FOOTBALL: Defense, big plays boost Legacy

Legacy football coach John Isola was looking for his first win as he sent his players onto the field to face 10th-ranked Cimarron-Memorial on Saturday.

Thanks to a stingy defense and several big offensive plays, he got it.

DeMichael Walker rushed 20 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns to lead the visiting Longhorns, who erupted for 20 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 35-6 victory over the Spartans.

Isola said he knew his squad was better than its 0-3 record.

“We’ve played some good teams this season,” he said. “We’ve played a tough schedule and we’ve made some mistakes, but we really felt we were in those games. We knew if we could keep from turning the ball over tonight, we could win.”

Legacy, which was plagued by turnovers in its first three games, committed just one Saturday. It barely mattered as the defense held Cimarron (2-2) to 27 first-half yards and 121 yards on the night.

“Our defense has been fast and physical,” Isola said. “We knew that way back in camp. They come in and bring it to everybody.”

Both defenses looked strong early, as the game’s first score did not come until Skye Parker kicked a 42-yard field goal to put the Longhorns ahead 3-0 with 3:05 remaining in the first half.

Legacy took advantage of good field position on its next drive, and Walker made it 9-0 with a 36-yard TD run. A fake field goal resulted in a 6-yard TD run by A.J. Sotelo to make it 15-0 late in the third, and the Longhorns defense maintained that lead by allowing the Spartans just 15 yards in the quarter.

Things got out of control in the fourth, as Walker and teammate Johnny Sarabia had TD runs, and Kourde Roberts scored on a 22-yard pass from Tanoa Alapati.

“The key was execution,” Isola said. “We made some adjustments in the second half, and the kids believed in what we were doing.”

Cimarron-Memorial, which collected most of its yardage in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, answered with a late TD run by Tyree Riley.

Alapati completed 5 of 11 passes for the Longhorns.

Quarterback Derek Morefield carried six times for 45 yards to lead the Spartans.

Arbor View 37, Coronado 31 — At Arbor View, Charles Louch scored on a 3-yard run in the third overtime to give the No.2 Aggies a wild home victory over the No. 6 Cougars.

The game was sent into the extra frames thanks to Coronado’s Spencer Cofer’s 39-yard field goal on the final play of regulation.

In the first overtime, Coronado struck first on its inital play as quarterback John Farella found Nick Trejo for a 10-yard score. Arbor View answered as Herman Gray scored his second touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run.

Both Cofer and Arbor View’s Carter Andrade nailed 27-yard field goals in the second overtime, and the game would go to a third extra period tied at 31-31.

It appeared Coronado was going to take the lead again, as Brian Johnson took a reverse and headed to the end zone. As Johnson leaped toward the goal line, however, the ball was stripped from the Cougar receiver and the ball went through the back of the end zone causing a turnover.

Three plays later, Louch easily scored from the 3, and the Aggies remained undefeated.

Arbor View (4-0) was led on the ground by Andrew Wagner with 97 yards on eight carries, while Gray added 94 on 30 trips. Farella completed 29 of 46 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns for Coronado (2-2).

Faith Lutheran 32, Mojave 28 — At Faith Lutheran, Brenden Joyce came off the bench for the last three plays of the game and hit Mark Rubalcaba for the game-winning 77-yard pass on fourth-and-10 with one second remaining for Faith Lutheran.

The final play was the only time in the game Mojave (4-1, 2-1 Division 1-A Sunset) trailed after dominating the first and fourth quarters and holding leads of 14-0 and 28-20.

Ty Flanagan led the Rattlers’ quick start, gaining 96 of his game-high 122 rushing yards in the first quarter, a stretch when the Mojave defense held Faith Lutheran (2-3, 1-2) to 20 yards of total offense.

Mojave quarterback Zack Arave took the spotlight in the fourth quarter. After the Crusaders tied the score at 20 on a 24-yard Christian Marshall run and Ryan Callan PAT, Arave orchestrated a 13-play, 73-yard drive capped by his 6-yard TD run and 2-point conversion run to make it 28-20 with 4:40 left in the game.

Faith answered quickly when, on the third play of the ensuing drive, Marshall notched a 49-yard run for touchdown. But Mojave retained the lead when the pass attempt for the two-point conversion fell short of the receiver.

