Ross’ interception secures win for The Meadows

Wearing an astonished grin, Remington Ross could only shrug when asked to describe his game-
clinching interception Saturday.

Ross leaped over two players to grab a midair interception in the final two minutes, sealing The Meadows football team’s tense 26-22 Class 2A Southern League win Saturday at Mountain View.

“It was just all reaction,” said Ross, a junior safety. “I don’t even know what happened. The ball was there, and I just got it.”

Mountain View quarterback Raymond Velarde lofted the ball down the left sideline to receiver Tanner Peterson, who was battling The Meadows cornerback Austin Brown for positioning.

Brown tipped the ball in the air, and both players fell to the ground. Ross darted in, leaped over both players and scooped the ball away just before it hit the ground.

“I really wasn’t looking at (Ross),” The Meadows coach Frank DeSantis said. “I thought Brown was going to intercept it at first.”

So did Ross.

“I thought (Brown) was gonna pick it off,” Ross said. “It just bounced off him and I saw it there, so I had to go snag it. That’s the best play of my career. It couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Freshman quarterback Gerard Martinez threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns for the Mustangs (4-1, 2-0), who have won three straight.

Mountain View (0-5, 0-2) lost for the fourth time this season by five or fewer points.

“I thought we’d be fortunate if it was incomplete,” Mountain View coach Ray LeBoeuf said of the interception. “When (Ross) came over from that side after it was deflected up in the air, I was thinking, 'Oh my gosh, he has a shot at it.’ And he got it.”

Velarde carried 14 times for 109 yards and two scores to lead the Saints. He completed 7 of 15 passes for 92 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions.

Pat Kenny ran for 81 yards and a touchdown for the Mustangs, who also got two catches for 79 yards and a score from Anthony Gord.

The Mustangs are averaging 27.2 points per game.

“I feel like we were a state championship team at the beginning of the summer,” Ross said. “We’ve got a freshman quarterback who’s real good, and we just feel like we keep building every single week.”