The Mount Si High football team got its season off on the right foot, beating Juanita 42-22 in a nonconference game on Friday, Sept. 2 at Juanita High School in Kirkland.
Sophomore quarterback Cale Millen led the Wildcats (1-0) with eight completions for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and was one of three quarterbacks used by Mount Si in the opener.
Millen had the “hot hand” of the Wildcats three quarterbacks for the night, said Mount Si football coach Charlie Kinnune, but he saw a lot of good things in his team’s performance Friday.
“I was just pleased with our effort on both sides of the ball,” he said, particularly since the game was the first significant playing time for more than half of the lineup. “I’m really proud of these guys.
Three quarterbacks led Wildcat plays, junior Jesiah Irish, senior Zeke Bardon, and sophomore Millen.
Irish, who started for the Wildcats, also led the team with three receptions for 133 yards — the highlights being a 53-yard touchdown pass from Millen and a reception in which he bobbled the ball for 15 yards before making the grab past midfield.
Irish also rushed for a touchdown in the first quarter, part of a run which saw the Wildcats lead 21-3 near the end of the first half.
Millen’s other touchdown pass was a three-yard strike to Alex Rendon in the second quarter. Senior Zeke Bardon was the third option at quarterback for Mount Si.
Max Bonda scored on a 28-yard run in the third quarter and Jack Weidenbach scored on a 36-yard dash in the fourth quarter.
“They both were strong out of the backfield.. they were both highly effective,” said Kinnune.
Juanita All-American running back Salvon Ahmed, one of the top 2017 recruits from the state of Washington, was held to 82 yards on 17 carries and went without a rushing touchdown.
Ahmed finished with 31 yards on eight carries in the first half, rarely finding room to run.
“[Ahmed is] one of the best players in the country and one of the fastest players in the country, (and) we felt like we needed to make somebody else beat us, not him,” said Kinnune. “Absolutely, he was a focal point.”
Juanita’s starting quarterback was held out of the game due to academic eligibility issues. Junior JD Worchester started in his place, and completed 13 of 25 attempts 190 yards and two interceptions.
It may not have been a league game, Kinnune said, “but it counts as far as our psyche, and it counts as far as our experience.”
Next, Mount Si is scheduled to play Monroe High in a nonconference game on Friday, Sept. 9 at Mount Si High School.
Scoring Summary
First quarter
MS — Jesiah Irish 1 run (Reed Paradissis kick), 7:06
Second quarter
J — Calum Garrigan 21 fieldgoal, 9:48
MS — Alex Rendon 3 pass from Cale Millen (Paradissis kick), 2:18
MS — Irish 53 pass from Millen (Paradissis kick), 1:11
J — Salvon Ahmed 32 pass from JD Worchester (Garigan kick), :08
Third quarter
MS — Austin Ross 1 run (Paradissis from Zeke Barden), 7:59
MS — Max Bonda 28 run (Paradissis kick), 4:20
Fourth quarter
MS — Jack Weidenbach 36 run (kick blocked), 11:49
J — Christian Blackburn 24 pass from Worchester (pass intercepted), 7:08
J — Sise 19 pass from Worchester (pass failed), 6:03
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Mount Si: Weidenbach 3-104, Max Bonda 11-57, Austin Ross 5-23, Jake Bailey 1-7, Irish 4-1, Millen 2-(minus 3), Barden, 2-(minus 6).
Juanita: Ahmed 17-82, Blackburn 1-24, Worchester 6-11, Sise 3-(minus 7), Andrez Trahan 6-(minus 4).
Passing
Mount Si: Millen, 8-12-0-206, Irish, 4-5-0-37, Zeke Barden, 1-4-0-7.
Juanita: JD Worchester, 13-25-2-190.
Receiving
Mount Si: Irish 3-133, Bonda 3-46, Jonny Barrett 2-32, Eric Daniels 3-27, Garrett Stiller 1-10, Alex Reardon 3-8.
Juanita: Sise 4-94, Sam Rice 3-37, Ahmed 2-36, Blackburn 1-8, Ravi Regan-Hughes 1-6, Kamil Ettaki 2-2.
