Swinton Leads Montclair Prep Victory

There always seems to be that one play, or that one mistake, that football teams would like to have back when they lose a close game.

The one that got away.

After Camp Kilpatrick lost a nonleague game, 21-18, to Montclair Prep on Thursday night at Pierce College, there was no doubt about the one that hurt most.

“We made a mistake right off the bat,” Camp Kilpatrick Coach Sean Porter said. “The coin toss.”

Porter told his captains to defer if they won the coin toss. But, the Mounties won it and deferred, leaving the Camp Kilpatrick captains a bit confused.

They opted to kick off.

And, of course, the Mustangs kicked again in the second half. The Mounties (3-1) scored two of their three touchdowns on those two possessions.

Leading, 7-0, at halftime, the Mounties scored on Eliel Swinton’s 30-yard run, capping a six-play, 63-yard drive to start the second half.

The Mustangs (2-2-1) answered on their ensuing possession with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mark Rivera to Carlos Martinez.

Nanon Williams’ extra-point kick sailed wide right, leaving the score 14-6.

PAT conversions were troublesome for the Mustangs all night. All three failed.

Wilbert Smith’s 24-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter gave the Mounties a 21-6 lead, the largest of the game.

Camp Kilpatrick’s defense, which had allowed an average of just 70 yards in its first three games, yielded 277 to the Mounties--138 on runs by Swinton.

Alex Choucri scored on a one-yard plunge midway through the fourth quarter, narrowing Montclair Prep’s lead to 21-12, but a pass on the conversion attempt fell incomplete.

On the Mounties’ ensuing possession, Smith fumbled on Camp Kilpatrick’s 43. After the ball bounced around among several players, it squirted out and fell into the hands of the Mustangs’ Robert Kirkwood, who sprinted 53 yards for a touchdown. After Cornelius Thompson’s PAT kick sailed wide left, the Mounties held a 21-18 advantage.

Montclair Prep opened the scoring with an 11-play drive after the opening kickoff. Quincy Hill scored on a two-yard run.