I was so sure the Chandler-Mesa Mountain View rematch from three weeks prior would play out nearly identical to the 45-42 shootout on Halloween weekend.
Yeah. Not so much. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of extraneous fodder of randomness:
–Three weeks has proven to be a lot of time for Chandler running back Taylor Walstad to get in game shape, because he only played sparingly in the first meeting but played both ways for the better part of Friday night.
This was his 2009 coming out party. He beat the Toros to the corner on Chandler’s sweep runs outside. He was patient and followed his blocking. And he was a tank on a 12-yard touchdown run in which he appeared to be stopped at the 7-yard line, then the 5-yard line, then the 2 and dragged more people into the end zone.
Walstad is headed to ASU next season, but the Wolves gathered for a bonfire on Thursday night in an area behind the home bleachers and talked about playing their last home game, but of playing three more this season.
“I really wanted to leave this field on a good note and show I’m back and ready for next week and beyond,” Walstad said.
It was torture for Walstad to watch most of this season while he rehabbed from a torn tendon in his knee suffered in late August.
The Wolves changed quarterbacks from Kyle Yount to Brett Hundley which has made almost all the difference.
The return of Walstad, however, to an offense which has Hundley, Oshea Hatcher, Jeremy Morris and emerging Michael Okonkwo is downright frightening.
Walstad watched the Hamilton game earlier this season (a trainwreck for Chandler fans, a thank-you gift for Hamilton fans). The Wolves were coming off a bye week and he was itching to play but they opted to keep him out of the lineup.
That won’t happen in two weeks when these teams meet each other in the 5A Division I semifinals, and his running can turn Chandler’s offense from great to borderline unstoppable.
–I say “borderline” because Chandler didn’t commit a turnover all game, which is impressive, but penalties are and continue to be a wildcard with this team. Chandler coach Jim Ewan lamented this and his team’s second-half struggles defensively after the game.
It makes for a fascinating matchup with the Huskies in two weeks. Chandler’s offense is more explosive than Hamilton’s. The Huskies defense and kicking game is clearly better than Chandler’s.
–Nothing short of a state championship is ever good enough around Toro town, but give Mountain View credit for coming back out of a first-half abyss and rolling 28 points on Chandler. The Wolves’ lead was never fewer than two possessions and a couple of those 15-yard penalties killed the Wolves.
But Mountain View was left for dead by week 3 after getting crushed by 5A-II Scottsdale Chaparral and then losing at Tucson Sunnyside the following week.
Instead, the Toros would have run the table except for the regular season game against Chandler, and that included a convincing win against Gilbert Mesquite and Chandler Basha, two teams which more than held its’ own in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
Seemed as though the apocolypse had finally descended on Joseph and the zealots surrounding Brown Road.
“They made sure not to listen to things being said outside the football team,” Joseph said. “We knew if we could keep track of that stuff and keep them away from it, we could be successful.”
This was undoubtedly the smallest (size-wise) Mountain View team in Tom Joseph’s tenure, especially up front. The kids coming through aren’t quite the same as yester-years, but 103 points scored in three games against Chandler schools is pretty good.
–Joseph defended his decision to go for it on 4th-and-long from deep in Toro territory in the final minute of the first half. Mountain View went for 4th-and-short plays twice before in the first half and converted, but they trailed 19-0 on their own 30-yard line.
Brad Heap’s pass was incomplete. So with 30 seconds left, Hatcher caught a wide-open pass from Hundley for a touchdown which made it 27-0.
“You play to win, ” Joseph said. “It’s not hard. Playing scared, we don’t do that.”
But the Toros looked like they were in another world in the first half. Despite some success running the ball with Jacom Brimhall and Chase Richardson, they invariably were shut out. The passing game was out of sync, combined with a couple turnovers on down (most of them in appropriate places to go for it on fourth down) and a couple punts, it was a goose egg and there was no chance at climbing out a 27-0 halftime lead.
–Speaking of Brimhall (81 yards rushing, 45 yards receiving, 3 total TDs), what a career this kid has had in becoming Mountain View’s career rushing leader.
He’s fast, he’s strong, he’s agile, made great cuts and was tough. His 5-foot-6 frame made him twice as tough to tackle (similar to De’Andre Currie at Phoenix Mountain Pointe or Hamilton’s Zach Bauman), and, as the really good ones find a way to do, he always fell forward.
He was fun to watch the past couple years and a typical Mountain View kid: A quick glance reveals little of note physically, but get him on the football field…
It has been fun to watch the Toros for the past three years that they have played together. They are an outstanding bunch of boys who have a lot of heart. I expect big things from the lives they will lead now off the football field wherever they go.
h-e-double hockey sticks (my mom might read this) yeah!!! chandler onto the next round.. great last game at austin field for all the sr boys inclu my lil bro.. he’s a leader on defense and off the field the team looks to him for the same leadership.. you’re an all around great kid ammon samia & I’m so proud to be ur big sis!! (girls back off!) I kno I speak for all the fans when I say this: we are so proud of u guys.. keep up the intensity for our 1st win vs hamilton in a couple weeks!