Mountain View Mesa tops Red Mountain in Battle of Brown Road to improve to 3-0 for first time since 2016

Quarterback Willy Roberts had an efficient evening, going 22 of 32 for 257 yards and running for a touchdown, and junior Reese Marziale also ran for a first-half score.

Another rivalry game last week was the Battle of Brown Road between Red Mountain and Mountain View (Mesa).

The Toros led the all-time series between the Mesa schools 21-9, but Red Mountain had won three in a row — including a 48-20 victory in 2019 that was part of a 10-game win streak that took the Lions to the 6A final.

While the Toros earned their first playoff win in the past decade last fall to reach the quarterfinals, that Battle of Brown Road defeat stuck in the craw of their 34 seniors all offseason.

“We feel like we have a pretty solid team right now,” Toros coach Mike Fell said. “They handled us pretty well last year. We thought we were better, and this was a big challenge to see how we stacked up.”

Mountain View built a 13-0 lead in the second quarter, but Red Mountain scrapped back to tie the score at 13-13 early in the fourth. Jesus Garcia’s 42-yard field goal with less than nine minutes remaining put the Toros back on top, and Peyton Eastwood’s red-zone interception with 1:34 left sealed their 16-13 victory.

Mountain View improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2016 on the strength of its bend-but-don’t-break defense that allowed the Lions (1-2) to score once in four trips inside the 20. Senior safety Ethan Caldwell had 10 tackles, and junior Malaki Ta’ase had six tackles, two for loss, and a fumble recovery.

“I felt our defensive line and two inside linebackers were the real strength of our team this year, and they’ve done an excellent job,” said Fell, whose team has given up 27 points in wins over Mesa, Dodson and Red Mountain. “(On Friday), we put them in good field position three or four times and kept them out. This was a good win for us.”

Quarterback Willy Roberts had an efficient evening, going 22 of 32 for 257 yards and running for a touchdown, and junior Reese Marziale also ran for a first-half score.

“Reece always had the talent, but he was content to be a JV kid last year,” Fell said of Marziale, who has rushed for 264 yards and four touchdowns. “He’s grown up a little bit, and this year was ready to step up for us.”

— René Ferrán; Malaki Ta’ase photo by Joanna Finkenkeller

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