4A ROUNDUP: Wait worth it for Grizzlies
Forced to wait an extra week to begin its football season, Spring Valley took out its frustration on Desert Pines.
The Grizzlies, whose scheduled opener last week was canceled because the officials didn’t show up, scored on their opening drive Friday night, cruised to a 20-0 lead and held on for a 20-14 victory over the late-charging Jaguars.
“Last week, when no officials showed up, we were pretty upset, so we wanted to come out here and get all our anger out,” said Nate Holloway, Spring Valley’s 6-foot-4-inch, 320-pound senior lineman, who had two sacks and kicked two extra points. “We played as a team. We’ve just got to finish next time.”
Desert Pines scored two touchdowns within 57 seconds late in the fourth quarter to trim Spring Valley’s lead to 20-14, then recovered an onside kick with 1:51 to play. But the swarming Grizzlies forced the Jaguars to turn the ball over on downs and ran out the clock.
“I think I aged about 10 years at the end,” Spring Valley coach Kelly Murphy said. “We played hard and we played fast. We just didn’t finish it.”
Coming off an opening 28-0 loss to Silverado, Desert Pines (0-2) coughed up the ball on its second play from scrimmage when Derrick Shaw fumbled a pitchout from Dalton Leilua. Aareon Smith-Allen recovered for Spring Valley on the Jaguars’ 21-yard line.
Facing fourth-and-9 at the 20, Grizzlies quarterback Anton Stallworth (6-for-7, 77 yards) fired a 19-yard strike to Jeff Fajardo for a first down, setting up a 1-yard scoring run by Jacques Adams.
“We came out pretty tough,” Stallworth said. “Toward the end we kind of lost it. We needed to shut the door. That’s what we’ll work on next week.”
The Grizzlies scored on their first drive of the second half for a 13-0 lead. Stallworth got a first down on fourth-and-2 from the 3, then Tom Krysztof ran in from the 1.
Spring Valley made it 20-0 with 6:13 left when Keenan Sanders took a reverse handoff from Fajardo on a punt return and sprinted 75 yards untouched down the sideline.
The Jaguars came back with their first points of the season. On fourth-and-9 at the Grizzlies’ 25, Leilua scrambled out of trouble before finding Anthony Ruiz for a 24-yard completion to the 1. Keorris Berry then plunged into the end zone with 2:52 left.
Spring Valley fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Schaquawn Williams recovered for Desert Pines on the Grizzlies’ 10. Two plays later Leilua found Ruiz in the far corner of the end zone for Desert Pines’ second touchdown, and Shaw ran in the two-point conversion to make it 20-14.
Cheyenne 52, Western 0 — At Cheyenne, the Desert Shields scored 30 points in the first quarter and had 52 by halftime to rout the Warriors.
After 10 minutes, Cheyenne (2-0) had four touchdowns, 153 yards and 12 first downs.
Six players scored for the Desert Shields, including two touchdowns by Marcus Sullivan, who rushed for 123 yards on six carries.
Ronnie Green, Evan Street, Terence Bryson, Andrew Calhoun and Kaeo Helekahi also had touchdowns.
The Desert Shields rushed for 330 yards on 40 carries and topped the 50-point mark for the second straight week.
Western (0-1) lost 27 yards on its first offensive play and finished with minus-25 yards. The Warriors’ deepest possession was to the Cheyenne 28 on their last drive of the game.
— Sam Leeper
Arbor View 52, Durango 7 — At Durango, Gabe Toney scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and the visiting Aggies (2-0) equaled last year’s victory total with a blowout of the Trailblazers.
Toney scored on a 69-yard punt return, a 34-yard run and a 44-yard interception return to help Arbor View grab a 27-0 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Senior Ryan Hill opened the scoring with a 37-yard run and finished with 114 rushing yards. Sophomore Taylor Wooten added 103 yards, helping the Aggies compile 384 on the ground.
The only bad news for Arbor View: junior quarterback Austin Anderson suffered an hand injury in the first half.
Durango (0-2) was held to 20 yards in the first half and 52 total. In the fourth quarter Thomas Flanagan threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Romell Maxwell.
— David Schoen
Palo Verde 35, Sierra Vista 6 — At Palo Verde, Torin Harris scored four touchdowns and the Panthers (2-0) rushed for 276 yards in an easy victory over the Lions (0-2).
Harris had a 4-yard scoring run in the first quarter and a 15-yarder in the second. He returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards for another score and added a 17-yard reception from Kelly Zurowski.
Chaz Thomas also scored on a 10-yard run in the first quarter when Palo Verde took a 14-0 lead.
For Sierra Vista, Akil Sharp scored on a 35-yard run in the second quarter and finished with 107 yards rushing.
— Adam Berchin
Coronado 30, Shadow Ridge 14 — At Coronado, Dane Cooper was 10-of-18 passing for 185 yards and three touchdowns to carry the Cougars (2-0) over the Mustangs (1-1).
Cooper capped a game-opening 69-yard drive with a 6-yard pass to Blake Smith for an 8-0 lead. Cory Argubright caught a 4-yard TD pass in the second quarter and Coronado led 16-0 at halftime.
