Mountain View quarterback Will Howell runs into the end zone while celebrating during the first half Friday. Howell completed all 13 of his first-half passes and finished 17 of 20.

 Rebecca Sasnett, Arizona Daily Star

Mountain View sophomore quarterback Will Howell stepped up into a bone-crushing hit.

Even just two quarters into his second varsity game, he knew that making a key pass was sometimes worth taking a blow. So, just before Sahuaro linebacker Jordan Pfeiffer smashed into his throwing arm, Howell unleashed a missile that found senior receiver Dillon Arvayo for a critical 37-yard score.

With just 21 seconds left in the first half, the Mountain Lions (1-1) led by three touchdowns and never looked back, beating the Cougars 26-7 on Friday night. Howell’s bomb right before intermission served as a punctuation mark for a perfect half. He completed all 13 of his passes for close to 200 yards with three touchdowns, two passing and one rushing.

“My coach just told me, “Throw the darn ball to him,’” Howell said. “I just dropped back, stepped up in the pressure and delivered it. I trust my receivers, and I love him. I got him a touchdown last game, too, so we’ve just got that connection right now.”

While Howell put together a memorable performance, completing 17 of 20 passes for 256 yards, his defense smothered the short-handed Sahuaro offense.

Missing nine players due to COVID concerns, the Cougars (0-2) leaned heavily on running back Javez Blair and receiver Alexander Vales. But while both had their moments, including Vales’ 49-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter, the Mountain Lions made moving the ball difficult.

Mountain View’s Dillon Arvayo celebrates after catching the ball in the end zone during the first half. The Mountain Lions won 26-7 to improve to 1-1.

Each time Sahuaro gained some momentum, Mountain View’s defense would force a negative play to steal it back. The best example came in the second quarter, when the Cougars marched to the Mountain Lions’ 15-yard line but a sack by Samuela Hala’ufia pushed them back to a third-and-long, which then resulted in another big loss.

“I really believe in the kids, and I really believe in the staff we have,” Sahuaro coach Scott McKee said. “We just have to learn how to win again. We’re close, and all of a sudden we’ll jump offsides or drop a ball. We just need to make that play that helps carry your momentum through.”

On the other side of the ball, Tariq Booker and Dominic Roebuck starred in Mountain View’s revolving door at running back.

Though neither had a carry in the first quarter, they paired for over 100 yards with Booker tallying 53 on seven carries and Roebuck adding 48 on six. By the time the dust cleared, Mountain View had nine players register a carry. The balance was also true for the passing attack, as Arvayo led the Mountain Lions with 91 receiving yards and five players caught at least three passes.

After a long two weeks following Mountain View’s 13-12 season-opening loss to rival Marana, it was a relief to put together such a strong performance with so many contributors.

“It was definitely a good case of being humble,” coach Matt Johnson said. “At the same time, I warned them that Marana was pretty good and had some players that were pretty special. It was a grind. We had some hard practices, but we’re getting better.”

Mountain View travels to Goodyear Millennium next week while Sahuaro heads to Desert View looking for its first win.

Amphi game postponed

Amphi will play Phoenix Thunderbird on Monday night after Friday’s game was postponed due to a threat made against the Tucson school.

A memo sent by Thunderbird officials to the parents of players said that “an individual made a threat regarding the personal safety of people at the game.” Amphi officials and Tucson police were working Friday to determine the credibility of the threat, Thunderbird officials wrote. The game was initially moved to Saturday morning before being switched to Monday night. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. at Amphi, 125 W. Yavapai Road.

The Panthers are looking to improve to 3-0 behind star running back Kiko Trejo. Thunderbird is 1-1.

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