The Miramonte Matadors football team cruised to their second win of the 2023 season, taking down the Piedmont Highlanders 48-6 on Friday night. The Mats dominated in all three phases of the game, offense, defense, and special teams. Coming off a sloppy 28-12 victory the previous week versus Berkeley, the Mats had a sharp, productive week of practice. Results of improvement were evident early, as they outscored Piedmont 14-0 in the first quarter. The rout was on by halftime, with the Mats heading into the locker room with a 34-6 lead.

Following an uneventful 3rd quarter, the officials implemented a running clock, which is done in order to end lopsided games more quickly. The Mats tacked on 14 more points in the second half to close the game out. The Matador defense dominated all game long, with standout performances from seniors John Kelly and Finn McMannus, along with juniors Jack Quinnild and Luke Milmoe. The Matador offensive line also had their way with the Highlander defense, consistently getting a strong push up front. The most encouraging development from the game was the strong QB play of senior Myles Bastani and sophomore Carson Blair, who split time about evenly. The two combined for 23 completions with 358 passing yards and 6 touchdown passes. They had open receivers to throw to all night long, with Finn McMannus and sophomore Andrew Bjornson both finishing with over 100 receiving yards.

The Mats lone rushing touchdown of the night came in the first quarter from sophomore Charlie Hwang, who made his varsity debut after getting called up from the JV squad. Though they were scheduled to face the Skyline Titans next week, complications from a campus threat on Skyline's campus forced the both schools athletic directors to postpone the contest. The Mats look to carry the momentum to the next game, which will come at home on Friday, September 15th, 7:00pm against the Pinole Valley Spartans. The Spartans are fresh off a strong 9-4 2022 season in which they were crowned Division 7 NCS Champions, followed by a 7aa state championship. 

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