Varsity football comes from behind to force a 7-7 tie against Prospect High School
The Matador defense played a spectacular game by holding Prospect High School to a single touchdown on Sept. 10. However, the team came short of victory with a 7-7 tie.
On offense, junior Jordan Sheade continued his stellar play from the previous game against Overfelt High School, scoring a touchdown late in the third quarter to tie up the game after the Matadors had fallen behind. Meanwhile, senior Jason Jung led the defense to stop the Panther offense from driving down the field on multiple occasions.
“I just got in the hole and got past the blocking and got a couple of sacks,” Jung said.
In a tightly contested first half, MVHS kept the Panthers off the scoreboard with strong defense, including a sack by junior Austin Burrow for a Panther six-yard loss. The Panthers thought they had scored when one of their players picked off a pass, but a flag on the play negated the touchdown and forced PHS back 15 yards.
MVHS continued the second half with plenty of fire to stop the Panther offense. Senior Ian Anderson nearly picked off the ball after some intense pressure on the Panther quarterback. On the subsequent play, senior John Reinhardt sacked the PHS quarterback for an eight-yard loss.
With 4:29 left in the third quarter, senior Grant Manley missed a 27-yard field goal attempt. The defense had a momentary lapse, allowing for a Panther touchdown within the last two minutes. A few plays later, Sheade tied up the game on a 65-yard touchdown run, with Manley securing the extra point to make the score 7-7.
In the final quarter, Jung and Reinhardt continued to support the defense with strong tackles and sacks. MVHS began a drive with six minutes left on the clock, but a number of incomplete passes and penalties forced the Matadors to punt the ball away. After receiving the ball, the Panthers also saw their drive down the field end with 1:05 left where they were forced to punt the ball back.
Manley kept the offense going with a 22-yard catch on third down, followed by a 52-yard catch, bringing the Matadors within three yards of the endzone. Sheade was stopped at the two-yard line with five seconds left to play so the Matadors went for the field goal. The snap was high, throwing off the timing on the play and Manley hooked the ball wide. PHS got the ball back, but were unable to do much in the two seconds left on the clock, ending the game at 7-7.
“It was nice to see the offense drive down the field there at the end,” Anderson said. “We got a bad break on the snap, but we still got there so it was just unlucky [how the play ended].”
Though not the outcome that the Matadors hoped for, the tie against the Panthers had plenty of positives.
“We were much improved from last week, so I was pleased,” head coach Jeff Mueller said. “When [Manley] caught that ball, I thought he was going to go in the end zone, but he didn’t, so that’s the way it goes.”
The next game for MVHS will be on Sept. 17 at South San Francisco High School with a kickoff time of 7:00 p.m.
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