LOVELAND — Mountain View football coach Bart Mayes is a patient man.
After enduring two excruciatingly long seasons that produced just three wins against 17 losses, Mayes’ Mountain Lions made a statement on Saturday at Ray Patterson Field.
Maxwell Svobodny’s 32-yard field goal with 19 seconds left helped Mountain View knock off The Denver Post/9News’ No. 3 Berthoud Spartans 14-12, handing the defending champions back-to-back losses for the first time since 2005.
“This is a huge win for us. We have had some real tough times the last few years,” said Mayes, whose team improved to 5-1 in the Tri-Valley League and 6-1 overall. “I’m so proud of these guys. They’ve worked hard and kept at it and not let anything hold them back.
“We’ve got 27 seniors, and they’ve finally taken ownership of it.”
With the league having just three guaranteed spots into the 16-team Class 3A playoff field, Berthoud (5-2 overall, 4-2 league) now sits alone in fourth place behind Fort Morgan (6-0 in league), Roosevelt (5-1) and Mountain View.
The Mountain Lions, up 5-0 midway through the second quarter, put their stamp on the game with a brilliant goal-line stand that saw Berthoud have two shots from the 1-yard line.
Linemen Justin Rogers, Nick Miller and Brett Boyer, along with middle linebacker Kohlman Scribner, stuffed Berthoud quarterback Jordan Major on third down and then Gregory Glasser on fourth.
“That was the difference,” Berthoud coach Dan McGinn said. “We talked about it too, when we need a foot, we need to be able to get it. Two times we didn’t get it, so you have to take your hat off to them.”
Said Mayes: “My defensive coordinator Jason Klatt came up with just a fantastic game plan. We didn’t care if it took them 99 yards or 99 1/2 yards, we were going to stop them.”
Berthoud’s Major, who suffered a left leg injury in the third quarter, came back in to finish a 12-play, 85-yard drive with a 2-yard scoring plunge to put the Spartans up 12-11 with five minutes to play.
Mountain View answered with a steady dose of sophomore back Joey Hlushak, who finished with 210 yards on 30 carries, and got Svobodny within range.
“When Max hit it, it was just awesome,” Hlushak said. “This really just feels good.”
Berthoud 0 0 6 6 — 12
Mountain View 5 0 6 3 — 14
MV — FG Svobodny 27. MV — Safety, ball snapped over punter’s head and through end zone. B — Duncan 31 pass from Major (kick failed). MV — J. Hlushak 6 run (pass failed). B — Major 2 run (kick blocked). MV — FG Svobodny 32.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
