FOOTBALL: Chargers post hollow victory

Clark took the field for its regular-season finale Friday night at Cheyenne knowing a victory alone would not be enough to secure one of four playoff berths in the Division I-A Sunset League.

The Chargers did all they could in a 28-13 victory, but they didn’t get the help they needed and will miss the postseason.

“The bottom line is we knew that we had to take care of what was in front of us. You can’t control anything else,” Clark coach Don Willis said. “We let ourselves get in this situation, so we just wanted to come out and take care of our business. I’m proud of them for doing that.”

Clark (5-4, 4-3) finished in a five-way tie for second place in the division, along with Cheyenne (4-5, 4-3), Sierra Vista, Spring Valley and Mojave. Faith Lutheran grabbed the top seed with a 5-2 mark in league.

When all the tiebreakers were decided, Sierra Vista earned the No. 2 seed, with Cheyenne and Spring Valley also qualifying for the playoffs. Clark and Mojave were left on the outside looking in.

Cheyenne coach David Cochran tried to make sure his team stayed focused on earning its way to the playoffs with a victory. It wasn’t an easy task.

“We tried not to look at all those other things as far as the scenarios. We just wanted to try to get a win, and we didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to the other games,” he said. “Of course, the kids were kind of feeding into all that stuff, but personally I didn’t pay attention to any of it.”

In the end, the tiebreakers worked out for the Desert Shields.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “Even getting in on a loss, it’s always good to get another shot.”

Both offenses struggled to find a rhythm early. Clark struck first when a second-quarter drive was kept alive on a roughing-the-passer penalty on a third-down pass that fell incomplete. Milan Dixon raced 27 yards on the next play to open the scoring. The Chargers added to the lead just before halftime when Kareem Warren scrambled all over the backfield on a third-and-goal play before finding Marquice Stuart alone in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

After Cheyenne quarterback Anthony McConnico cut the lead in half with a 50-yard TD on a read option play in the third quarter, Warren again made a great play to push the lead back to 21-7. On the first play of the fourth quarter, he avoided several defenders in the backfield and rolled right before lofting a pass to Marlon Kinnard for a 6-yard touchdown.

Warren completed all seven of his pass attempts for 82 yards and two scores.

The Desert Shields put the game out of reach on an 85-yard fumble return by Aquantay Morris.

“I thought we were physical tonight,” Wilson said. “That’s been a bit of our downfall this year. The teams that have beat us have out-physicaled us. I thought we were more physical tonight.”

The defensive score came just one play after two open Cheyenne receivers ran into each other in the end zone, knocking the ball loose on what looked like a sure touchdown that could have made it a one-score game with nearly 10 minutes remaining.

Cheyenne will open the playoffs at 7 p.m. Thursday at Desert Pines.

Green Valley 47, Eldorado 38 — At Eldorado, the Gators used their hurry-up offense to rack up 518 yards, 322 on the ground, to beat Eldorado.

Quarterback Christian Lopez threw for three touchdowns and ran for one, compiling 261 total yards. Albert Lake rushed 21 times for 155 yards and scored once, and his 46-yard TD reception with 3:35 to play iced the game for No. 4 Green Valley (7-1, 3-0 Southeast).

Austin Warhop added two rushing touchdowns for the Gators, and his scores bookended an Eldorado safety and gave the Gators their largest lead at 41-23 early in the fourth quarter.

Joshua Brown accounted for 239 total yards for the Sundevils (3-5, 0-4), including a 34-yard touchdown run and an 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

— Mike James

Arbor View 46, Cimarron-Memorial 23 — At Arbor View, Herman Gray rushed for 257 yards and scored three touchdowns as the No. 2 Aggies downed the Spartans.

Gray had touchdown runs of 86, 3 and 51 yards as Arbor View rushed for 472 yards. Charles Louch added 153 yards and scored twice for the Aggies, who had eight plays of more than 25 yards.

Cimarron quarterback Derek Morefield completed 19 of 37 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown. Morefield also scored on a short touchdown run, but was sacked four times and intercepted twice.

Arbor View (8-0, 3-0 Northwest) outgained Cimarron, 499-364.

The Spartans got a safety and a 2-yard TD run from Tyree Riley to pull within 26-15 at halftime. But Arbor View’s Curtis Jones returned the second-half kickoff 92 yards for a score, and the Aggies never looked back.

Louch had touchdown runs of 50 and 69 yards for Arbor View, which held Cimarron (3-5, 1-2) to 59 yards on the ground.

— Sam Leeper

Las Vegas 49, Silverado 16 — At Silverado, Trevor Swenson completed 18 of 29 passes for 259 yards and four touchdowns to help the ninth-ranked Wildcats.

Kode Mwirigi, who had seven receptions for 75 yards and two TDs, scored on a 28-yard pass from Swenson midway through the first quarter for the Wildcats (5-3, 3-0 Northeast). Teammate Elijah Hicks, who logged 11 carries for 138 yards and two TDs, followed with a 49-yard scoring sprint four minutes later to make it 14-0.

