- Ridgeline defeated Mountain Crest 34-10 in a Region 11 showdown Friday.
- Quarterback Nate Dahle scored four touchdowns, leading the Riverhawks' offensive surge.
- Mountain Crest struggled offensively, managing only 175 total yards against Ridgeline's defense.
MILLVILLE — For more than a half it was a tight game in a battle of Region 11 heavyweights in the league opener Friday night.
When opportunities arose, Ridgeline cashed in. Mountain Crest did not.
In the end, the Riverhawks did what they have for six straight seasons now, beat their rivals to the south. Ridgeline scored 34 straight points from the second quarter on and rolled to a 34-10 victory over the Mustangs.
"It's a great win, but we treat it like every game, like a stepping stone to the big game at the end of the year," Riverhawk quarterback Nate Dahle said. "We came out a little rough, but ended up putting it away."
Dahle accounted for four of the hosts five touchdowns. The senior rushed for two and passed for another two.
"Mountain Crest is good tacklers, their middle linebacker, No. 40 (Carter Egbert) is a tough kid," Dahle said. "… We off to a good start and just hoping to take this momentum into the rest of the year."
Both teams came into the game among the best in the state in scoring defense. Mountain Crest (3-1, 0-1 region) was allowing 7.3 points a game, while Ridgeline (4-0, 1-0) was giving up a measly 5.7 points.
"We had some miscues early on offense," Riverhawk head coach Travis Cox said. "We cleaned that up. Once we got rolling and got some momentum, that really helped us."
Ridgeline did finish with 445 yards of total offense — 251 through the air and 194 on the ground.
"We played a really good team," MC head coach Ryan Visser said. "… The kids played with a lot of effort an expected to win. You can't coach that, so that was good to see."
The Mustangs and Riverhawks also came into the showdown as two of the highest scoring teams. Mountain Crest was averaging 49.7 points an outing, while Ridgeline nearly matched its average of 38.0.
"In high school ball momentum is huge," Visser said. "Credit to them (Riverhawks). … We got the top dog right off the bat. This is the beginning of the region season. This is a great group of kids and they will bounce back and be ready to roll next week."
Playing a team like Ridgeline, Visser knew opportunities couldn't be squandered. The Mustangs had to settle for a field goal in the early going, had a promising drive stall before halftime and couldn't do anything with the second half kickoff.
"Football is about making plays," Visser said. "We didn't make plays and they did. It's pretty simple. The score got out of control, but there was four or five plays that shifted the game. We had our chances, but you need to be close to perfect against a talented team like that. We made a lot of mental mistakes, but the kids fought. That was fun to see."
Meanwhile, the Riverhawks had an early chance come up empty. However, the hosts were able to get on track in the second quarter and would score on six of seven possessions — minus a kneel down just before halftime — that stretched into the fourth quarter.
"We started off hot with three good plays, then had a little meltdown at the start," Cox said. "Once we got settled in, it was pretty good. They (Mustangs) held the ball and controlled the time a little, so that was hard to get in a rhythm. I thought the kids executed well and our defense played great."
Mountain Crest was held to 175 yards of total offense as the Ridgeline defense seemed to get stronger as the game went on. The Mustangs rushed for just 28 yards on 21 carries, thanks to four sacks. Quarterback Brayden Larsen passed for 127 yards on 20 of 32 attempts and had a TD.
