Cienega head coach Justin Argraves brought his team into the end zone for a post-game message, just like he had in each of the first four weeks of the season.
This one, however, was on a much more joyous occasion compared to the last two times he’d huddled around the team.
Following last-second defeats to Salpointe Catholic and Gilbert Campo Verde in previous weeks, Cienega responded with its best performance of the year in a 35-6 road trouncing of Mountain View to improve to 2-3.
Cienega benefited from big outings from running back Cole McFarland and tight end Brody Kallman as the two seniors each scored a pair of touchdowns. McFarland carried the ball 16 times for 97 yards and Kallman finished second on the team with 46 receiving yards.
Cienega’s Jimmy Diaz gets over Mountain View’s David Parrin for a big-yardage grab Friday night.
“You guys played hard tonight,” Argraves told the team. “But don’t get complacent, we’ve got a lot of room for improvement.”
The Bobcats already showed one major sign of improvement compared to previous weeks.
“In our recent games against Salpointe and Campo Verde, our guys have come out flat to start,” Argraves said. “Tonight, we came out on fire early.”
Cienega scored on its very first possession on a run from McFarland. Five minutes later, another Cienega running back found the end zone; this time it was Rithcie McCormack on a 15-yarder. Just like that, the Bobcats had a 14-0 lead going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the team’s defense paved the way for a scoring opportunity thanks to an interception by Elias Santana inside the red zone and he returned it into Mountain View territory.
Cienega's Brody Kallman (83), top and CJ Hangartner swarm over against Mountain View's Lloyd Johnson (10) on his first-quarter carry Friday night.
A few plays later, Bobcat QB Brayden Cherry connected with tight end Brody Kallman for a 28-yard score to make it 21-0. It marked Kallman’s first career high school TD at either the varsity or junior varsity level.
“I’ve wanted one, and I’ve worked hard for it,” Kallman said.
The Bobcats rode a 21-point lead into halftime and Argraves told the team he wanted to keep putting the pressure on Mountain View.
“We told the kids that whether you’re sideline or on the field, we have to keep that high energy up,” Argraves said. “And I think that’s what sustained us.”
The Bobcats added two more scores in the second half. Kallman caught another pass from Cherry, just barely using his long 6-foot-4 frame to stretch the ball across the goal line. Cherry finished the night completing 14 of 22 passes for 229 yards and no turnovers.
The other score came in the fourth quarter on another run from McFarland to put the game out of reach. It was 35-0 in the final stages of the fourth quarter before Mountain View added a touchdown of its own from running back Lloyd Johnson.
The game officially marks the halfway point of the season for both clubs. Mountain View slips to 1-4, but for Cienega, Argaves believes the win can be a launching pad for the Bobcats to make a run in the tail end of the year.
“We’ve got a quarterback who’s getting better every single week, we’ve got a solid running back core and our lines are doing a tremendous job,” Agraves said. “We’re pretty balanced right now.”
