After securing a safety early in the second quarter, Westview scored two unanswered touchdowns to take a 16-0 lead, before holding off Olympian in a 16-14 victory in their season-opener, Aug. 23.
Early in the second quarter, Mateo Bresenden (12) sacked the Olympian quarterback. Bresenden started by defending the opposite Olympian player until he noticed the quarterback hanging on to the ball. The quarterback tried to fake left and run to the right but Bresenden was prepared. Piling onto the quarterback, he ensured the ball was down.
“Bresenden had a sack and a half coming up with a huge sack at a key point in the game,” coach Mitch Donnelly said.
Once Olympian was back on the offensive, the center made an unsuccessful snap to the quarterback. George Frias (11) was credited with being the cause of this fumble in the end zone, which resulted in the Westview safety that would determine their victory. Forcing an Olympian kickoff and putting Westview on the board, the score stood at 2-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Langdon Mullica (11) returned the ball at 84 yards for a touchdown. Picking up the ball at the 16-yard line, Mullica faked right before weaving through the Olympian defense and sprinting up the left sideline toward the end zone. Jackson Magnus’s (11) PAT kick soared through the goalposts, giving Westview a 9-0 lead.
“I think the most exciting play of the game was Langdon,” quarterback Mason Walsh (12) said. “He dropped the pump and then he ran it back and that just got us back in the game and got us going.”
Using their newfound momentum, Westview swiftly moved the ball downfield on their next drive, eventually opening a path up for Walsh. As quarterback, Walsh had to catch the pass from the center and run through all of Olympian’s defense. Walsh scored Westview’s second touchdown with 2:51 left in quarter two.
Walsh said that he was most impressed by the team’s ability to pick up the pace after a slower first quarter.
“I think we had a slow start but we really came alive to seal the game,” Walsh said.
Despite Westview’s early lead and high spirits, Olympian squeezed in a touchdown of their own with an added two-point conversion. With an unsuccessful Westview field goal, quarter two ended with a score of 16-8.
The third quarter began with a slow start. Westview tried different runs but was unable to make any major plays. Olympian fought back, and with only 15.6 seconds remaining, scored their second touchdown, closing in on Westview’s lead. Olympian went for another two-point conversion but was foiled by Westview’s defense, leaving the score at 16-14 with Westview still in the lead.
In the face of a multitude of Olympian penalties and a closer score, coach Donnelly said that keeping the team’s emotions controlled was crucial.
“For a first game, we didn’t have a lot of penalties,” Donnelly said. “We didn’t react to them when they had personal fouls which showed a lot of growth. Our ability to keep our emotions in check was huge.”
Assistant coach Bob Klein said that Westview had been focusing on defensive plays during practice to prepare for this intense match-up.
“We’ve been working on the basics: blocking and tackling,” Klein said. “If we can block and we can tackle, we’re going to get the job done.”
The game quickened in quarter four, with both teams’ new offensive and defensive plays. Olympian fought to catch up, attempting a successful quarterback sack.
Both teams’ defenses tightened, set on not letting the other anywhere close to the end zone.
As tensions heightened, a late drive by Olympian fell short after a fumble in the end zone. Klein said the events were nerve-racking.
“They had been moving the ball and we were getting tired,” Klein said. “It’s the end of the game. Were we going to be able to rise up and stop them? And boy, we were able to, which I think speaks a lot to the heart of our players.”
Satisfied with the team’s efforts Donnelly said he was most proud of the players’ abilities to control their own mistakes.
“I think offensively we didn’t turn the ball over,” Donnelly said. “Defensively, we didn’t give up a lot of points.”
