FOOTBALL: Lawson makes mark in final minute as Desert Shields top Rattlers

Ashton Lawson waited all night to make his mark for the Cheyenne football team.

His late-game contributions couldn’t have come at a better time.

Lawson hauled in a 52-yard touchdown pass from Anthony McConnico with 55 seconds remaining Thursday to give Cheyenne a 21-20 homecoming victory over visiting Mojave.

“The coaches were talking about (the play) a lot on the sidelines, so I was just waiting for my opportunity and I made a big play,” Lawson said. “When I lined up, in my mind, I was thinking, ‘Nobody can stop me. I’m going to make this play.’ I just did what I had to do.”

Trailing 20-15 with 1:04 remaining, Cheyenne took over at its own 48-yard line after a Mojave punt. The Desert Shields noticed Lawson was getting one-on-one coverage on the outside late in the game, so they drew up a play for the standout junior.

“It’s just a play we have,” Cheyenne coach David Cochran said. “We knew we had to get something big. Ashton Lawson has been making big catches for us throughout the year, so we just had to give him a shot. It was a game -changer.”

On the ensuing Mojave possession, Lawson intercepted Zack Arave to seal the win.

“To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to catch it,” Lawson said. “When I caught it, it was on my shoulder pads, so I thought it was going to bounce out. God just helped me pull that one down. It was a big play.”

Mojave, which dropped its third consecutive Division I-A Sunset game, led 14-8 at halftime after senior Ty Flanagan took a slant pass from Arave 65 yards for a touchdown with 48 seconds left in the second quarter.

Cheyenne rallied in the second half behind running backs Zavieh Harrell and Deriontae Green. After a scoreless third quarter, Harrell ran in a 25-yard TD on the opening play of the fourth to give Cheyenne a 15-14 lead. Harrell finished with 11 carries for 114 yards, and Green added 20 rushes for 105 yards and a TD for the Desert Shields (3-4, 3-2 Sunset).

Flanagan erased the lead on a 6-yard TD run two minutes later to give Mojave a 20-15 advantage with 9:31 to go. But the Rattlers (4-3, 2-3 Sunset) failed on their 2-point conversion.

Arave finished 3 of 8 for 95 yards and two touchdowns and had 110 yards rushing. Flanagan had 15 carries for 112 yards and a TD for the Rattlers, who got a 21-yard TD reception from Deshone Wilson.

McConnico was 6 of 12 passing for 106 yards and a TD for Cheyenne, and teammate George Carmona added two receptions for 36 yards. Kamareeon Counts had an interception on defense for the Desert Shields.

Quest Academy 72, Westmark (Calif.) 46 — At Mojave, Chris Cooper scored four touchdowns to help the Knights rally from an early 20-8 deficit to earn a win in their season finale.

Cooper finished with 132 rushing yards, 161 receiving yards and interpted a pass on defense.

Senior quarterback Kiegan Ross completed 4 of 6 passes for 154 yards and two scores, and ran for another 113 yards and a touchdown before going out with an injury on the first play of the third quarter.

Devonte Loggins stepped in and led the Knights to 42 second-half points. Loggins carried the ball 17 times for 72 yards and completed a 71-yard touchdown pass to Cooper.

Junior Andrew Tauoa recovered a fumble, blocked a punt and iced the game with a 79-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.

Westmark’s Harrison Roth finished with 96 yards from scrimmage and four total touchdowns, including an 85-yard kickoff return for a score in the third quarter.

Quest outrushed Westmark 399-117 in the win.

— Jesse Granger