 30 pass from Trey Morris (kick blocked)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Rainier Beach: Xzavier Burton 14-45, Trey Morris 7-(-9), De’monte Brooks 3-(-2), Ja’mezz Johnson 3-9, Xavier Bowen 1-15. Mountain View: Jack Mertens 13-67, Garrett Moen 19-79, Tresean Foreman 4-26, Phillip Earnhardt 1-3.
PASSING — Rainier Beach: Trey Morris 17-31-1-171. Mountain View: Garrett Moen 9-16-0-92.
RECEIVING — Rainier Beach: Xavier Bowen 3-27, Orin Patu 5-68, Chaun Hollins, Jr. 1-6, Jibrill Abdulalim 2-20, Xzavier Burton 1-4, Sammy King 1-8, A’Shkari Davis 1-8, Koby Elleby 3-30. Mountain View: Makai Anderson 2-42, Michael Bolds 3-39, Phillip Earnhardt 2-11, Jack Mertens 1-0.
