Mike Fell came to Arizona from Ohio five seasons ago with idea of resurrecting one of the state’s top programs.
The results have been middling mostly, but there are starting to be some signs.
The Toros, who will likely in all but one of their remaining games, knocked 00off Brophy in the playoffs last season and then there was the latest – a 16-13 win over rival and previously-state ranked Red Mountain – on Friday night.
Beating the Mountain might not send a message to the rest of the state, but for the Toros seniors it was everything.
“The seniors have had to listen to Red Mountain talk trash all these years,” Mountain View quarterback Willy Roberts said. “We knew a lot of those guys. We showed up with a straight face and got a huge win for the senior class.”
Getting to 3-0 for the first time since 2016, Fell’s first year that ended 7-4, didn’t come without issues. The offense had two touchdowns taken off the board because of holding calls. Fell called a fake punt on 4-2 from their own 28 to open the second half. Roberts threw to the wrong side for an incompletion.
But the defense forced a field goal attempt that didn’t connect. Because the Toros defense kept doing its thing to help the other units out. The unit has given up only 27 points through three games.
“The defense bailed us out,” Fell said. “They kept us in it and did enough for us to get the win.”
Then on the other side there was Red Mountain, who fell to 1-2 after beginning the year in most everyone’s top 10 and possible Open qualifier.
It was the most undisciplined – 10 penalties in the first half – I’ve seen them since Peterson took over in 2017. The offensive line is young, and lost Max Bray on the first series, and the defense is talented but not exactly playing as a unit.
“Right now, that’s a bunch of guys flying around, but not playing for each other,” Peterson said. “We’ve got to get that figured out. They only gave up 16 and that should be good enough to win, but there needs to be better cohesion. They have to keep us in games right now because we can’t run the ball or score right now.
“This was our best game and we still lost. We’ve got some work to do.”
TeamAZV Top 5: Red Mountain at Mountain View
Malaki Ta’ase, Mountain View, junior, defensive end, 6-2, 240-pounds: He lined up in the backfield, defensive end, nearly blocked a punt and was a force all game long. He made diving catch from the “power package” on a third-down and 2 play for 23 yards, he stopped the run and harassed the Red Mountain backfield. “Ta’ase is a man, he’s a DI player,” Fell said. “He was making plays all over the place.
Parker McClure, Red Mountain, junior, linebacker, 5-11, 225: He made two successful plays from his linebacker spot that showed his closing speed and power. It was two of the loudest hits of the night. He led the team in tackles as a sophomore and showed why against the Toros. He has good instincts and will find his way to the ball. That’s usually not good from the one carrying it.
George Ramirez, Red Mountain, senior, strong safety/running back, 5-10, 185: When he got called up to the varsity squad for the playoff run as a freshman, Mountain Lion defensive coordinator Kyle Enders was very excited about what he could turn into by the time he was a senior. Well, now, Ramirez is a senior and you can tell there is just something different about him. The biggest play he made came in the red zone on defense when it looked like the Toros’ running back Reese Marziale had a clear shot to the pylon only to have Ramirez close in and make the stop.
Peyton Eastwood, Mountain View, senior, cornerback, 5-7, 155: To be honest, I only noticed Eastwood on one play all game. It was the one that sealed the win so that’s pretty damn important. Red Mountain had one last shot with less than two minutes left after a Toro turnover. Then Eastwood, who was plating a cumbersome case on this left hand, undercut a route to Ramirez and got the interception to seal it.
Jesus Garcia, Mountain View, kicker: Booted a game-winning 42-yard field goal with 8:23 remaining in the game. Can’t get much more impressive than that considering he missed a PAT (snap/hold miscue actually) and a 27-yard field goal earlier in the night.
