Miramonte wins its first game of the year, beats Berkeley High 28-12
Quincy Obradovic, Staff Writer, The Mirador
August 27, 2023

The Miramonte Matadors football team started off the 2023 campaign strong with a hard-fought 28-12 win over the Berkeley Yellowjackets on Friday night. It was a sloppy game on both ends with numerous penalties and fumbles, but through methodical offense and physical defense, the Mats were able to pull away. Both offenses stalled in the first half, with the only points coming in the second quarter for Berkeley off a pick-six on an attempted screen pass. By the time the second half rolled around, the Berkeley defense had no answer for Miramontes offensive attack, with the Mats scoring a whopping 28 points, including 21 in the third quarter alone. Despite Berkeley coming up with six points of their own off a fumble return touchdown, it was not nearly enough as Miramonte pulled away with the victory. Miramonte's defense was the standout of the game. The defensive line were consistently able to put pressure on the quarterback and stop the run.

The Mats entered tonight's contest with a lot more questions than answers, with six of their top seven scrimmage yard leaders graduating this past spring. No question was bigger than who was going to replace former star Luke Duncan at quarterback, but sophomore Carson Blair left no doubt about him being the man for the job. Blair was able to facilitate four touchdown drives, including touchdown passes to senior Finn McMannus, junior Jack Quinnild and sophomore Andrew Bjornson. While the Mats couldn't get much going in the run game, Blairs steady ability to throw the ball propelled the offense down the field.

Despite coming out victorious, the Mats have plenty to work on leading up to next week's game, such as throwing the ball deep, running the ball and the field goal operation. They take on the Piedmont Highlanders next week at home at 7:00, who are coming off a dismal 0-6 season.

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