Published: September 14, 2008 12:18 am      

Thirty fourth quarters points sends Owls past MV

WELCH — On a beautiful September evening at Vic Nystrom Stadium, mistakes reined upon Mount View in a 54-18 loss to Big Creek.

In the opening half, the visiting Owls converted a pair of fumble recoveries and two pass interceptions into three scores and a 24-6 lead at the break.

After being held scoreless in third frame, the Owls ran only two offensive plays in the final 12 minutes, while rolling up 30 points, with the final two scores on a 94-yard pass interception return and an 84-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

On the evening, the generous hosts fumbled 10 times, losing three, and gave away the football three times on pass interceptions.

A jubilant Mike Vallo, the Owls’ head coach, remarked after the win, “We finally got over the hump. This was just like the first game again because we played Montcalm two weeks ago and we were open last week.

“In that game, we didn’t get a lot of things accomplished. I’m just glad we up to it tonight.”

Linebacker Shane Hicks set up the first Big Creek with a fumble recovery at the Mount View 14 four minutes into the game. Two plays later, Devon Johnson followed his right guard’s blocking for a four-yard touchdown and an 8-0 lead after Cody Johnson passed to Austin Johnson with the conversion with 7:53 left in the initial quarter.

Mount View used an 8-play, 60-yard drive to open the second frame and to light the scoreboard. Senior Lamar Cunningham, who rushed 20 times for 206 yards on the night, capped the march on a 9-yard jaunt. A failed extra point run left the Owls on top 8-6.

Roger Hale picked off the first of three interceptions on the evening to give Big Creek the football at the Golden Knights’ 44 midway through the second. Quarterback Cody Johnson went back to pass at the View’s 31, but scrambled the distance for the six points. Devon Johnson’s extra point run extended the Owls’ advantage to 14-6 with 3:05 showing before intermission.

Two plays later, Cody Johnson swiped a pass and returned 40 yards to the Mount View 23. Fullback Joey Riffe rushed up the middle from 12 yards out on the third play of the series for the bell-ringer, and Cody Johnson then passed to Austin Johnson for the two points and a 24-6 Big Creek advantage at the break.

The Knights held their guests to three and out in the second half before launching a 14-play, 65-yard drive to close to within two touchdowns. The passing combination of Jacob Muncy to Quan Parker accounted for four completions in the drive, with Muncy running the final yard on a sneak with 3:09 showing.

That 24-12 score is where the third quarter ended.

On the initial play of the closing chapter, Cody Johnson threw a pass in the left flat to Austin Johnson, who hauled in the pigskin and raced 70 yards fort the six, only 13 ticks into the fourth period. Devon Johnson, again, ran the conversion for a 32-12 lead.

Cunningham answered with a 60-yard score from scrimmage on Mount View’s ensuing possession, cutting the deficit to 32-18.

After the ensuing kickoff, Cody Johnson hit Devon Johnson with a screen pass that he took the house from 55 yards away before also running in the extra two points.

The Knights were at the Big Creek 11 when Cody Johnson picked off a pass and raced 94 yards for the fourth score between the two teams in 2 minutes and 18 seconds. Cody Underwood, spelling the exhausted Cody Johnson, passed to Austin Johnson for the extra points and a 48-18 advantage. Cody Johnson had two interceptions in the game.

Again, deep in Owl territory, a fumble stopped Mount View. This time, Riffe scooped up the loose ball and rambled 84 yards for the final points of the evening.

Mount View head coach Leon Gravely was upbeat with his young club’s improvement in the contest, “We’re getting better every week. We just made key mistakes at key times. I feel like we beat ourselves. We’ve just got to correct all these mistakes.”

The 0-3 Knights will host Liberty-Raleigh on Friday for homecoming, while Big Creek, now 2-0, returns to War to entertain unbeaten Hurley on the same night.



Big Creek 54, Mount View 18



at Vic Nystrom Stadium

Big Creek........................8 16 0 30 — 54

Mount View.....................0 6 6 6 — 18

Scoring

First Quarter

BC—Devon Johnson 4 run (Austin Johnson pass from Cody Johnson) 7:53

Second Quarter

MV—Lamar Cunningham 9 run (run failed) 7:38

BC—C.Johnson 31 run (D. Johnson run) 3:05

BC—Joey Riffe 12 run (A. Johnson pass from C.Johnson) 1:30

Third Quarter

MV—Jacob Muncey 1 run (run failed) 3:09

Fourth Quarter

BC—A.Johnson 70 pass from Cody Johnson (D.Johnson run) 11:47

MV—L.Cunningham 60 run (run failed) 10:38

BC—D. Johnson 55 pass from C.Johnson (D. Johnson run) 10:12

BC—C.Johnson 94 interception return (A.Johnson pass from Cody Underwood) 9:29

BC—Joey Riffe 84 fumble recovery return (run failed) 6:44

———

Team Stats

First Downs: BC 9; MV 17. Rush-Yards: BC 27-134; MV 42-268. Pass Yards: BC 125; MV 78. Comp-Att-Int: BC 2-5-0; MV 11-27-3. Total Yards: BC 259; MV 346. Fumbles-Lost: BC 4-3; MV 10-3. Punts-Avg: BC 3-28.3; MV 2-35.5. Penalty-Yards: BC 7-57; MV 6-30. Offensive Plays: BC 35; MV 71.

———

Individual Statistics

Rushing: BC Cody Johnson 5-40, Devon Johnson 9-39, Joey Riffe 6-35, Austin Johnson 7-20. MV Lamar Cunningham 20-206, James Valentine 11-41.

Passing: BC Cody Johnson 2-5-0-125-2; Jacob Muncy 11-27-3-78-0.

Receiving: BC Austin Johnson 1-70, Devon Johnson 1-25; MV Quan Parker 6-43, Chris Hairston 2-18, Markese London 2-11, Purcell Lash 1-6.

Kick Returns: BC Austin Johnson 3-85, Cody Johnson 1-19.