Mountain View Extends Their 32-Year Winning Streak Over Rival Mesa

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The Mountain View Toros took down the Mesa Jackrabbits 21-19 in a thrilling matchup.

Mountain View head coach Andy Litten acknowledged it was a good old-fashioned rivalry at the end of the day, but that they focus on themselves more than anything.

“To me it’s a good old-fashioned rivalry, however you boil it down,” Litten said. “We talk about winning the next play and trying to be the best player you can be right now.”

At the start of the game, the Toros made a statement about the kind of football they would bring to the table.

Mountain View, on the opening drive of the game, chewed up 8:24 minutes of the game and got down to the Mesa goal line.

The drive relied heavily on the game that was a balance between 2028 quarterback Brayden Merwin and 2027 running back Coy Bodily.

Getting a much-needed stop, though, the Jackrabbits came through with a goal-line stop.

On 4th and goal, 3-star ASU commit Kingston Anetema would make the touchdown-saving tackle to force he turnover on downs.

Fast-forwarding to the start of the second quarter, though, the Toros were able to put together another long drive and this time punch it into the end zone.

The Toros gave the ball to Bodily, who punched the ball from one yard out and gave Mountain View the first points of the game.

Answering back quickly, the Jackrabbits put together a massive drive.

Starting on their own 5-yard line, Mesa needed a big play to get down the field.

2027 quarterback Kane Anetema launched a deep ball to 2028 wide receiver Izzy Valenzuela for an 85-yard gain.

A few plays later, Kane Anetema connected with his brother Kingston Anetema for a 15-yard touchdown.

Mesa then led 7-6.

The rest of the first half, though, belonged to Mountain View.

Just like they did on their other drives, the Toros marched down the field methodically.

With just under three minutes left in the half, Mountain View took back the lead.

2029 running back Luke Whisenhant was able to score a 1-yard touchdown to give his team a 14-7 lead.

The Jackrabbits tried to compile one more drive in the first half, but it was the Toros who made a big play.

Getting an interception for the Toros was 2028 defensive back Pace Fischbeck.

The interception prevented Mesa from putting any more points on the board in the first half and allowed Mountain View to head into halftime with a 14-7 lead.

In the third quarter, Mesa would need to come out with some energy to get back into the game.

Mountain View started to put together another drive, but the Jackrabbits defense was able to come away with a takeaway.

Making another big play in the game was Kingston Anetema, who snatched an interception to give his team the ball back.

Taking full advantage of the turnover, Mesa put together another long drive to cut into the lead.

Capping off the drive, Mesa got a big play to find the end zone.

Kane Anetema escaped the pocket and found a wide-open 2027 running back Lance Briggs Jr. for a 43-yard touchdown.

The PAT ended up being no good, however, and Mountain View still led 14-13.

Just like they did previously in the game, Mountain View didn’t let the momentum switch sides, and they got back down the field to add to their lead.

After another long drive down the field for the Toros, Merwin called his own number for a QB sneak to score a 1-yard touchdown.

Heading into this game, Merwin knew it was going to be a battle.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Merwin said. “We’ve been preparing for that battle all year.”

With three quarters down, Mountain View led 21-13.

For a majority of the fourth quarter, Mesa and Mountain View could not get anything going on offense.

There were around 2 minutes left in the game, and Mesa had a chance to go down the field to tie the game up and send it into overtime.

The Jackrabbits made it interesting as they were able to score with 28 seconds left in the game.

For the second time in the game, Kane Anetema connected with Kingston Anetema, this time for a 22-yard touchdown and a chance to tie the game.

The biggest play of the game would take place next.

Mesa lined up for a two-point conversion to go ahead and tie it up.

Kane Anetema rolled out to his right and tried to scamper in for the conversion, but he was met with a wall of Mountain View defenders that stopped him from getting in the end zone.

The stop gave the Toros the win and extended their win streak over Mesa to 32 years.

Even though Mountain View gave up a big touchdown on the previous play, it was all about getting that one last stop to seal the victory.

“We teach our kids that momentum is believing that you are going to win it’s about the next play,” Litten said. “A big play happens, then they come back and make the play that wins it.”

The next step for Mountain View after starting the year 3-2 is to keep building momentum and be ready for their next opponent.

“Momentum, build momentum,” Merwin said. “We got Queen Creek; they’re a good team, but we will be ready.”

Next up: 3-2 Mountain View looks to keep it rolling next week when they face 2-3 Queen Creek. 2-3 Mesa looks to get back to .500 when they face 2-3 Salpointe.