Cougars defeat Falcons in double-overtime

With an injured kicker, the decision was pretty simple for Golden Valley coach Dennis Stubbs.

After running back Isaiah Montanez scored on a five-yard run to pull the Cougars within one point in the second overtime against Atwater, Stubbs decided to go for two and the win.

Quarterback Armando Muzquiz ran a naked bootleg and scored on the two-point conversion to set off a wild celebration as the Cougars defeated the Falcons 21-20 on Friday night at Veterans Stadium.

“It was wide-open field, so I attacked the corner of the end zone,” said Muzquiz, who threw two touchdown passes in regulation. “As soon as I rolled out, I saw the outside linebacker bit, and I knew it was all over. I just took off toward the corner of the end zone.”

It was a tough loss for the Falcons (1-6, 0-2 Central California Conference).

After holding the Cougars (4-3, 1-1) scoreless on their first possession in overtime, Atwater coach Bob Valladao opted to go for the win with a field goal on first down of their overtime possesion, but missed the kick.

Michael Vargas then scored on a four-yard touchdown run for Atwater in the second overtime to give the Falcons a 20-13 lead.

Montanez answered for Golden Valley, which led to the big decision by Stubbs.

“We needed to go for two and get it over with,” Stubbs said. “Our kicker (Shawn Bettencourt) is hurt. Every assistant coach I talked to wanted to go for two. We had scored on the bootleg play earlier. We felt good about the play.”

The bootleg play had resulted in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Muzquiz to tight end Brady Mello late in the first half to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.

Nathaniel Gilmore tied the game in the third quarter with an 80-yard fumble return for a touchdown for the Falcons.

Muzquiz later found fullback Nick Lemas for a three-yard touchdown pass to give the Cougars a 13-7 lead with 1:20 left in the third quarter.

The Falcons tied the game on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Frank Cocio to Javier Valencia with 6:35 left in the fourth quarter.

Golden Valley will travel to Turlock to face Pitman next week in another key matchup as it tries to keep its playoff hopes alive.

“We’re still in it,” Stubbs said.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 12:10 AM with the headline "Cougars defeat Falcons in double-overtime."