Mountain Pointe isn't in the playoffs yet, but the Pride did enough to keep their hopes alive Friday night by fending off stubborn Mountain View, 28-14, in a Division I game at Toro Stadium.

Mountain Pointe (5-4), trying to recover from a tough first-half schedule that saw it play (and lose to) four of the top seven teams in Divsion I, dominated the line of scrimmage. Still, a couple of plays in the first half -- one on special teams and the other a turnover -- kept Mountain View (3-6) in the game despite the lopsidededness of play in the trenches and on the stat sheet. Mountain View's very slim playoff hopes entering the game vanished with the loss.

Mountain Pointe relied on Dillan Johnson to lead the way and the 5-foot-8, 160-pound running back was good from beginning to end. Johnson finished with 249 yards on 30 carries and scored all four Pride touchdowns. He rushed for 126 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns in the first half. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark rushing for the season with his effort.

Mountain Pointe rushed for 331 yards and totaled 382 yards all told. Mountain View finished with 189 yards, but failed to sustain a couple drives after a couple of first downs. The Toros also turned the ball over three times.

Mountain Pointe's dominatinon at the point of attack was obvious on offense from its first possession. The Pride kept the ball on the ground almost exclusively and reeled off huge chunks of yardage anywhere they chose to run. Their huge yardage differential, however, was negated by three plays in the first half.

With that trio of plays, Mountain View managed to go to halftime tied at 14. That came courtesy of a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown by Patrick Glover that answered Johnson's first TD (1-yard run) late in the first period. The second score, set up by a fumble recovery by Glover, tied the game at 14 with four seconds left. The Toros converted a fourth-and-4 at the Pride 25 with Tyson McDaniel taking a lateral from quarterback Chase Funk and squeezing a pass between defenders to James Kaku in the end zone for the score.

Johnson's third TD (a 3-yard run with 1:10 left in the third period) put Mountain Pointe ahead for good, 21-14. Johnson accounted for 64 of those yards on the drive. The 69-yard march was set up by an interception by Luis Sharpe.

Mountain Pointe closes its season against Westwood next week and likely would clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Warriors. Mountain View closes out Chad DeGrenier's first season against Mesa High.