Monte Vista. The Mustangs. Every self-respecting San Ramon Valley Wolf has learned to hate them. Why? Well, the short version is that the Wolves and the Mustangs are rivals. Always have been, always will be. The long version is told through sports, mainly football, where these two teams have never made it easy on each other, even when one of them knew that they were going to lose the game. The latest installment of this never ending series of great football games was held on Friday, November 8th, at San Ramon. The rivalry game came just in time to be the final game of the regular season.

        Monte Vista won the coin toss, and returned the kick eighteen yards. On the second play for the Mustangs, they had a nineteen yard run for a first down. The Wolves forced them to punt, received by JJ Koski. A deep pass by quarterback Matt Winaker to Koski gave the Wolves a touchdown to score first and go ahead, 7-0. The Wolves defense shined again on the next drive, forcing Monte Vista’s second punt in as many drives. San Ramon and Monte Vista each held their own through the rest of the quarter, which ended with a 7-0 Wolves advantage.

        The scoring in the second quarter was kicked off by the Wolves, who kicked a 42 yard field goal to go up 10-0. The Mustangs got themselves on the board by scoring a touchdown to cut the lead to 10-7. The Wolves responded well, as Winaker threw a touchdown pass to extend the Wolves’ lead to 16-7. The Wolves scored another touchdown in the second quarter, due to an interception by Kevin Elliott and a run by team captain Marcus de la Pena. That capped off the first half, with the Wolves still in the lead, with the score being 23-7.

       Monte Vista started the scoring in the second half with a touchdown pass to Eric Dobberpuhl, which cut the Wolves’ lead to 23-15. The Wolves answered with an interception, but couldn’t turn it into anything. When the Mustangs got the ball again, they fumbled. The fumble was recovered by San Ramon, who went on to fumble themselves. Monte Vista recovered the second fumble, and turned it into a touchdown. The Mustangs also got a two point conversion to tie the game at 23 apiece, also capping off the third quarter.

        To open the fourth quarter, Marcus de la Pena scored again to put the Wolves back ahead, 30-23 with 8:19 left in the game. San Ramon followed their touchdown with a field goal to take a 33-23 lead, which turned out to be the final scoring of the game. The Wolves rushed the field in euphoria, ending their season in the most satisfying way possible, sending the Mustangs to the glue factory.