SMALL SCHOOLS: Saints hope dynamic offense, emerging defense lead to win

Mountain View’s football team is in the Class 2A state semifinals for the third year in a row.

This time, though, the Saints hope they can leave Northern Nevada with a reason to smile.

Mountain View (6-5) visits Rite of Passage (9-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Yerington with a trip to the Nov. 20 state title game on the line.

“I’m tired of traveling up north and getting beat,” Mountain View coach Ray LeBoeuf said. “It’s definitely perceived as a hump.”

Few programs can say they reached the state semifinals in their first three years at the 11-man level like Mountain View. But the disappointment of the last two playoff exits has given the team’s veteran group extra incentive.

Mountain View lost 28-22 at Pershing County in the semifinals two years ago, then fell 35-8 at Battle Mountain last season.

LeBoeuf said his players don’t feel burdened by trying to finally reach the state final, but he acknowledged it would be a breakthrough.

“The only thing I’ve shared with my kids is my experience winning (1A) state basketball in 2003, (and) that it’s a very difficult thing to do,” he said. “If you can get to that point, it’s a blessing to get there.”

Mountain View is coming off a 42-28 quarterfinal win at Needles, the South’s No. 1 seed. The Saints’ defense showed considerable improvement since a 63-62 triple-overtime loss at Needles in the regular season.

Middle linebacker Josh Killam emerged as a leader for the Saints’ defense last week, making a crucial call on a fourth-and-1 stop inside Needles’ 25-yard line in the second quarter that enabled Mountain View to score and take momentum.

Killam, a junior, is one of the area’s leading tacklers with 120 stops.

“They’re a smarter team as it goes along,” LeBoeuf said of his defense. “What they’re doing is they’re playing smarter instead of just stronger, and they’re making adjustments better.”

The duo of quarterback T.J. Engel and slot back Justyn Anderson has led the way for the Saints’ offense all season.

Engel has passed for 1,394 yards and 22 touchdowns and added 941 rushing yards and 14 scores. Anderson has 583 yards and nine TDs on the ground, and 41 receptions for 700 yards and 15 TDs.

Anderson caught two TD passes and ran for a score in the win over Needles.

“Justyn is an intelligent athlete,” LeBoeuf said. “He’s a very smart individual who understands how to take advantage of what somebody gives them. When he gets his hands on the ball, he understands where to go.”

LeBoeuf said Rite of Passage presents challenges with size and speed that will make it crucial for his team to limit its mistakes.

“This year, Agassi Prep was the first time we had played a team that was faster than us,” LeBoeuf said. “(Rite of Passage) is just as fast. A broken play can be a touchdown, so we’re really emphasizing mistake-free, intelligent football.”

Agassi Prep (7-2) will face North No. 2 seed Pershing County (6-4) in the other 2A state semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday at Rancho.

In Class 3A, Moapa Valley (6-4) will host Lowry (8-3) in a semifinal Saturday at 1 p.m.