The Wildcats’ defense forced three fumbles, while Zachary Loveland added two TD receptions and Jovon Seals ran for a second-half score.

Vernon Jackson, who scored twice in the second half, led Silverado (3-5, 1-2) with 193 yards on 42 carries.

— Jeff Wollard

Moapa Valley 40, Chaparral 12 — At Chaparral, Kaleb Bodily rushed for three touchdowns, and R.J. Hubert had three interceptions and returned a kickoff for a score as the Pirates defeated the Cowboys to capture the Division I-A Sunrise title, Moapa Valley’s seventh straight league championship.

Bodily had 21 carries for 151 yards for Moapa Valley (9-0, 6-0 Division I-A Sunrise), with all three of his touchdowns coming on 2-yard runs. His third score came with 1:02 left in the second quarter to give the Pirates a 20-6 lead.

Hubert then ran back the opening kickoff of the second half 78 yards to the end zone to push the Pirate advantage to 27-6, and the Cowboys never threatened again.

— Tim Guesman

Centennial 50, Desert Oasis 0 — At Desert Oasis, Centennial quarterback Juan Rodriguez threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown as the Bulldogs crushed the overmatched Diamondbacks.

The Bulldogs (8-0, 3-0 Northwest League) can now turn their attention to the Arbor View Aggies (8-0, 3-0), which defeated Cimarron-Memorial 46-23 to set up next week’s showdown between the Northwest League’s two undefeated powers. The loss drops the Diamondbacks to 1-7, 0-4.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over their first possession, then scored on their next five possessions to take a 31-0 lead into halftime.

Centennial’s defense was dominant once again, limiting the Diamondbacks to only 103 total yards – 11 rushing and 92 passing. Centennial’s defense also scored on a 25-yard interception return by Sean Sunn in the third quarter.

Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries for the Bulldogs, while Ivan Ochoa-Serrano caught three passes for 53 yards, including a 21-yard score. Savon Scarver scored two touchdowns – one on a 15-yard reverse and another on a 5-yard pass from Rodriguez.

The Diamondbacks’ only bright spot was when Angelo Craig returned the opening kickoff 47 yards.

— Robert Horne

Shadow Ridge 40, Durango 7 — At Durango, Dominick Wilson rushed 18 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Mustangs (3-5, 1-2 Southwest).

Shadow Ridge went 70 yards on four plays on their first drive, capped by an 11-yard TD run by Wilson. Chris McDearmon scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 16-yard run up the middle, and Wilson added a 9-yard rushing score with 32 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Mustangs a 20-0 lead at the half.

De-Zhon Rogers grabbed a 12-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Quintoa and Malik Jackson scored on a 1-yard plunge to put Shadow Ridge up 40-0. Jonathan Schofield found Zayvion Wilson for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds remaining in the game to break up the shutout for the Trailblazers (1-7, 0-4).

— Adam Berchin

Canyon Springs 52, Valley 0 — At Valley, Canyon Springs quarterback Bradley Alexander threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Pioneers (5-3, 2-1 Northeast) ended a two-game skid.

Alexander found Zaviontay Stevenson for a 53-yard touchdown on Canyon Springs’ first offensive play. He finished 8 of 8 passing for 153 yards, including a 25-yard score to Kujuan Casey. he also rushed for an 18-yard touchdown just before halftime.

Backup quarterback Tre’von Dean tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass for the Pioneers, who posted their second shutout of the season.

Valley (0-8, 0-4) was led by fullback Jason Johnson-Keppo, who carried 11 times for 49 yards.

— Jordan Aguilar

Desert Pines 54, Sunrise Mountain 0 — At Sunrise Mountain, Isaiah Morris rushed for 267 yards and three touchdowns in the first half for Desert Pines (8-1, 4-1 Division I-A Sunrsie), which clinched second place in the division and a spot in the playoffs.

The Jaguars outgained the Miners 379-6 on the ground, with Trevor Nofoa rushing for two scores. Desert Pines recorded six sacks and scored on defense when sophomore defensive end Jautae Collins recorded a second-quarter safety. Collins also had an interception.

Quarterback Damon Heard completed 8 of 16 passes for 101 yards for Sunrise Mountain (1-8, 0-6).

— Jesse Granger

Mojave 65, Western 0 — At Mojave, Ty Flanagan rushed for 106 yards with touchdown runs on all three of his carries, leading the Rattlers over the Warriors on senior night.

Flanagan gave Mojave (6-3, 4-3 Division I-A Sunset) a quick lead with a 54-yard run on its first play from scrimmage. Flanagan added a 21-yard scoring run, then returned an interception 39 yards just two minutes later to make the score 32-0 after the first quarter.

Zack Arave completed 5 of 6 passes for 120 yards, with touchdowns of 40 yards to Davion Fletcher and 70 yards to Elijah Smoot. Mojave scored twice on returns: Kylan Green’s 57-yard punt return in the first quarter, and Fletcher’s 76-yard return of the second-half kickoff.

