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Homecoming heartbreaker
The Middleton Vikings dominated the third quarter, breaking open a close game for a 36-13 win over the Mountain Home Tigers Friday night, spoiling the Tigers' homecoming at Tiger Field.
Mountain Home received the kickoff to start the game and mixed up the run and pass successfully for an 80-yard, 16-play drive that consumed nearly half of the first quarter.
Jake Hennessey ran the ball in for a touchdown from two yards out. With the PAT by Dion Salinas, the Tigers led 7-0 with 6:21 left in the first quarter.
Middleton is noted for its long, time-consuming drives, but the Vikings wasted little time answering the Tigers' score. Mason Foote burst through a hole and romped 67 yards for the score. The two-point run failed and Mountain Home led 7-6, with 4:50 left in the first quarter.
The next Mountain Home drive stalled at the Viking 38-yard line, where Middleton took over on downs.
The Vikings were unable to pick up a first down and were forced to punt. The snap sailed over the punter's head and he was forced to fall on the ball on the 12-yard line.
The Tigers took over from there and four plays later Jake Hennessey took it in from the one for the score. The Tigers faked the PAT, with the pass for two falling incomplete. The Tigers were up 13-6, however, with 10:17 left in the first half.
Middleton answered with a 73-yard, seven-play scoring drive, capped by Porter Bennett throwing to Mason Foote for a 31-yard touchdown. Foote ran in the two-point conversion to give the Vikings a 14-13 lead with 4:41 left in the half, a score that stood up until halftime.
Middleton received the ball to start the third quarter and moved the ball down the field on the ground, going 65 yards in eight plays. Mason Foote scored from five yards out. The two-point run failed, making it 20-13 Vikings, with 7:15 left to go in the third quarter.
A penalty on the kick-off return had Mountain Home starting from its own four-yard line. On first down, Jake Hennessey's pass was intercepted by Mason Foote, who returned it back to the Mountain Home 20-yard line.
Four plays later, Ted Ah You ran it in from the one for the score. Porter Bennett passed to Wayne Powell for the two-point conversion to make it 28-13, Vikings, with 4:55 left in the third quarter.
Mountain Home went three-and-out on its possession -- the Tigers had just four plays in the third quarter -- and they punted the ball back to the Vikings.
Middleton then put together a 74-yard, eight-play scoring drive, with Mason Foote scoring from 33 yards out. Porter Bennett passed to Ted Ah You for the two-point conversion,and the Vikings stretched their lead to 36-13 with 11:18 left in the ball game.
That would be it for the scoring on the night. Middleton moved the ball from its own 16 down to the Mountain Home 13 before fumbling it away to the Tigers. Mountain Home then put together its best drive since the first quarter, moving the ball down to the Viking 32-yard line before a pass interception killed the drive.
Middleton then ran out the clock for the 36-13 win.
"We played a good first half," said Tiger head football coach Brian Floyd. "I wasn't too impressed with the spotting of ball by the refs, but that's what happens and you've got to deal with that. I thought we should have been up 20-6 or so. We gave them two long plays that they scored on in the first half and then in the second half we got four plays in the third quarter offensively and 20 plays for the whole second half.
"They controlled about 20 minutes of the clock in the second half and took us to the woodshed."
Mountain Home managed just 107 yards rushing for the game -- 91 of those in the first quarter.
Curtis Jackson had 60 yards rushing in the first quarter, but ended up with 76 yards on 13 rushes. Colton Zamora rushed three times for 21 yards, Juan Silva had 20 yards on eight carries, Tyler Wright had three yards on two rushes and had Jake Hennessey minus 13 yards and two touchdowns on seven rushes.
Hennessey completed 16 of 26 passes for 116 yards. He had two passes picked off. Tyler Wright caught seven passes for 67 yards, Colton Zamora had four catches for 28 yards, J.T. Cristobal caught three passes for 17 yards, Juan Silva had one for three yards and Curtis Jackson caught one for one yard.
Colton Zamora led the Tigers in tackles with 13. Anthony Castillo had 10, Jesse Corbett seven, Jacob Perry had four and a fumble recovery, Dion Salinas and Ricky Castillo both were credited with 3.5 tackles, Adam Miller had three and Tyler Wright 2.5.
The Tigers take a 1-1 conference record to Columbia on Friday night for a 7 p.m. game in Nampa to face a Wildcat team that's also 1-1 in conference.
"We still control our destiny, and these kids need to realize that. They need to focus and get going. We've got Columbia -- the first of three away games -- and if we take it game by game, we'll be fine," Floyd said.