Are you a believer now?

Published 10:27 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

There was a lot on the line for both the Mount Si Wildcats and the Newport Knights football teams as they battled each other last Friday night, Oct. 13. There was second place in Kingco 3A and the home playoff game that goes with that spot. There was also the side battle of the two star Brandons, Yakaboski from Mount Si and Mezistrano from Newport. But it all came down to one amazing play at the end and what an end it was.

Mount Si’s Dexter Moetului took a blocked field goal attempt by teammate Gibson Bardsley in the second overtime and narrowly crossed the goal line with the game-winning score. The Wildcats escaped Newport with a dramatic 41-35 win in a game that will be remembered for a long time by Mount Si observers as one of the greatest games in Wildcat football history.

“It’s probably the greatest game I’ve ever been a part of. Yeah, no doubt about it,” said an elated Mount Si coach Charlie Kinnune as his team gave up more than 500 yards of total offense to the Knights, but still found a way to win.

It didn’t start out well for the Wildcats. On the first play from scrimmage to open the first quarter, Newport quarterback Ryan Benoit ran 90 yards for a touchdown putting the Knights on the board first. Big plays would be a big theme for Newport in this game. “Big plays and we knew it. Newport’s a big play offense,” Kinnune said. After Yakaboski tied it with a 7-yard pass reception from quarterback Ian Atkinson, the other Brandon scored as Mezistrano ran 76 yards for a touchdown that put the Knights up 14-7.

Yakaboski struck again in the second quarter, scoring a touchdown from 6 yards out with 5:46 left to tie the game at 14-14. The senior then scored again with 51 seconds left in the frame, getting another touchdown from 6 yards out that gave Mount Si a 21-14 halftime lead. The running back felt no lingering pain from his recently injured hip. “Didn’t even notice it,” Yakaboski said.

Mezistrano made it happen again for Newport with an 83-yard touchdown run with 1:06 left in the third quarter to send the game to the final quarter even at 21-21.

Yakaboski then decided to make some more noise and ran 43 yards for another touchdown with 9:47 left in the fourth to put Mount Si back in front 28-21. On the following Knights’ possession, Mezistrano came back and scored another touchdown from 30 yards out to tie the game at 28-28. The two teams exchanged interceptions late in regulation and that set up overtime.

In overtime, each team gets one possession and it starts at the opposing team’s 25-yard line. There is no time limit, so they go until they score, run out of downs, or turn the ball over.

Newport opened overtime with the ball and Mezistrano made sure they didn’t have it long, scoring a touchdown on their first play to put the Knights in the lead. However, Yakaboski decided to one-up his rival from Newport and threw the ball for a touchdown to Atkinson on an option play on the ensuing Wildcat possession. The game remained tied into the second overtime, this time at 35-35.

The Knights failed to score in their second overtime possession, setting it up for Mount Si. The Wildcats ran it up the middle, getting a few yards at a time, the idea being that it would give their kicker, Gibson Bardsley, a short kick for the victory. It worked, albeit not the way they would have expected it. Mount Si made it down to the Newport 6-yard line and, after the Knights called timeout to freeze Bardsley, Newport blocked the field goal attempt. A scrum ensued, as everyone from both teams battled for the ball. The scrum then moved all the way to the goal line, as the Wildcats kept pushing. Out of the pile came the game-winning score from Moetului and the entire team, and their many loyal fans, erupted in celebration.

Moetului was excited. “Oh my gosh, dude, I thought we were going to get it in the field goal. I had no idea and then boom, it comes over to me, it’s bouncing in my hands and I just squeezed it in. I start running as people are trying to stop me. Nick Johnston comes up, hits me in the butt and pushes me all the way into the freaking end zone and I’m in there by one hand,” the tight end/lineman said.

Homecoming is this week as the Wildcats host Liberty. Kickoff Friday is at 7:30 p.m. Kinnune is hoping this home cooking lasts a long time. “We’re home for the next three weeks, we hope,” the coach said.