Mountain View quarterback Gregory Simons took the snap, then attempted to push forward for the one yard needed to score a touchdown.
But the senior never got a chance to go anywhere. He was hit immediately.
Moments later, West Fork’s players celebrated more than just a goal-line stand on a fourth-down play. They had also recovered a fumble, the first of many defensive stands they made in Friday’s 21-0 win over Mountain View at Tiger Stadium.
“I thought defensively we played really well. The scoreboard shows that bend don’t break,” West Fork coach Rodney Selph said. “They got down in there, and we had a couple of goal-line stands and stopped them inside the 20 a couple of times.
“That’s just a credit to our kids.”
Gamebreaker
Why The Tigers Won
Tailback Wyatt Montgomery found plenty of running room, gaining 157 yards on 22 carries and scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first half to give West Fork a 14-0 halftime lead.
Why The Yellowjackets Lost
Mountain View had several opportunities in the red zone to cut into West Fork’s lead, but it kept stopped, including once when it fumbled the ball at the 1-yard line.
With its defense making stops, West Fork (1-3, 1-0 3A-1 Conference) relied on running back Wyatt Montgomery to carry the offense and overpower Mountain View for much of the night. Selph’s plan of handing the ball off to his 5-foot-10, 190-pound junior over and over again worked to near perfection.
Montgomery gained 157 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, and he would have had a third touchdown had he not somehow fumbled the ball without being touched at the end of a 60-yard run in the second half.
“He’s our workhorse, and he’s going to get the ball 25, maybe 30, times a game,” Selph said. “Credit our offensive line. I thought our offensive line played well.”
Mountain View (0-4, 0-1) had several opportunities to cut into West Fork’s 14-point lead in the first half, but the team made matters worse for itself by losing two fumbles and repeatedly getting stopped on fourth down.
Montgomery scored his first touchdown on the first play following a Yellowjackets fumble at its own 10-yard line. He bulldozed his way for a 10-yard touchdown run, giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 59 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
West Fork extended its lead to 14-0 on its next offensive series, getting a two-yard touchdown run by Montgomery with 9:18 left in the second quarter.
“We just didn’t score inside the 20. We had our chances, and of course, West Fork does a great job with their coaches and their players played really hard,” Mountain View coach Matt Sullivan said. “Our defense played well at times. The score does show we made a lot of mistakes.”