Germaine leads Mountain View past rival Mesa with big first half
October 6, 2023 by Ben Stapley, AZPreps365
After a week of buildup, a large contingent of Mesa High alumni and supporters converged at Jackrabbit stadium Thursday night.
The Mesa faithful held high hopes of vexing a 28-year spell against rival Mountain View, but those hopes were all but dashed in the first 12 minutes.
Thanks to a masterful performance from quarterback Jack Germaine, and a slew of forced turnovers, the Toros rolled to a convincing 35-15 victory over Mesa in a 6A Fiesta Region contest.
Germaine carved up Mesa's defense with precision, doing most of his damage in the first half, as Mountain View built a 25-0 lead behind the senior's four touchdown passes.
Germaine finished with 261 yards while completing 22-of-27 pass attempts.
The win puts Mountain View (5-2, 3-0) in the region drivers seat, and will likely help the Toros enjoy next week’s Fall break and bye week.
The Jackrabbits (4-3, 1-1) will have to wait another year to break a losing drought against Mountain View that dates back to 1994.
“It was a great win and we knew Mesa was going to come out hard, so I’m really proud of how we played, especially in that first half,” Mountain View coach Joe Germaine said.
“Jack was sharp tonight. He saw the field really well, and our receivers were creating space and making plays after the catch.”
Two of Germaine’s scoring passes went to Hodden Marks, including the game's first touchdown on a 27-yard screen play.
On Mesa’s next play from scrimmage, the Toros forced a fumble which was recovered by Becks Barney at Mesa’s 24 yard line. A few plays later, Germaine found Porter Wilhelm on another well designed screen play, resulting in a touchdown for a 13-0 lead.
Mesa fumbles again on its next possession. @jackgermaine throws another TD. 17 yards to Hodden Marks for his second of the game. MV had its 2nd PAT blocked, making it 19-0 midway through the 2nd quarter. pic.twitter.com/Q3XSQXIIMW
— Ben Stapley (@AZpreps365Ben) October 6, 2023
Early in the second quarter, another Mesa fumble led to another Germaine-Hodden touchdown connection, this one from 17 yards, and it was 19-0.
“Our defense was just as clutch forcing the turnovers,” Germaine added.
“We knew Mesa could run the ball, so forcing the turnovers the way we did really ignited our offense.”
The Jackrabbits were able to piece together a few promising first half drives behind Junior St. Cyr, but the turnovers and lack of a vertical passing attack kept Mesa stymied until late in the fourth quarter.
