There was nothing to separate Kimball High and Mountain House High through 48 minutes of back-and-forth action in their local rivalry clash at Don Nicholson Stadium last Friday night.

The two sides exchanged momentum on a quarter-by-quarter basis as the hosting Jaguars and the Mustangs fought tooth and nail for area bragging rights.

In the end, the Jags were able to produce two extra moments of brilliance in overtime to claim the 22-15 victory and improve to 2-1 on the year with their second straight win. The Mustangs fell to 1-3.

Senior quarterback Richard Sandoval led Kimball through the air with an outstanding performance. Sandoval went 13-23 for 241 yards passing and a touchdown. He added 23 yards and a TD on three carries on the ground.

Sandoval opened the scoring with a QB keeper to give his team a 7-0 lead after one quarter. The Mustangs answered with a pair of scores to take an 8-7 advantage into the break before extending it to 15-7 to start the third quarter.

Jags’ senior Yuvraj Balagan caught a pass from Sandoval later in the third frame to level things up at 15 apiece. Balagan paced Kimball in catches with five for 62 yards. Senior Apollo Flores had four receptions for 81 yards.

After a stalemate fourth quarter, the Jaguars were first to receive in overtime and that’s when senior star Josiah Wilson came to the fore.

With the lights shining bright, Wilson pulled in a touchdown pass from Sandoval to draw first blood and put his team back in front. At the other end, the Kimball defense stepped up in a big way – forcing a turnover on downs on its own 21 to seal the win.

Wilson racked up 77 yards on four catches. Senior Dawson Pelech led the defensive unit with 18 tackles and a fumble recovery. Junior Johnny Bustos added 11 tackles. Senior Jeremiah Fernandez chipped in with 9 tackles for the hosts.

The defeat was a tough one to stomach for the Mustangs who battled admirably throughout. The visitors continued to find success through their run game and were in a great spot heading into the final 12 minutes.

Senior quarterback Erin Foster led Mountain House with 182 total offense yards. He went 3-6 and threw for 58 yards and a touchdown while adding 124 yards and a TD on 12 totes. Sophomore back Jacoby Johnson ran for 114 yards on 26 attempts.

Senior Callahan Healy averaged 40 yards a catch as he pulled in three Foster throws for 120 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Milan Parsa caught one ball for 38 yards.

Foster found Healy for the Mustangs’ first score before a successful two-point conversion gave Mountain House a narrow lead at the break. Foster ran it in himself after the interval to put his team in control.

Junior Kalvin Hernandez anchored the visiting defense with 8 tackles. Senior Jayden Jackson added 7. Junior Kirven Blaylock sacked Sandoval once and senior Jamarcus Haulcy provided the interception.

Moving on, the ‘Stangs will now face the tough task of hosting Oakdale (3-1) in their Valley Oak League (VOL) opener this week. The fellow Mustangs are the No. 1 team in MaxPreps’ CIF SJS Division 3 rankings. Kimball will be at home against Golden Valley (0-4) in non-league play.