Mountain Ridge High School's football team went into Week 4 with an undefeated record.

That’s impressive for a team that didn’t win a game last season.

On Friday, Mountain Ridge didn’t slow down, but it’s opponent, visiting Cesar Chavez, did more in the end to win 58-48 during a very entertaining game. The scoring fireworks started early.

Jay’von Thompson returned a 90 and 80-yard kick-off for touchdowns for Mountain Ridge in the first quarter, when Cesar Chavez’s Tyraill Carrethers had an 80-yard touchdown return of his own in the first quarter.

It’s hard to believe but defense did play a role, and freshman John Butler was key on that side of the ball for Cesar Chavez. He provided constant pressure, forcing the pocket to collapse and finished the game with three sacks on Mountain Ridge quarterback Keegan Stancato.

One of those sacks forced a fumble, which sophomore defensive lineman Jacob Holmes ran in from 20 yards out. Cesar Chavez coach JR Alcantar said the team came up with good blitz packages and played high-pressure defense.

“They (Mountain Ridge) played such wide splits, and we knew we could force them out and it worked,” he explained.

Cesar Chavez started six sophomores and one freshman.

Alcantar said his team might be young but the talent is deep.

Cesar Chavez quarterback Lucas Arnds is highly respected by the team and coaching staff. Alcantar said the dual-threat leader is full of heart and is all about the team.

He ran for three touchdowns in the win.

“My offensive line did amazing tonight, just as they have the other three games,” Arnds said. “We wanted to keep Mountain Ridge guessing on the defensive end, and I think I did that tonight.”

But Arnds said the team had some missed assignments and communication errors, including reads he needed to execute on.

He said having confidence in the defense helps him in the pocket. Antwaun Winfield and Deavon Crawford added defensive pressure alongside Butler, forcing Stancato to scramble.

“It was a big task for our defensive line this week, because we knew the quarterback wanted to release out of the pocket,” Crawford said. “And we worked hard to keep him behind the line of scrimmage and throw the ball underneath.”

Initially, Mountain Ridge was exposing Cesar Chavez on the flat, but Alcantar said they game planned to give up the underneath balls because Stancato has an impressive arm and is all over the backfield.

Mountain Ridge proved in its previous two games it will not quit. It was down two touchdowns at the half Friday, and Cesar Chavez knew it was still in for a fight.

“I told the guys Mountain Ridge has the magic, and they are going to find a way to score and fight back, but we had to stop them,” Alcantar said.

Mountain Ridge head coach Doug Madoski said making late game runs is a testament to what the team is doing.

Madoski said finishing 0-10 and 2-8 in the last two seasons put the program through a lot.

“It’s easy to not play hard, and it impresses me that the team just comes to work,” he said. “Reality is the past two years have nothing to do with this season and the team worked to a 3-1 start and we just have to keep plugging away.”