Cheyenne shakes off slow start, blasts Pahrump

Just more than six minutes into Friday night's game, Cheyenne had only 17 yards of offense against visiting Pahrump Valley.

The Desert Shields shook off the slow start and scored seven touchdowns over the final 18 minutes of the first half in a 61-0 homecoming win.

David Walker ran for 147 yards, including touchdowns of 12, 5, 79 and 44 yards in the first half for Cheyenne, which had 364 total yards in the half.

"It's still an offense that's coming together," said Cheyenne coach David Cochran, whose team finished with 490 yards. "Once the offense gets on track, its very hard to stop the train. We also know the defense is the backbone of our football team, and they played great again tonight."

Great might be an understatement, as the Cheyenne defense held Pahrump to just 50 yards. The longest Trojan play from scrimmage was 14 yards. In addition, the Desert Shields recorded two turnovers and sacked Pahrump quarterback T.J. Milk three times.

Cheyenne's short, deliberate passing game worked as well. Quarterback Anthony McConnico hooked up with Corwin Bush for three first-half touchdowns — 49, 42 and 60 yards — and a 53-yard strike to Laron Perkins setup another score.

"We must get off to a much-better start, and we will continue to work on it," said Cochrane. "It's back to work and get ready for next week."

Walker finished with 171 yards on 12 carries for Cheyenne (4-2, 3-1 Sunset). McConnico completed 7 of 9 passes for 226 yards. Bush had four receptions for 152 yards for the Desert Shields.

Thomas Gascoigne had 35 yards on 11 carries for Pahrump (3-3, 2-2 1-A Sunset).