Top dogs in Tracy: Tracy football dominates Mountain House to remain undefeated

A bent-up clipboard, countless penalty flags, and frustration are what you could find on the Mountain House football sideline during its Tracy showdown against the Tracy Bulldogs.

The Mustangs just couldn’t get things together against its crosstown foe in the two teams' first-ever meeting. They expected to put up a David vs. Goliath-like game against the undefeated Bulldogs but instead, they lost 33-14.

“They wanted it more,” said Jabari Carr, Mountain House football’s head coach. “It’s simple that they wanted it more so we got to do a better job at preparing our guys mentally for the moment. The physical part is one part of playing football, but the mental part is most important and we fell short mentally tonight.”

Here are the highlights from the matchup that earned Tracy its third straight win of the season.

Ground and pound for the win

Tracy’s run game was undeniable just a few plays into the game. Seniors Aidan Van Os and Tommy Hayes led the charge finding holes in the Mustangs’ defense almost every carry. The run game carried the Bulldogs as the passing game was limited for Van Os only throwing 11 passes in the game.

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“I feel like our offense could’ve executed a little bit better,” said Jeff Pribble, Tracy football’s head coach. “Mountain House played hard and they had a good game plan. I thought they did a really good job.”

Despite limiting Van Os' passing, he wouldn’t be stopped on the ground. He rushed for around 60 yards on eight carries and all three rushing touchdowns for the Bulldogs. This is nothing new for the senior who leads Tracy in rushing yards per game so far this season.

“We tell Aidan, 'When it’s not there, you know, don’t force it and use your legs, be a horse out there for us and be our leader,'” Pribble said. “And that’s what he is, all the time.”

Along with Van Os' three touchdowns, the Bulldogs defense got in on the action during the second half. Senior cornerback Tony Romano made Mountain House quarterback Amare Brooks pay, picking off two of his passes for two interceptions and a pick-six to put the cherry on top of Tracy’s victory.

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After the game, he fashioned the team’s Bulldog chain symbolizing his dog-like mentality on defense.

“I got a lot of confidence after getting those two picks and I feel like I’m growing,” Romano said. “I play baseball but over the last couple of months in the summer I said, 'Let’s give this football thing a try.' Coach told me to go to cornerback, and tonight I took advantage.”

Mountain House offense struggles to find flow

While the ground game was kind to Tracy, the same couldn’t be said for the Mustangs.

Their senior quarterback and running back duo of Brooks and Jake Fraizer tried to move the chains on the ground but were often met by a wall of white, yellow and green defenders. This put the game in Brooks' hands to make things happen.

The 5-foot-11 dual-threat quarterback finished the game throwing for close to 75 yards and rushing for 90 yards. Brooks threw both touchdown passes for the Mustangs connecting with juniors Thomas Pinn and Charles Wolfe.

“We had some good moments but it’s hard to talk about those good moments when you go through a game like this,” Carr said. “But as the head coach at Mountain House High School, I’m always encouraged because I understand the drive and ambition this community has. I’m always encouraged to win, lose or draw.”

The Mustangs will be back home next week taking on Davis for their first Western Athletic Conference game of the season. Tracy has more non-league matchups ahead with Downey coming into town next week. The Bulldogs will look to maintain their perfect 3-0 record.

Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Tracy football runs through Mountain House in Tracy showdown