KING CITY — King City running back Carson Tidwell ran for 120 yards on 20 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead the Mustangs in a 26-7 non-league victory over the host North Monterey County Condors last Friday night.
Tidwell had not played since the loss to North Salinas on Aug. 29 and missed the Little Big Game win against Gonzales on Sept. 5.
The Mustangs ran a well-balanced attack in Friday’s win, rushing for a total of 170 yards with 173 passing yards. Quarterback Rocky Vasquez had his best-ever passing game with a 12-of-18 passing performance and threw one touchdown with no interceptions.
Mustang receiver Alexander Macias returned after playing just a quarter in the North Salinas game and sat out the Little Big Game. Macias led King City with three receptions for 79 yards.
King City head coach Mac Villanueva praised Tidwell and Macias for their performances.
“(Macias) is probably one of the faster receivers in the area and it was good to have him back on the field,” Villanueva said. “Tidwell gives us a strong running game and also can catch the ball as he finished with four receptions for 43 yards.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Mustangs scored twice in the second quarter with a 40-yard touchdown run by Tidwell, and another Tidwell score of seven yards on a pass from Vasquez. Benjamin Bolanos was successful on the first point-after attempt but missed after the second Tidwell touchdown that completed the first half scoring at 13-0.
After receiving the second half kickoff, the Mustangs fumbled the ball at their own 10-yard line to give the Condors a first down. After being limited to seven yards on three plays, North County scored on a two-yard run by Junior Hernandez and a PAT by Jacob Silva to cut the King City lead to 13-7.
Tidwell scored on a two-yard run to stretch the Mustang advantage to 19-7. King City failed on a two-point conversion attempt. The Mustangs completed the scoring with a one-yard Tidwell touchdown and a successful PAT by Bolanos, for the final 26-7 score.
“While our offense was producing yards, our defense played solid all four quarters,” Villanueva said. “Rocky Villanueva and Matthew Segura had interceptions and Kody Lambert stood out at cornerback. Armando Villansenor had a sack and Nathan Vega had double digits in tackles at linebacker. We started out a little sloppy on offense and had two touchdowns called back, but we settled down after that.”
King City (2-1) will host St. Francis (2-1) this Friday night at War Memorial Stadium. The Mustangs then play Watsonville at home the following week before starting Mission South play at Soledad (0-3).