Anthony Shelby caught two passes for 30 yards for Western (0-9, 0-7), which was held to 10 rushing yards.

— Jesse Vineyard

Del Sol 65, Rancho 26 — At Rancho, Taaric Flowers had nine carries for 329 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Dragons (5-4).

Flowers ran for 280 yards and five touchdowns before the half to give Del Sol a 52-18 lead.

Ervine James and Justin Robinson each had 68 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Dragons, who finished with 616 yards on the ground. Robinson also had an 81-yard interception return for a score in the third quarter.

Robert Howard rushed 24 times for 308 yards and two TDs for Rancho (0-9), and Nathan Guido added 103 yards and two scores.

The teams combined for 1,065 rushing yards and zero passing yards.

— Ashton Ferguson

Agassi Prep 57, Laughlin 0 — At Canyon Springs, Kobe Williams and Stephan Laushaul each rushed for more than 100 yards to lead Agassi Prep.

Williams rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns — two during a three-minute span — while Laushaul rushed for 106 yards for the Stars (6-2, 5-1 Division III Southern).

Robert Osuna rushed for 99 yards for Laughlin (0-8, 0-6).

— Ron Harris

The Meadows 47, Calvary Chapel 6 — At The Meadows, Jack Berkley scored the game’s first four touchdowns, as the Mustangs remained unbeaten in the Southern League.

Berkley gained 77 yards on 10 carries, including scoring runs of 4, 2 and 25 yards. He also hauled in an 11-yard TD pass from quarterback Jacob Gleason, as The Meadows (7-2, 6-0 Division III Southern) jumped out to a 27-0 lead with 10:30 remaining in the second quarter.

Adam Martinez caught three pass for 109 yards, and Ethan Fridman had three catches for 106 yards, including a 63-yard TD reception for the Mustangs.

Christian O’Kelley hit Cameron Varela on a 27-yard touchdown strike for Calvary Chapel (0-7, 0-6).

— John Dubrish

Virgin Valley 27, Boulder City 21 — At Boulder City, Junior Paongo rushed for one score and returned a fumble for another to lead the Bulldogs by the Eagles.

Tony Urias tossed two touchdown passes for Virgin Valley (4-5, 2-4 Sunrise League), which needed to win by at least 13 points to win a tiebreaker for the Sunrise’s final playoff spot.

Trenton Carmell’s 17-yard TD run and a 2-point conversion run with 1:10 to play trimmed Virgin Valley’s lead to 27-21 lead and enabled the Eagles (4-5, 2-4) to qualify for the postseason.

Carmell threw for 127 yards for Boulder City.

Pahrump Valley 39, Sierra Vista 27 — At Pahrump, the Trojans (4-5, 3-4 Sunset League) took the lead with just more than three minutes to play and tacked on another late score to stun the Mountain Lions.

Sierra Vista (6-3, 4-3) fell into a five-way tie for second place in the Sunset, but won the tiebreaker and is the league’s No. 2 seed for the Division I-A playoffs, which begin Thursday. Sierra Vista will host Chaparral.

Lincoln County 26, Needles 18 — At Panaca, McClain O’Connor completed 13 of 23 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown and added 135 yards and two scores on the ground to lift the Lynx (5-3, 4-2 Division III Southern) over the Mustangs (6-2, 4-2).

Preston Robbins had 60 yards on 15 carries for Lincoln County, which led 12-7 at halftime. Cody Thornock had a 14-yard TD catch, and Jordan Harrington hauled in eight passes for 91 yards for the Lynx.

Spring Mountain 42, Sandy Valley 0 — At Spring Mountain, Sydney Shackerford ran for two touchdowns and caught a TD pass to lead the Golden Eagles (6-2, 5-1 Division IV Southern) by the Sidewinders (6-2, 4-2).

Shackerford scored on runs of 73 and 25 yards in the first half before hauling in one of Edward London’s two touchdown passes. London also hooked up with Cory Franks on a touchdown pass as the Golden Eagles raced to a 30-0 halftime lead.

Cory Duncan and Jarron Belvin added TD runs for Spring Mountain.

Pahranagat Valley 54, Round Mountain 6 — A Round Mountain, Caleb Hansen rushed for 199 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries to help the Panthers top the Knights (5-2, 3-2 Division IV Southern).

Tabor Maxwell completed 13 of 21 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns, all to Wade Leavitt. Leavitt had seven receptions for 140 yards, including TD catches of 44, 37 and 15 yards.

Leavitt also had a 14-yard rushing TD.

Corbin Jensen scored on a 5-yard run for Round Mountain.

Beatty 30, Indian Springs 6 — At Beatty, Luis Flores and Brandon Cross each returned an interception for a touchdown to help the Hornets (6-2, 4-2 Division IV Southern) defeat the Thunderbirds (0-7, 0-5).

Flores also tossed a touchdown pass to Nik Zamora for Beatty.