Vista Almost Edges Out No. 2 Valor, but All Eyes Are On Round One
Jakhai Mack with his teammates after a failed 4th down conversion
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Chris Smith celebrates with teammate Japree Joseph Jennings after a touchdown run
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Chris Smith celebrates with teammates
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Linebacker Carter Daniels on a wildcat snap runs past the 30-yard line
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Carter Daniels breaks Valor player tackles
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Kyler Kruck receives a ball thrown by Austyn Modrzewski
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Head coach Garrett Looney discusses with Austyn Modrzewski after a play.
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Head coach Garrett Looney discusses with Austyn Modrzewski after a play.
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Jakhai Mack reaches for a first down after a pass
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Vista players return to the sideline after a play
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Vista players return to the sideline after a play
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Jakhai Mack takes off his helmet after a failed 4th down conversion
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Jakhai Mack with his teammates after a failed 4th down conversion
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UNC linebacker, Elijah Anderson-Taylor, consoles WR Jakhai Mack
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UNC linebacker, Elijah Anderson-Taylor, consoles WR Jakhai Mack
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UNC linebacker, Elijah Anderson-Taylor, consoles WR Jakhai Mack
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Head coach Garrett Looney speaks to the team post-game
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Head coach Garrett Looney speaks to the team post-game
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Head coach Garrett Looney speaks to the team post-game
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Austyn Modrzewski passes the ball during his warmup pre-game
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Tight-end Alexander Turpin catches a pass pre-game
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Austyn Modrzewski passes a ball pregame
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Team captains Carter Danials, Kelly Rosel, Kyler Kruck, and Austyn Modrzewski approach the center circle
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Captains Kelly Rosel and Kyler Kruck
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Captains Kelly Rosel and Kyler Kruck
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Bringing a kickoff back, Japree Joseph Jennings is tackled.
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Jack Blais drives upfield
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Austyn Modrzewski catches a snap
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Jack Blais breaks free from a Valor defender for a touchdown
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Mountain Vista narrowly fell to Valor Christian 49-35 on Oct. 28th, almost maintaining the lead and the win after leading into the final stages of the fourth quarter. It was a back-and-forth offensive game, but with less than 2 minutes in the game, Valor Christian’s running back #6 Roman Bradley sealed the deal with a one-yard rush. The game-sealing drive starting after a crucial interception on their own 25-yard line with four minutes left in the game. Mountain Vista had never beaten Valor in its 20-year-long school rivalry since Vista became a school in 2002.
“Our kids fought to the end,” Defensive Coordinator Ortega said. “I’m really proud of their effort.”
As the last regular season game of the year, Mountain Vista looks forward to its upcoming matchup against #20 seed Rocky Mountain. Most notably the Lobos have been 2-3 in inner-conference play which plays heavily in Vista’s favor.
“I think we’re good,” starting wide receiver Jakai Mack, 25’ said. “We went toe to toe with the team that’s supposed to win the state championship and I think we’re good, we just got to stay focused.”
Rocky Mountain is 5-5 through the season but the biggest opponent Vista could face through this bracket is themselves, scoring an average of 12 points in the first quarter, but dropping to 6.3 in the third quarter. The team does however appear to have a surge in the 4th quarter, averaging 8.1 points in the closing quarter. Mountain Vista faces off against Rocky Mountain on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 6 pm at Halftime Helper stadium. All the hard work from Vista comes down to the playoff run they are about to endure.
“[It] should give us a lot of confidence that everything that we do within our program is top-notch, the way we train in the offseason, the way we train during the season, everything we do,” coach Ortega said. “The schemes, schematically we do really good stuff and our kids are buying in and they’re playing tough. And that’s all we can ask for.”
