Leading 12-7 late in the second quarter, Summit drove into the red zone with a chance to go up two scores. On second and goal at the five yard-line, an errant snap fell out of quarterback Henry Bledsoe’s grasp, and Nate Chamberlain ran it back 95 yards for a Mountain View touchdown.

The Cougars took a 14-12 lead into halftime. The Storm never scored again.

A 35-12 victory brings Mountain View to 4-1, but coach Brian Crum said his team can’t keep getting off to slow starts, especially against lesser opponents.

“Any time you play an intercity game like that against a big rival, you might be a little tight and there can be some nervousness,” Crum said. “I thought it took us about a quarter and a half to work that out of our system, but when we did it showed.”

Summit, now 1-4 on the season, led 12-0 at the end of the first quarter thanks to Bledsoe’s two touchdown passes. The Cougars were able to contain the pass-heavy Storm offense in the second half, though, bringing consistent, suffocating pressure in the backfield.

Chamberlain’s fumble recovery late in the second quarter proved to be a seismic momentum shift. Summit coach Corben Hyatt said his team beat themselves on that play and throughout the second half.

“We played hard,” Hyatt said. “If we don’t turn the ball over down there, that kind of changes things. Those are things that we’ve got to clean up and be better at.”

Mountain View’s Jonas Larson didn’t have much room to work in the first 24 minutes, but the floodgates opened for the star running back in the fourth quarter. His 60- and 44-yard rushing touchdowns, along with a 16-yard pass to the speedy Forrest Love, made up the final three scores of the contest.

Larson finished with 258 yards on 29 carries, adding another signature performance to an impressive senior season.

“There were some very good things in this game, but there were some very bad things as well,” Larson said. “It’s a learning experience, which should be good for us going forward in our season.”

Next up for the Storm is a home game against Bend High next Friday. For the Cougars, a road trip to Southridge High in Beaverton awaits.

Mountain View linebacker Dalton Payfer-Locking said the Cougars didn’t play their best football on Friday, but their “brotherhood” mindset fueled a comeback.

“We’re getting to the point where we need to kick it into high gear,” Payfer-Locking said. “We’re in Mountain Valley Conference games now. If we put tonight’s rally into four quarters, we’ll be just fine.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0307, rclarke@bendbulletin.com