Miramonte Football Extends Win Streak to 5, Beat Northgate 28-17
By Quincy Obradovic, Staff Writer, The Mirador
September 30, 2023
 

The Miramonte Matadors football team opened up league play with a nail-biting 28-27 victory over the Northgate Broncos. Propelled by a steady offensive attack and clutch defensive play, the Mats were able to get the job done. This one was close throughout, as neither team held a lead greater than seven points. In the first quarter, the Mats gave up two touchdowns through the air by Kawika Boyd, but scored one of their own, a 44-yard strike from Carson Blair to Jack Quinnild. For the first time all season, the Mats headed into the second quarter with a deficit. However, the Mats found the end zone twice more, with running back Gabe Roman scoring a rushing and receiving touchdown. The Broncos responded with a passing touchdown of their own, deadlocking the game at 21 heading into halftime. The Broncos controlled much of the third quarter through long, sustained drives that led to two field goals by kicker Lucas LeSieur. Heading into the fourth down 27-21, the Mats had to score a touchdown to take the lead. After the defense got a stop, Carson Blair drove the Mats all the way down the field, with the drive being capitalized by a Charlie Hwang rushing touchdown. After the converted extra point, the Mats held a 28-27 lead. With just 3 minutes remaining, the Broncos drove the ball all the way into the Matador red zone. Running the ball on first and second down to drain the clock and set up a go-ahead field goal, the Broncos made a costly mistake of throwing the ball on third and long. As the ball floated down into the sea of hands in the end zone, safety J.D. Pearce rose up above everyone else to catch a monumental interception. On the ensuing drive, the Mats drove to around midfield, but were forced to punt with around a minute left. Starting off on their own 20, the Broncos had to get into field goal range to set up a game-winning kick. However, they were around midfield with just a few seconds left, meaning they were out of field goal range. As they lateralled the ball around on the final play, safety Preston Rguem made the game winning tackle for the Matadors as the Broncos fell short of the end zone. While the Matadors certainly wouldn't have liked the game to be this close, this game was a battle until the very end, and Northgate proved to be a tough opponent. Next week, the Mats continue league play by traveling to Pleasant Hill to take on the College Park Falcons, as they look to extend their record to 5-0.

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