EAGLE POINT — If Hidden Valley was concerned about meeting a larger program on the football field, the Mustangs sure didn't show it Friday night at Eagle Stadium.
The Class 4A Mustangs exhibited the utmost confidence from the opening kickoff against Class 5A Eagle Point, posting a 14-0 lead en route to a 24-20 victory in nonconference play.
"This is a huge step for us," said Hidden Valley senior Jordan Van Cleave. "We played probably the hardest-hitting game we've played in my high school career. I think that's going to be a building block for the rest of the year. Hopefully, we can come into every game like it's Eagle Point or another 5A or 6A team like that."
Van Cleave played a huge role in helping his Mustangs improve to 2-0 on the season, hauling in a 12-yard pass from L.B. Draper on HV's first drive and tacking on a 16-yard touchdown run on a reverse with four minutes gone in the second quarter.
Both plays came on third down for Hidden Valley, and continued a trend that has left the Eagles scratching their heads at 0-2.
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Van Cleave's first touchdown was a thing of beauty, with the 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior stretching out on a fade pattern to the corner to haul in a perfectly placed pass from Draper.
The Mustangs appeared destined for another score on their second possession, but Eagle Point defensive lineman Cory Nielsen recovered to make a fine play on a screen pass to tailback Travis Warren. Nielsen ran down the play from behind, stripping the ball from Warren at the 25-yard line to set up a mad dash for the football.
The Eagles recovered the fumble in a wild scene that ended with EP's Travis Owens and HV's Dustin Mathews ejected from the game after an onfield skirmish brought the game to a halt for over five minutes. Both players will have to sit out their next game per OSAA rules.
"We just got a little off task right there and just needed to focus on the game more than the players," said Warren.
Cooler heads prevailed for the rest of the contest, although the teams did combine for 152 yards of accepted penalties.
After shutting down the Eagles on the ensuing series, the Mustangs picked up where they left off by driving downfield thanks largely to a partially blocked punt by Matt Stuart and a 15-yard pass interference penalty by Kris Butler on a fourth-and-10 play at the EP 32. Three plays later, Van Cleave slipped through the Eagle defense for his second score.
While the Mustangs were clicking on all cylinders from the outset, the Eagles couldn't find any rhythm on offense. From dropped passes to missed assignments, Eagle Point struggled to move the ball beyond a handful of smashmouth runs by Shane Tomich.
Eagle Point finally got on the board with 1:22 to play in the first half when Tomich bulled over from the 1-yard line. Setting up the scoring drive was a 16-yard run by Mert Bradshaw on a fake punt and a 19-yard quarterback draw by Brandt Nevin.
Any momentum that might have given the Eagles heading into the locker room was taken away, however, when the Mustangs drove 63 yards on 10 plays to take a 21-7 lead. Warren capped off the series with a sensational 13-yard scamper that saw him slip through a pair of arm tackles and use second and third effort to cross the goal line.
Eagle Point answered on the ensuing series with a 69-yard drive of its own, with Tomich once again making it into the end zone from 12 yards out thanks to some excellent blocking on the left side of the line and determined running.
"I really liked him in the second half," Hedrick said of Tomich, who finished with a team-high 41 yards rushing on 14 carries. "I thought he did a nice job of taking over and hitting the hole a lot harder than he did in the first half. It made a real difference in his play and that was good to see."
The Mustangs mounted yet another long drive, calling Warren's number on seven of their 11 plays. Warren, who came on in relief of starting tailback Matt Stuart, rushed for 53 yards on the series to set up Jorden Nielsen's 27-yard field goal.
"Travis has been working really hard in practice," said Van Cleave. "He deserved all he got tonight. He's an awesome running back. Both tailbacks did an awesome job."
Warren finished with 85 yards on 15 carries, while Stuart rushed 11 times for 33 yards as the Mustangs racked up 177 yards on 42 carries.
Hidden Valley's 24-14 lead was short-lived, however, as Butler finally found some running room and took the ensuing kickoff 95 yards to pay dirt to bring EP's fans to their feet.
"We were trying to get that going all night, just trying to get some kind of return past the 50," said Butler. "Luckily our team finally got one to break open. I just faked right and came back left and tried to find holes and broke through."
The ensuing point-after was negated when the snap wasn't fielded cleanly and reserve placekicker Chris Holcombe was swarmed over by Mustang defenders.
That same swarming defense by Hidden Valley helped keep the Mustangs' 24-20 lead intact for the remaining 9:35 of the game. The Mustangs knocked Tomich backwards on a fourth-and-1 play from the Hidden Valley 37 with 5:32 to play, then pulled down Nevin short of a first down when he was flushed from the pocket on another fourth down play with 2:33 to go.
Van Cleave pulled off another big play on third down moments later when he went 18 yards on third-and-9 to dash the Eagles' hopes deep inside their own territory.
"I was shaking I was so nervous," he said of the reverse. "I had all my team behind me, though, and I just got around the outside, beat a kid to the corner and that was it."
The only thing left after four kneel downs by Draper was a Hail Mary attempt by Nevin, who was stopped in his tracks on a sack by David Fedosky that dislodged the ball as the final seconds ticked away.
"We're 2-0 now and that's a big, big start for us," said HV coach Jim Figoni, whose team held EP to 148 yards of total offense. "That was an outstanding football team we played.
"When you can hold a team like that to two touchdowns by your defense, that's a tremendous testament to the kids' effort."
Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail khenry@mailtribune.com