Arave was hurt on the Marshall touchdown, but the Rattlers seemed unfazed as Lamaja Cunningham took over and earned two first downs on what looked like a game-ending drive. But the Crusaders stood firm and forced a punt, taking over on their own 23 with :39 seconds to play.

On the first play of the comeback drive, Faith Lutheran’s starting quarterback Greg Benson threw an incomplete pass and then left the game with an injury. Joyce entered, hit Josh Hong on a pass for no gain, then threw a ball off a receiver’s hands to stop the clock with one tick left before hitting Rubalcaba in full stride for the game-winner on fourth down.

An unsung hero for the Crusaders was Callan, who was perfect on PATs and hit two field goals for eight points and allowed just two returns on six kickoffs.

Rubalcaba finished with 100 yards on three catches. Marshall had three rushing touchdowns and 91 yards on 11 carries.

Arave was Mojave’s second-leading rusher with 72 yards on 16 carries. Deshone Wilson caught one pass for 27 yards.

— Neil Grepke

Canyon Springs 41, Eldorado 14 — At Canyon Springs, Bradley Alexander threw three second-quarter touchdown passes and added a touchdown run in the second half to help the No. 8 Pioneers hand the No. 10 Sundevils their first loss.

Alexander connected on 12 of 18 passes for 180 yards for Canyon Springs (3-1), with TD passes of 22, 19 and 27 yards to give the Pioneers a 21-0 lead with 6:18 left in the second quarter.

Eldorado rallied behind Joshua Brown, who threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Shane Brown with 1:00 left in the second quarter, then had a 6-yard touchdown run to cap the first drive of the third quarter to trim the Pioneer lead to 21-14.

The Sundevils (3-1) had a chance to pull even on their next possession, but their drive stalled at the Canyon Springs 2. The Pioneers then drove 98 yards on 11 plays, capped by Jerrod Blackwell’s 4-yard TD run.

Alexander then scored on a 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to put the Sundevils away.

Zaviontay Stevenson had 17 carries for 107 yards for Canyon Springs. Ezequiel Lopez anchored the defense, coming up with an interception and 1.5 sacks. Tui Vergara had two sacks for the Pioneers.

— Tim Guesman

Shadow Ridge 45, Valley 20 — At Valley, a huge second quarter by the Mustangs was the difference.

Trailing 8-6 after the first quarter, the Mustangs (2-2) dominated the second thanks to the arm and legs of Matthew Howitz. The senior quarterback found tight end Michael Payton for a 12-yard touchdown early in the quarter to give Shadow Ridge a lead it would never relinquish.

After a Shane Wickander interception, Howitz took off for a weaving 45-yard touchdown run to give Shadow Ridge a 10-point advantage. Later in the quarter, Howitz hit Dexter Kie for a 69-yard touchdown and capped the outburst just before halftime with another touchdown run, this one from 15 yards.

Aside from the second quarter, the game was dead even on the scoreboard, as Valley (0-4) forced four Mustang turnovers.

Dominick Wilson picked up 136 yards on the ground for the Mustangs and scored the team’s first touchdown, while Chris McDearmon also scored on the ground for Shadow Ridge. Kie also provided another late highlight as he returned a kickoff 75 yards for a score with 30 seconds left in the game.

Valley used the two-headed monster of Jeremy Haywood and Iyen Medlock at quarterback. Medlock hit Haywood for an early score and picked up two 1-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Haywood threw for 101 yards for the Vikings.

— Mike James

Clark 34, Pahrump Valley 13 — At Clark, the Chargers were outgained 359 to 306 but held off the Trojans.

Clark totaled 219 yards in the first half, 89 on its first offensive play. Nick Kinnard found Isaiah Lyles May over the middle for a short pass, but May found a lane to the end zone with blockers ahead of him.

Clark managed eight first downs but used a balanced attack to keep scoring drives going. Kinnard finished with 184 yards passing, including a 55-yard touchdown to Marquice Stuart on Clark’s second play from scrimmage in the second half. Stuart caught three passes for 95 yards. Kinnard also ran for 53 yards on six carries with a 3-yard touchdown late in the second quarter to put the Chargers up 21-7. Ty’Rek Wells added 26 yards on nine carries with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Pahrump Valley did most of its damage on the ground, rushing for 300 yards. Thomas Gascoigne ran for 123 yards on 22 carries and scored both of Pahrump Valley’s touchdowns. Jeremiah England added 60 yards on nine carries.

