Flanagan, Charleston cruise past Mountain View in playoffs

CHARLESTON 38, MOUNTAIN VIEW 14

CHARLESTON — By winning the coin toss, Charleston had little problems in its Class 3A first-round playoff game against Mountain View.

The Tigers scored on all five of their first-half possession in a 38-14 win over the Yellow Jackets on Friday at Alumni Field

“We’ve really been playing our best football as of late,” Charleston coach Greg Kendrick said. “Going back to the (week 7 game against) Lamar, then Atkins and Perryville, we’ve been pleased with the way we have played in all three phases of the game.”

Charleston (11-0) will host Barton, which beat Paris 4033, next week in the second round.

By winning the coin toss, the Tigers took the opening kickoff and scored on the second play from scrimmage on a 50-yard bomb from quarterback Brayden Caudle to wide receiver Sean Michael Flanagan for a 6-0 lead 48 seconds into the game.

“We want to win the coin toss because we want the ball,” Kendrick said. “Mountain View is a grind-it-out kind of team. They can put you behind the sticks and control the ball. They can keep the ball away from you. We wanted to jump on them early.”

The Tigers dominated the first half in building a 35-0 cushion. Charleston gained 314 yards and 12 first downs in the first two quarters. Caudle was a perfect 13 of 13 passing for 258 yards and four touchdowns in his two quarters of play. Flanagan had four catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns as well as a rushing touchdown.

“I don’t think we’ve peaked yet,” Kendrick said. “Since Lamar, we’ve been getting better and better.”

The Charleston defense limited the Yellow Jackets to just 57 total yards (55 rushing, 2 passing) and four first downs in the first half.

After a three-and-out by the Charleston defense on Mountain View’s first possession, the Tigers marched to the Jacket 3 where Flanagan scored on a keeper. The two-point pass failed and Charleston led 12-0 midway in the first quarter.

The Tigers got the ball again near midfield and scored three plays later on a Caudle’s 8-yard pass to Flanagan. Caudle ran in the two-point conversion for a 20-0 lead with 3:21 left in the opening quarter.

“We did some things that shot ourselves in the foot early and they took advantage of it,” Mountain View coach Michael Gray said.

Mountain View moved the ball on its next possession and appeared to have a fourth-down conversion on a fake punt and pass. But an offensive pass interference moved the ball back to the Yellow Jacket 37 and facing fourth-and-24, Mountain View punted.

Charleston had its longest drive of the half, marching 79 yards in 8 plays. Caudle hit Mason Wisdom for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 8:01 left in the first half. Caudle again kept for the 2-point conversion and the Tiger advantage was 28-0.

Gaining possession at its 32 with just 1:47 left in the first half, Charleston marched 68 in 5 plays. Caudle’s fourth touchdown pass was a 25-yard strike to Issac Verkamp with 29 seconds left in the half. Josh Taggart booted the extra point to make it 35-0, invoking the running clock in the second half.