KING CITY — For the first time since the 2021 season, the King City Mustangs football team is 5-0 and looks ready to defend last year’s Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission South Division.
The Mustangs beat the previously unbeaten Monte Vista Christian Mustangs, 34-14, last Friday night in Watsonville.
King City head coach Mac Villanueva was pleased with the win but feels that divisional play will be very competitive.
“We’re 5-0 at the halfway point, and that’s where we felt we could be,” Villanueva said. “We knew we had three tough Mission North crossover games to get through before league play. It doesn’t get any easier for us, opening league against Soledad. It’s always a physical game when we play them. You can’t look at their record and discount the non-league schedule they’ve played. We know we are going to have to be ready to play.”
The game was a slow start for both teams as King City and Monte Vista Christian finished the first quarter and most of the second quarter with zeros on the scoreboard.
King City started the scoring off with 1:55 left in the half with a seven-yard run for a touchdown by Mustang running back Carson Tidwell and a point-after attempt by Bryan Gonzales for a 7-0 lead.
After the kickoff and with time running, King City defender Kody Lambert picked off a pass from Monte Vista quarterback Evan Vessey and ran in for a 45-yard touchdown. The second PAT by Gonzales pushed the score to 14-0 in favor of King City.
MVC ended the first half with a quick drive that ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Vessey to James Tipton. Massimo Melo of MVC kicked the PAT as the host cut the King City lead to 14-7.
Early in the third quarter, King City looked like they had a chance to score again when defensive lineman Perez Deandre Perez pressured Vessey and grabbed the ball out of the air and headed up field before the quarterback was able to wrestle him down. King City had good field position on the turnover but the possession ended on the one-yard line after an interception was thrown by quarterback Rocky Vasquez to end the scoring threat.
With 5:06 to play in the third quarter, King City sophomore RJ Ayon scored on a 38-yard punt return. The third PAT by Gonzales gave the visiting Mustangs a two-score lead at 21-7.
MVC went to the air the rest of the quarter and were successful, as Vessey threw a pass to Jordan Ramirez that resulted in a 62-yard touchdown. The Melo PAT made the score 21-14.
King City outscored MVC, 13-0, in the final quarter with an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown by Nathan Vega and an exciting 100-yard interception return for a score by RJ Ayon. Gonzales connected on a PAT after the touchdown by Vega, but King City was unsuccessful on a two-point conversion attempt, ending with the final score of 34-14.
Tidwell led King City with seven rushes for 42 yards and a touchdown, and Vega ran for 29 yards on nine carries. The Mustangs had a total of 76 rushing yards and threw for 113 passing yards. JC Navarro had three receptions for 37 yards, while Lambert had four receptions for 28 yards. Vasquez was 10-15 passing for 113 yards and two interceptions.
King City’s game with Soledad (1-4 overall) is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