The Trojans tallied 19 first downs but had five drives stall inside the 30-yard line. Pahrump was also limited to 1-for-9 on third down.

Donovan Jackson returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that put Clark up 34-7.

— Jesse Vineyard

Chaparral 28, Del Sol 6 — At Chaparral, the Cowboys’ defense gave up just 21 yards after halftime and scored 28 unanswered points to top the Dragons.

Chaparral quarterback Jerome Williamson completed 7 of 12 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns, hitting Casey Acosta for a 48-yard strike and Seitu Wyche on a 58-yard slant on his first two passes of the third quarter. On the next possession, Williamson ran 36 yards up the middle for a score to give Chaparral (2-3, 1-1 Division I-A Sunrise) a 21-6 lead.

Richard Nelson’s 9-yard touchdown run capped the scoring with 7:54 remaining in the fourth for Chaparral. Nelson had six carries for 39 yards, while Acosta finished with four catches for 77 yards.

Daniel Tyus gave Del Sol (3-2, 1-2) an early lead with a 2-yard TD run and finished with 45 yards on 17 carries.

— Ashton Ferguson

Sierra Vista 29, Cheyenne 14 — At Cheyenne, the Mountain Lions used two kickoff returns for touchdowns to overcome having just six offensive plays during the third quarter — fumbling the ball away on one of them — to pull away from Cheyenne.

Randal Grimes returned the second-half kickoff 80 yards to break a 7-7 tie, and Maliek Broady brought one back 77 yards about five minutes later en route to 22 third-quarter points by the Mountain Lions (4-1, 2-1 Sunset).

Broady led the Mountain Lions with 53 hard-fought yards on 16 carries, while he also hauled in a 20-yard TD reception. Quarterback Oscar Aliaga completed 2 of 5 passes, both for touchdowns — one to Broady and a 47-yard strike to Andrew Peterson.

Cheyenne (2-3, 2-1) was led by David Walker’s 166 yards on 24 carries, while Zavieh Harrell caught two passes for 75 yards.

— W.G. Ramirez

Basic 54, Durango 19 — At Durango, Sean White rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries as the Wolves rolled past the Trailblazers.

Basic (3-2) jumped out to a quick 19-0 lead on touchdowns runs by Aeneas McAllister, John Funaki and the first of White’s two first-half scores. The Wolves finished with seven rushing touchdowns, including two by McAllister, one by D. J. Thomas and one by Reggie Upshaw. Josh Villaros rounded out the scoring for the Wolves when he returned a kickoff 76 yards for the final score of the game.

Durango (1-3) got a spark when Leontre Austin returned a kickoff 95 yards to cut the Wolves’ lead to 19-6. Basic answered that score when White scored his second touchdown on a 4-yard run to put the Wolves up 26-6 at halftime.

Basic’s defense limited the Trailblazers most of the night. Quarterback Jonathan Schofield managed to score on a 67-yard run early in the third quarter. Durango’s final score came on a 34-yard run by Jayson Johnson.

— Robert Horne

Silverado 62, Bonanza 7 — At Bonanza, Deyon McKinney rushed for 170 yards on 12 carries and scored four first-quarter touchdowns as the Skyhawks (2-2) cruised past the Bengals (0-5).

McKinney scored on a 40-yard sprint untouched up the middle and again on a 12-yard carry on the ensuing drive after Silverado’s Jarrett Alipio recovered a fumble on Bonanza’s first play.

The Skyhawks’ Robert Richardson recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, and Alipio found McKinney on a roll-out for a 2-yard TD catch nine plays later to make it 21-0.

Silverado’s Alexander Reyes recovered another onside kick on the next kickoff, and Alipio scored on a 5-yard keeper five plays later.

Silverado’s defense then forced a three-and-out, and McKinney returned a punt 73 yards for a score to push the lead to 35-0 on the final play of the first quarter.

Alipio and Garrett Chanice each supplied 3-yard TD carries in the second quarter to give the Skyhawks a 49-0 cushion at half.

McKinney and Alipio didn’t play in the second half as the running clock was implemented, and Silverado’s Nick Moniz provided a 15-yard TD scamper up the middle in the third quarter.

