Cougs’ run ends in quarterfinals; Mountain View falls to defending state champion West Albany, 31-7 | News

Mountain View falls to defending state champion West Albany, 31-7

Published: November 28. 2009 4:00AM PST

ALBANY — In the end, Mountain View had no answer for Anthony LaCoste.

West Albany’s senior tailback rushed for 272 yards and a pair of third-quarter touchdowns Friday night, leading the Bulldogs to a 31-7 victory over Mountain View in a Class 5A state football quarterfinal contest.

While West Albany (11-1) advances to face Hillsboro in a semifinal game next week, the Cougars (9-2) sign off on a season in which they were Intermountain Conference co-champions and reached the state quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row.

Mountain View entered Friday’s game at Albany’s Memorial Stadium coming off a 39-14 home rout of Madison last week in the second playoff round. West Albany, the two-time defending 5A champion, was fresh off a 75-0 mauling of Ashland.

While the Bulldogs did not overpower the Cougars as they did Ashland, they never trailed in Friday’s contest. And once they took a 14-0 lead on two second-quarter touchdown passes by quarterback Nick Orsborn, they were in firm command.

All five of Mountain View’s first-half possessions resulted in Austin Sears punts, and the Bulldogs led 14-0 at halftime.

LaCoste scored on runs of 30 and 23 yards in a four-minute span in the third period. His first touchdown was set up by an unsuccessful fake punt by Mountain View that gave West Albany the ball at the Cougar 40-yard line.

An interception by Solomon Helms stopped a Bulldog drive at the Mountain View 32 late in the third quarter. But on the first play after the turnover, the Cougars gave the ball back on a fumble at the 23. And on the next snap, LaCoste ran for a game-breaking touchdown.

Tyler Davis’ fourth extra-point kick of the night gave West Albany an insurmountable 28-0 lead with 1:23 to play in the third period.

Mountain View twice drove deep into Bulldog territory in the fourth quarter. The first time, the Cougars turned the ball over on downs. Later, with time running out, quarterback Jacob Hollister connected with Cody Davis for a 12-yard touchdown pass as the visitors foiled the shutout with just five seconds remaining.

Hollister, a sophomore who was roughed up by the West Albany defense all night, finished with nine completions on 17 attempts for 59 yards.

The Cougars struggled to get any traction with their running game, which produced just 66 yards. Helms, an all-IMC first-team running back, managed only 19 yards on nine carries. Joel Skotte gained a team-leading 21 yards on seven rushes.