65°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

I-A FOOTBALL: Injured Jaguars still dangerous, hungry

As if last year's close state championship loss wasn't enough to bear, third-year Desert Pines football coach Tico Rodriguez recently found out he would be without two of his top players for most or all of this season.

The bad news: The Jaguars open their season with Division I juggernaut Arbor View.

The good news: Rodriguez still has, by far, the most talent of any Division I-A program in Southern Nevada.

"I've been here since 2001, and I've seen a lot of great teams," Rodriguez said. "I think this might be one of the more talented teams, especially when Anthony (Smith) and Sam (Poutasi) are on this team."

Desert Pines, which blew a 22-point fourth-quarter lead to Moapa Valley last season in the state final, will host Arbor View at 7 p.m. Friday.

Despite losing seniors Smith and Poutasi — two of the state's most-coveted recruits — to anterior cruciate ligament injuries this offseason, the Jaguars are ready to make a big statement to start their season.

"We have a lot more fire this season," said senior Vasa Hansell, a second-team all-state linebacker a year ago. "We're a lot more energized and focused. We know what we need to take care of. … The determination in this team hasn't been matched in my four years (at Desert Pines)."

Smith, a first-team all-state member last season, and Poutasi, the 6-foot-3-inch, 285-pound brother of Tennessee Titans guard Jeremiah Poutasi, were in place to lead the Jaguars to their first state championship in school history this season.

But that was before Poutasi tore his ACL in April, and Smith went down with the same injury in last week's scrimmage versus Desert Oasis.

Poutasi, who has offers from Oregon State, San Diego State, UNLV, UNR and Washington State, optimistically said he's aiming for a return in the fifth or sixth week.

An MRI on Tuesday afternoon confirmed the season-ending injury to Smith, who is considered the state's top recruit, according to Rivals.com. The standout has offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Hawaii, San Diego State, UNLV, UNR and Washington State.

Though there is hope Poutasi will rejoin the team this season, the Jaguars have embraced a next-man-up mentality in the absence of their star players.

"All we can do is prepare for tomorrow and just move on," junior quarterback Marckell Grayson said. "It hurts to see my boys go down, but we'll be all right. We're just going to trust in Coach (Rodriguez) to move people around and for us to get the job done on the field."

Grayson, named to the all-state second team last season after passing for 2,180 yards and 27 touchdowns, will lead a high-powered offense that returns seven starters.

One starter, junior running back Isaiah Morris, said the Arbor View game should be telling.

"If we're able to beat Arbor View, we could go far," Morris said. "We can finally get some respect. Divisions don't mean anything. If we beat them, we can play with anybody in the state."

Morris, who had 1,504 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns last season, said the Moapa Valley loss only strengthened the team's desire for a title.

His feelings were shared by teammates.

"It was just devastating to be so close and not get it done," Rodriguez said. "It was a hard loss, probably the hardest our school has ever faced. But we were so young, and the kids are resilient. They wanted to get back to work the next week. … You grow from those types of losses. I think our maturity has grown a lot from it."

Grayson added: "We're never going to forget about it. We're going to drive and push harder than we did last year because you can't take steps back. You always have to take steps forward. We can't dwell on the past, but we're going to use it as a tool to prepare for the future."

Even with a loss to Arbor View, Desert Pines would remain the team to beat in Division I-A. The Jaguars have shown their ability to bounce back from the unexpected.

"We're hoping to win state," said Randal Grimes, a junior safety/wide receiver who transferred from Sierra Vista. "We're working hard out here. We're really trying to get there."

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.

BEST OF I-A SCHOOLS

Here's a look at some of the top returning players in Division I-A:

PASSING

Marckell Grayson, Desert Pines 2,180 yards, 27 TDs

Nick Kinnard, Clark 1,071 yards, 10 TDs

RUSHING

Isaiah Morris, Desert Pines 1,504 yards, 17 TDs

Christian Marshall, Faith Lutheran 838 yards, 12 TDs

RECEIVING

R.J. Hubert, Moapa Valley 49 rec., 964 yards, 14 TDs

Casey Acosta, Chaparral 21 rec., 315 yards, 4 TDs

INTERCEPTIONS

Javion Hunt, Sierra Vista 8

R.J. Hubert, Moapa Valley 6

Derek Cope, Moapa Valley 6

SACKS

Anthony Smith, Desert Pines 16

Angel Torres, Desert Pines 8

TACKLES

Raheem Edmonds, Spring Valley 90

Cole Thomas, Faith Lutheran 89

 

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST