Larson, Duldulao race past Mustangs

Running backs Matthew Larson and Jacob Duldulao are known as “Smash and Dash” for Mountain View’s football team.

On Saturday, the duo helped the Saints smash a program milestone and dash into the Division III state semifinals.

Larson and Duldulao both topped 200 rushing yards to lead Mountain View to a 56-7 home win over Needles in a state quarterfinal.

“The blockers always block, the perimeter always blocks, and Jacob and I find the holes that our blockers lead for us,” Larson said.

Larson rushed for 250 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries, and Duldulao added 205 yards and four TDs on 12 rushes.

Mountain View (10-1) reached 10 wins for the first time since moving to 11-man play in 2008. The Saints will host Battle Mountain (7-3) in a state semifinal next Saturday.

Needles’ J.D. Lucas returned a Mountain View fumble 59 yards to the Saints’ 13-yard line early in the second quarter. Four plays later, Mason Cisneros ran for a 1-yard TD to help the Mustangs pull within 14-7 with 7 minutes, 44 seconds left in the first half.

But Larson bolted for a 68-yard TD run on Mountain View’s next offensive play to begin a string of 42 unanswered points.

Bernard Williams ran for 31 yards and a TD on seven carries for Mountain View, which compiled 567 rushing yards.

“I couldn’t be more proud of that offensive line,” Saints coach Mike Valenzuela said. “We’re anchored by big (center Jerrod) Wallace, (tackle) Cameron Kirk does a great job of sealing the edge and (tackle Chris) Klopfer on the other edge.”

Larson scored on runs of 68, 25 and 78 yards, and Duldulao had TD runs of 45, 51, 5 and 18 yards.

“It’s evenly matched,” Larson said. “If one of us is tired, we can switch out and have the same offensive game that we have with the other.”

Valenzuela was glad to see his team advance after last season ended with a 48-8 first-round loss at The Meadows.

“It’s nice to get a playoff win after we opened up with a playoff loss to Meadows last year,” Valenzuela said. “We kind of thought it was a given to get to the state semis, and now these kids know it’s a privilege, and we can’t take that for granted.

“There’s a lot of work to get to this point, to earn the No. 1 seed, and to be able to play in the first round in front of our fans meant a lot.”

Kobee McCorkle led Needles with 47 yards on 18 carries.

Mountain View forced Needles to punt on its first four possessions, and held the Mustangs to 86 yards of offense for the game.

“Our defensive unit’s been well prepared through film and studying and drills,” Valenzuela said. “Our defensive coaches do a great job of holding them accountable to their roles. When they play disciplined in their roles, we get those type of results.”

Larson said the Saints aren’t satisfied yet.

“It feels good to advance, but I think we still have a lot to work on,” he said. “I just think we’ve got to keep working to reach the goal.”