Mountain Lions rally behind 6 TD night for Finch
WEEKLY BLOG: 9/17/21
With four minutes remaining in the third quarter at Mountain Ridge Friday night, things didn't look good for the home team.
The visitors from Centennial had just kicked a field goal to go up 35-14. With the usual starting quarterback, Brendan Anderson, at home sick and with the Lions' offense sitting on four turnovers (two of them pick-sixes), this didn't appear to be the night for a win over one of the state's premier programs.
But everything shifted in those next 16 minutes. The Mountain Ridge defense, which suffered the ignominy of giving up 74 points in its opener two weeks ago, clamped down and forced three straight three-and-outs along with a fourth down stop. Meanwhile, the offense, directed by senior Ryan Finch had the last four scores in the game (all touchdowns) in a stunning, 39-35 come-from-behind victory over the Coyotes.
"I think at the end of the day, we know we don't have a ton of guys out here," Mountain Ridge head coach Doug Madoski said. "We're going to play hard together. It's a tight group of kids."
Mountain Ridge (2-1) took the early advantage with a dream start. Centennial ran the ball three times and was forced to punt. The Lions blocked the punt giving Finch the ball at the 6-yard line. On his first snap from there, he threw a little bubble screen to Terrance Hall who took it in for an early 7-0 lead.
After that early difficulty, Centennial (1-2) took control and looked like the team that played in the Open Division playoffs the past two seasons. Andrew Lopez took a handoff on a reverse and sped 52 yards for a touchdown. Senior cornerback Marvaun Green intercepted two passes taking the second one back for a touchdown. Running back James Scott got around the left edge on a run and took it 68 yards for a score. the defense came up again as Lopez had a pick six. Centennial opened up a 26-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Coyotes were threatening for more before the end of the half, but sophomore Hayden Allen had his second interception. He brought it back 40 yards to the Centennial 39-yard line. On the first play from there, Finch cashed in the turnover with a deep pass to Rahim Bagley with just 16 seconds to go in the half to make it a 26-14 game.
At the half, Centennial held the yardage advantage 247-128, but the two-touchdown difference could also be explained by the pair of interception returns for scores.
"We knew the score of the game at halftime wasn't indicative of the game we were playing," Madoski said. "We needed to keep chopping wood and see what would happen."
Centennial added to its lead in the third quarter as Scott ran to the left and then cut back and headed for the other sideline and the corner of the end zone after a 59-yard run. Scott led the Coyotes in rushing with 139 yards. A Brysen Gardner field goal (36 yards) extended the lead to 35-14.
Finch, who found out he was starting on Friday morning, took all the snaps in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. He played slotback or tailback in the first two weeks of the season and had a receiving touchdown against Fairfax. He eluded the Centennial rush throughout the evening and recovered from four interceptions in the first three quarters. The comeback began when Finch avoided a sack and hit Dane Berseth for a 38-yard touchdown on third down.
"We never truly gave up," Finch said. "We were always hyping each other up tonight and we've got each others' backs."
Another scramble, this time from the 6-yard line, resulted in a heave and another touchdown catch for Bagley. A missed extra point still had it at a one-score game, but an eight point margin.
Mountain Ridge stopped Centennial on downs and took over at its own 34 early in the fourth quarter. Penalties plagued the Coyotes throughout the night (11 for 125 yards), but none more so than this drive. The Lions were forced to punt, but a personal foul roughing the kicker was called to give MRHS a new set of downs. Mountain Ridge then faced a fourth-and-three situation and the Coyotes jumped offside. Once again given new life, Finch threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Berseth. The two-point attempt failed and Centennial's lead was down to 35-33.
"Football has not changed much in the last 50 years," Centennial head coach Richard Taylor said. "Penalties and turnovers set momentum."
On its next possession, Centennial was forced to punt deep in its own end. Hall fielded the punt near midfield and brought it back to the Coyote 19-yard line.
"We just kept fighting," Hall said. "We upped the tempo in practice and got players in shape."
From there, Finch went the 19 yards on a keeper (he rushed for 78 yards on the night) and Mountain Ridge had its first lead since 7-0.
"Ryan made some mistakes early on and came back and battled," Madoski said. "That gives you an idea about the grit of the team."
The 21-point comeback occurred in 38 minutes of real time (11:27 of game clock time).
On its final drive, Centennial completed a fourth-down pass, but was only able to reach the 30-yard line. Following three straight incompletions, Mountain Ridge was able to run out the last 2:16 on the clock.
The schedule doesn't lighten up for Centennial as Hamilton visits Peoria next Friday. The Huskies (3-0) had a comeback of their own in a nationally-televised win over Bishop Gorman on Friday. The Coyotes bounced back from their first loss of the year to win the next week. This will be a tall order, but Centennial will keep trying.
"I'm hoping we are going to continue to work hard," Taylor said. "It starts tomorrow morning. We've got some work to do for sure."
For Mountain Ridge, this victory could lead to the start of a run. The Lion coaches won't look ahead, but we can. MRHS goes to North (2-1) next Friday. That game is followed by Westview, La Joya, Boulder Creek and Valley Vista. The next five opponents for Mountain Ridge are a combined 4-10 this year. It's not inconceivable to see the Lions at 7-1 entering the last two games of their schedule (check back with us on this one).
But, football is a week-to-week game and Madoski reminds us that things can change along the way.
"The highs in football are really high and the lows feel really low," Madoski said. "The reality is somewhere in between."
First Quarter:
MR - Terrance Hall 6 yard pass from Ryan Finch (Braeden Lacombe kick), 9:55
Cent - Andrew Lopez 52 yard run (kick blocked), 7:53
Cent - Marvaun Green 40 yard interception return (Brysen Gardner kick), 2:07
Second Quarter:
Cent - James Scott 68 yard run (run failed), 11:05
Cent - Lopez 55 yard interception return (Gardner kick), 7:59
MR - Bagley 39 yard pass from Finch (Lacombe kick), 0:16
Third Quarter:
Cent - Scott 59 yard run (run failed), 8:01
Cent - Gardner 36 yard FG, 4:49
MR - Dane Berseth 38 yard pass from Finch (Lacombe kick), 3:15
MR - Bagley 6 yard pass from Finch (kick failed), 0:18
Fourth Quarter:
MR - Berseth 38 yard pass from Finch (run failed), 7:19
MR - Finch 19 yard run (run failed), 5:22
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