Monte Vista Christian senior Max Torres missed three games nursing an injury he suffered earlier this season.
To say he was eager to get back on the gridiron for Friday night’s game against North Monterey County would be a mere understatement for the Mustangs’ standout player.
“I came back hungry,” Torres said. “All that time just builds up. It was a long recovery process.”
Torres was all over the field for MVC in its 42-23 crushing win over the Condors in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division–North action Oct. 25.
On offense, he turned a short screen pass into a 76-yard scamper past the Condors defenders, knocking them over one-by-one before breaking the goal line for the touchdown.
Torres followed up with an interception near the goal line which stalled a potential scoring drive for NMC late in the fourth quarter.
“Nothing’s guaranteed in football,” Torres said. “I was injured sophomore year, out for the season. I know what it’s like to have it taken away from me, you have to sit on the sideline. It sucks. Then once you come back, you love it that much more and appreciate it that much more.”
MVC head coach Spencer Ferrari-Wood said he knew it was going to be a dog fight with NMC (5-3, 3-1), which was undefeated in league play going into Friday’s game.
“They’re first in the league for a reason. They got a bunch of great cats over there. They’re a gritty bunch. It’s no surprise that they’re in the lead right now,” he said.
The Mustangs surprised the Condors by jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Max Arce hauled in two touchdowns in the opening stanza that helped set the tone for the Mustangs.
“We’re always confident,” Ferrari-Wood said. “I think we’re gonna win every game before every game, but I didn’t expect to get up 21-0 that early. That was a good boost of morale for us.”
Senior quarterback Dominic Pierini threw for 437 yards and six touchdowns, which was a school record for the most TDs tossed in a single game.
Nico Downie hauled in 11 receptions for 192 yards and a pair of touchdowns for MVC, which was looking for redemption after last year’s three-point loss to the Condors.
“We pretty much lost out on playoffs because of them last year,” Downie said. “It’s definitely huge to keep us in the playoff race. It was such a big game against them, especially on our homecoming. It’s just a great feeling.”
Friday night’s performance also helped Downie set a new tri-county (Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito) record for most receiving yards in a single season with 1,478.
He surpassed former Gilroy standout Jourdan Soares’ mark of 1,477 yards that he set in 2012.
“I think mostly, it’s just a lot of my coaches putting me in good position. I have a great quarterback, the best quarterback in the league,” Downie said. “And aside from that, it’s just hard work that happened all the way back before the season.”
Downie and Pierini started to build that connection back when both were just 10 years old. Both have helped each other make a name for themselves by receiving both state and national attention.
“The main goal is team wins, that’s what’s most important,” Downie said. “But it’s also big for me, coming from a small town, I know I need to do even more to get my name out there for colleges. So, I definitely knew coming in I had to have a pretty big year, and I think that’s what I’m doing.”
Most of Downie’s yards in Friday night’s game came on both touchdown receptions, including a 70-yard bomb thrown by Pierini that gave MVC a 35-15 lead in the fourth quarter.
“It’s like an inside cross-out. I ran the outside, sold like I was settling down and just went, the safety bit and I was just wide open,” Downie said.
The Condors got the spark they needed when AJ Gomez connected with Kenji Mellin on a 35-yard strike for a touchdown in the first.
Gomez escaped from the Mustangs’ defensive line before he scrambled to his right and threw a beauty across his body to Mellin, who slipped away from a tackle and into the end zone.
Gomez had 146 passing yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Mellin finished with two touchdowns on just two receptions for 72 yards. Fellow teammate Jacob Read also snuck past the Mustangs defense on his lone catch of the evening for a 74-yard TD reception.
“They had a couple of screen plays. It was a good play, and it works,” Torres said. “Overall, I’d say we stopped them pretty good.”
MVC did miss out on a pair of opportunities to put more points on the board before halftime. It began with a botched snap on a field goal attempt, followed by Julian Piazarro’s 27-yard attempt that went far left for the miss.
The defense gladly made up for it, though. Gunner Sorensen, who led the Mustangs with 14 total tackles, recorded a quarterback sack just before the break, and Downie had an interception as time expired in the second quarter.
Brady Cortez also made his return after missing several games. He made an immediate impact by recording an interception that led to Torres’ touchdown in the second quarter.
“We’re different when those guys are with us, and we’re surely glad they’re back,” Ferrari-Wood said.
Rykin Resurreccion contributed 12 tackles, Torres had seven tackles and Jordan Ramirez added six tackles to go along with six pass breakups. Dylan Rush, Michael Van Dierendonck and Iegor Moskalenko each had one quarterback sack.
Next up, MVC (4-4, 2-2) plays at Seaside on Nov. 2 at 7:30pm, followed by the regular season finale at home against St. Francis (6-2, 3-1) on Nov. 9 at 6pm.
Downie said they’ll need to keep playing with the same intensity they had going into this week’s game if they want any shot at the postseason.
“Knowing that if we lose one of these games, we’re done. We just got to keep the pedal to the metal, keep going,” Downie said.
Prep Football Week 9 Scoreboard
Thursday (Oct. 24)
Aptos 23, at Alvarez 22
St. Francis 18, Scotts Valley 14
Friday (Oct. 25)
At Monte Vista Christian 42, North Monterey County 23
Saturday (Oct. 26)
Pajaro Valley vs. Gonzales, 12:30pm
San Lorenzo Valley vs. Santa Cruz, 12:30pm
