Wildcats stop Pats

Albemarle’s struggles continued on Friday night, as the Patriots fell to visiting Mountain View, 45-12. The loss brings the Patriots’ record to 0-9 on the season and 0-6 in the Commonwealth District.

The Wildcats’ spread offense proved to be too much for Albemarle, as the rushing attack, led by Shane Black and Alan Lester, combined with the arm of quarterback Jordan King, paced the impressive offensive effort.

“As the game wore on, we relied more on our run game to really try to get us up and down the field,” said Mountain View coach Eric Cooke. “That’s something you’ve got to do effectively to be able to win games.”

Mountain View got on the board first, on a four-yard plunge by 260-pound offensive lineman Mike Hairston on the Wildcats’ initial drive. Albemarle failed to move the ball in the first quarter, managing just one first down.

The Patriots defense, however, made a few big plays — highlighted by fumble recoveries on consecutive possessions by Eric Reigel and Ryan Kime —  to keep Albemarle close.

Black scored on a 36-yard scamper a few minutes into the second period to give the visitors a 14-0 lead. Albemarle answered, as quarterback Andrew Frazier connected with senior wideout Jordan Hill from 36 yards out. Hill adjusted and made a spectacular grab with 5:49 to play in the half, and it looked as though the Patriots would give their opponents a run for their money.

Mountain View (4-5, 2-4) had other ideas, marching 69 yards in four plays, capped by a pass from King to junior receiver Aaron Williams, who broke out of two tackles and went 35 yards for the score.

After getting the ball back, the Wildcats again wasted little time, going 75 yards in a minute on a 4-yard King run, and Mountain View enjoyed a 20-point advantage at the break.

“I was happy with the way our offense came out and we were able to put some points on the board [in the first half],” said Albemarle coach Wendell Green. “We haven’t been able to do that the past few games, and that’s kind of something that I challenged the guys to do.

“We had a few bad snaps that caused a couple of our drives to sputter a little bit, but I felt like our guys competed hard for four quarters, even though the score may not reflect that.”

Cooke added: “[Albemarle] played with a lot of heart tonight, and I thought that until the last whistle blew, they were fighting for every inch they could get. My hat goes off to those guys, and I hope they have a successful finish to their season.”

The Patriots will have one last chance to get in the win column — next week on senior night, as Brooke Point rolls into town. Green explained that he was pleased with how Frazier played under center Friday, and believes that he will need a repeat performance to end the season on a positive note.

“He gives us a lot of athleticism at the position and he throws the ball well,” said Green of his senior signal-caller, who also caught a touchdown pass from Hunter McCann late in the game. “I like what I saw from our offense today, I just hope that we can continue that next week to be able to keep our defense off the field.”