Mitchell Ballard added a 1-yard TD plunge with 7:50 left to play to make it 62-0.

Bonanza’s ByJon Large had a 45-yard run and hauled in a 22-yard TD strike from Cannon Reid with one foot down in the left corner of the end zone on the game’s final play.

Captain Jalil Briley provided seven tackles for the Bengals.

— Brennan Karle

Spring Valley 48, Western 0 — At Spring Valley, the host Grizzlies scored on their first four possessions.

Marcus Dawson broke loose on scoring scampers of 47 and 75 yards in the opening quarter as Spring Valley (3-2) built a 14-0 lead.

Quarterback Christian Tasi got into the act next with a 94-yard TD dash. He then hooked up with Anthony Vasquez for a 25-yard scoring toss, and the Grizzlies led 27-0 at halftime.

Dawson finished with 125 yards on three carries. Antonio Wallace had 71 yards and a touchdown on nine rushes.

Tasi picked up 129 yards rushing while completing 3 of 7 passes for 28 yards.

Western (0-5) finished with minus-67 yards on the ground.

The Warriors did move the ball through the air, as Wyatt Rozea completed 17 of 36 passes for 199 yards. He threw three interceptions.

Kwan Carter hauled in six catches for 78 yards, while Miles Snyder caught four passes for 63 yards.

Michael Bianco and Lovell Taylor scored the final two TDs for Spring Valley.

— John Dubrish

Moapa Valley 54, Rancho 0 — At Rancho, Moapa Valley struck for touchdowns of 52, 42 and 47 yards during the first quarter of a lopsided win over Rancho.

Senior quarterback Zach Hymas opened with a pinpoint strike to Cole Mulcock for a 52-yard touchdown on his first throw of the game. His second was a 42-yard score to RJ Hubert. He finished with 225 yards passing, ending his night at halftime with Moapa Valley (5-0) ahead 34-0.

Rancho’s main weapon, running back Robert Howard, could amass just 36 yards on 23 attempts as Rancho (0-5) was held to 135 rushing yards — 57 on a run by Nathan Guido, who had the ball stripped on the play.

— Adam Helmsing

The Meadows 52, Laughlin 6 — At The Meadows, six players found the end zone for the Mustangs in their rout of Laughlin.

After a Laughlin fumble on its first drive, The Meadows (3-2, 1-0 Division III Southern) took advantage when quarterback Jacob Gleason threw his first of two touchdown passes, finding Adam Martinez for a 40-yard score.

Martinez scored again when he took the second-half kickoff 90 yards, giving the Mustangs a 38-0 lead twenty seconds into the third quarter.

The Meadows was led on the ground by running back Bryson Navallo, who carried twice for 124 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Laughlin (0-4, 0-2) was held to 157 yards of offense. Running back Robert Osuna led the way for the Cougars with 97 yards rushing, including a 39-yard touchdown.

— Jordan Aguilar

Desert Pines 26, Boulder City 20 — At Boulder City, Gianni Breland opened the scoring with a fumble return for a touchdown early in the third quarter and added a touchdown catch as the Jaguars held off the Eagles.

Marckell Grayson threw for 135 yards and two touchdowns for Desert Pines (4-1, 2-1 Sunrise League), which built a 26-6 lead in the fourth quarter.

Andre Watts also caught a touchdown pass for Desert Pines, which got a 32-yard scoring run from Jordan Diggs.

The Eagles (3-2, 1-1) tried to rally late, cashing in on touchdown passes by Trenton Carmell to Jacob Gneiting and Austin Wishard to pull within 26-20 with 45 seconds left, but they couldn’t recover an onside kick. The Jaguars then ran out the clock.

Carmell completed 13 of 20 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns for Boulder City.

Logan Branscum caught five passes for 100 yards and a score for the Eagles.

Virgin Valley 54, Sunrise Mountain 18 — At Mesquite, Junior Paongo rushed for 143 yards and four touchdowns on the day of his father’s funeral to lead the Bulldogs by the Miners.

Paongo racked up his big numbers all in the first half to help Virgin Valley (3-2, 1-1 Sunrise League) top the Miners (0-5, 0-3).

Paongo’s father, Aki Paongo died Sept. 20 at age 47 of a heart attack.