Domination overall in the Red Mountain-Mountain View football rivalry has belonged convinciingly to Mountain View. That's borne out by the 17-3 advantage Mountain View has crafted over two decades.

Domination, however, rested with Red Mountain on Thursday night as the Mountain Lions battered the Toros, 55-14, in a Division I, Section III matchup at Toro Stadium.

The 55 points allowed by Mountain View was the most iby the Toros in a game in school history and the 41-point margin of defeat the largest ever for them. McClintock beat Mountain View 46-8 in 1989. That  was the old high for points allowed. The largest margin of defeat was 39, a 42-3 win by Horizon over Mountain View in the 1995 playoffs.

Red Mountain used solid performances from nearly all quarters in securing their easiest win of the series. Its defense came up with four turnovers, three interceptions and a fumble. The fumble was grabbed by lineman Trenton Smothers late in the first period. Smothers returned it 33 yards for a 7-0 lead with 3:23 left in the period. All three interceptions came from defensive back Chris Sepulveda. The four turnovers were turned in to 28 points by Red Mountain.

The offense did its share as well. Junior quarterback Mason Thorman completed 14-of-211 passes for 221 yards and thee touchdowns. Three different receivers caught the scoring tosses -- Billy Freeman, Daniel McGill and Drake Pierre. Thorman also added a 15-yard scoring run.

The game-breaking play, in a contest that was close only for a few fleeting moments late in the second period, came on the final play from scrimmage in the first half.

With Red Mountain leading 21-7 and having turned away a Mountain View threat that might have cut the Mountain Lions' lead to seven, Thorman launched a long pass to Drake. With no deep help defensivley, Thorman connected with Drake in stride in one-on-one coverage. Drake beat the defender by a couple of steps and the result was a 71-yard TD pass. That gave Red Mountain a 27-7 lead at the half.

Red Mountain also ran the ball effectively. Running back Cougar Garcia scored two touchdowns, including a 47-yard jaunt to close the Mountain Lions scoring for the night. Garcia carried 13 times for 114 yards. After three quarters Red Mountain outgained Mountain View, 400-71.

Turnovers -- which plagued Mountain View last week in its lopsided loss to Pinnacle (five) -- were damaging again. Sophomore quarterback Chas Funk threw all three interceptions. He finished the night 2 -of-11 for 20 yards and was replaced in the final quarter by senior Tyson Mc Daniel. Mountain View's only scoring drive, capped by Jeff Castillo's 5-yard run, was aided by two 15-yard penalties against Red Mountain.

Those were two of 14 penalities whisled against Red Mountain that totaled 140 yards. They were the only smudge on an otherwise memorable night for coach Ron Wisniewski in his debut game of the Red Mountain-Mountain View rivalry and a forgettable one for new Mountain View coach Chad DeGrenier.

Red Mountain improved to 5-2 and bolstered its postseason aspirations. The Mountain Lions finish the season with Westwood, Skyline and Highland, who are a combined 3-15. Mountain View dropped to 3-4 and is likely to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1984 even if it manages to win its final three games against Highland, Mountain Pointe and Mesa High.