Basic defense stuffs Silverado

The Silverado football team was late for the start of the second half Friday, presumably because the Skyhawks were getting a pep talk from coach Randall Cunningham.

Cunningham could have delivered Knute Rockne's "Win One for the Gipper" speech in the locker room and it wouldn't have mattered against Basic's defense.

The host Wolves forced three turnovers and shut down Silverado's offense until midway through the fourth quarter in a 24-8 victory in the Division I Sunrise Region semifinals.

The Wolves (10-1) advance to the Sunrise title game for the second straight year and will take on five-time defending region champion Liberty (10-1) at 1 p.m. Nov. 28 at a site to be determined.

"This means a lot, because last year we made it that far and lost. Ever since then, we've had a chip on our shoulder," Basic running back Sean White said. "We had our eyes set on that (title) game, but every week we had one goal and that was to win that game. We kept going and it paid off for us. And now we're back where we were last year."

Basic recorded eight sacks of Skyhawks quarterback Micah Weber, and senior linebacker Teyjean Thomas had a 47-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter to spark the Wolves, who knocked off Silverado (7-4) for the second time this season.

White finished with 111 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries as Basic led 24-0 before allowing the Skyhawks to break the shutout with 5:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Devion Clayton made a one-handed catch over the middle and rumbled 31 yards down to the Wolves' 25-yard line and then made a leaping catch on Weber's desperation heave for a 20-yard gain to the Basic 5-yard line.

Two plays later, Keikiokalani Misipeka scored on a 7-yard run, and Evan Tafoya caught the 2-point conversion to cut Basic's lead to 24-8. The Wolves recovered the onside kick and were able to run out most of the remaining time.

Silverado finished with minus-5 yards rushing and were held to 144 total yards.

Weber went 10-for-24 for 149 yards and two interceptions. Clayton had five catches for 87 yards but was held mostly in check until Silverado's scoring drive.

Basic took advantage of good field position on its second drive of the game to go ahead 7-0. Quarterback Aeneas McAllister hit Brian Evans on a crossing route for a 26-yard gain, and White bulled his way into the end zone from 4 yards out to cap the drive.

The Wolves committed turnovers on three of their next four possessions, but Thomas came up with a huge play to turn the momentum back in Basic's favor. Silverado was facing fourth-and-inches from its own 49 and opted to run a toss play try to get the first down.

Instead, Misipeka was surrounded by Basic defenders and was stripped 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Thomas scooped up the ball and went virtually untouched down the sideline to put the Wolves in front 14-0 with 4:28 left until halftime.

White added another 4-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Basic a 24-0 lead.

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.