Shadow Ridge’s Zach Hill answered by scoring on a 78-yard kickoff return to begin the second half, but the Cougars pulled away with third-quarter TDs by Marcus Garcia and Blake Riley.
The Mustangs added a late score on Nick McDearmon’s 25-yard pass to Jordan Karl.
— Jeff Wollard
Basic 28, Eldorado 13 — At Basic, quarterback Robby Faiman ran for 99 yards and a touchdown and also passed for 49 yards to lead the Wolves (2-0) over the Sundevils (0-2).
Faiman scored on a 5-yard run up the middle early in the third quarter, capping a nine-play, 75-yard drive and extending the Wolves’ lead to 21-13. Martel Walker added a 1-yard touchdown run for Basic later in the third.
Basic’s defense made the lead stand up, limiting Eldorado to 80 yards and no points in the second half.
Charles Phillips finished with 71 yards on 10 carries for the Wolves.
Eldorado’s JaQuorrey Williams and Basic’s Anthany Lessier each played a role in two first-half touchdowns.
Williams threw a 26-yard scoring pass to Charles White in the first quarter, but Lessier answered with a tying 6-yard run. Williams scored on a 5-yard keeper in the second quarter, capping a 13-play, 73-yard drive for a 13-7 Eldorado lead. Basic’s Omar Valenzuela blocked the conversion kick.
Lessier gave the Wolves their first lead, 14-13, with a 12-yard sweep midway through the quarter.
DeAndre Smith led Eldorado with 90 yards on 18 carries. Williams passed for 72 and rushed for 40.
— Tim Guesman
Desert Oasis 27, Pahrump Valley 0 — At Pahrump, junior Brennen Stott threw three touchdown passes, two to Elijah Mitchell, to lead the Diamondbacks (1-1) past the Trojans (1-1) for the first-year school’s initial football victory.
Mitchell broke a scoreless tie with a 45-yard touchdown reception with 5:12 left in the third quarter. Desert Oasis went 91 yards in four plays on the drive after an interception stopped Pahrump Valley’s best threat of the night. The Trojans had recovered a fumble at the Diamondbacks' 16 but could not take advantage.
On its next possession, Desert Oasis needed only two plays to score after a short punt gave it the ball at the Pahrump Valley 43. Stott tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Colin Maestas.
Stott and Mitchell hooked up again in the fourth quarter for a 6-yard touchdown. Robert Hunt capped the scoring with a 60-yard punt return TD.
— Don McDermott
Silverado 49, Mojave 6 — At Silverado, Terren Madu-Jules rushed for 95 yards and three touchdowns on only six carries and the Skyhawks (2-0) coasted past the Rattlers (0-1).
Madu-Jules also returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. He scored on a 7-yard run only 17 seconds later after a turnover, then ran in from 31 yards as Silverado breezed to a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Skyhawks amassed 312 yards rushing and held Mojave to 145 on the ground.
Adonis Allen had 105 yards on 18 carries for the Rattlers, including a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Neither team completed a pass.
— Dana Lane
Del Sol 28, Chaparral 0 — At Chaparral, Ernest Hall rushed for 121 yards on 20 carries to lead a punishing ground game by the Dragons (2-0) in a shutout of the Cowboys (0-2).
Del Sol accumulated 270 yards on the ground, helped by Jon Kirschbaum with 71 yards and two TDs on 15 carries.
The Cowboys were limited to 130 total yards, 34 on the ground, and lost two fumbles. Devian Blow totaled 91 yards on three catches.
— Ryan Austin
Rancho 21, Clark 20 — At Clark, senior James Cammack orchestrated a two-minute drill and ran for the go-ahead two-point conversion in the final minute, lifting the Rams (1-1) over the Chargers (0-2).
After Clark had rallied in the fourth quarter for a 20-13 lead, Cammack threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Zach Foulkrod to get Rancho within a point. Then he called his own number on the decisive conversion.
Clark senior Dan Barr scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter, but the Chargers didn’t score again until the fourth when Barr ran for a 1-yard TD and kicked the point-after. Clark then went ahead on a 12-yard run by Aaron Arlt, who gained 117 yards on 11 carries, and Barr added another conversion kick.
Rancho controlled the second quarter. Cammack, who was 11-for-18 for 200 yards, found Dijon Holman for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Then Cammack scored on a 9-yard run and kicked the conversion.
— Eric Nisenson
Foothill 28, Cimarron-Memorial 6 — At Foothill, the Falcons (1-1) scored 21 points in the second quarter to take control against the Spartans (0-2).
Senior tailback Algernon Sewell ran for 152 yards and two scores, both in the second quarter.
Foothill’s Aaron Dupin passed for 114 yards and two touchdowns: a 51-yarder to Terrance Walls and a clinching 5-yarder to Robert Aday.
Cimarron scored Stephen Nixon’s 51-yard run. He had 96 yards on 14 carries.
— Stuart Mandelbaum
Valley 48, Liberty 38 — At Valley, the Vikings (1-1) rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat the Patriots (1-1).
Liberty rolled to an early 20-6 lead, but Valley got within 20-12 before halftime, then took control by outscoring the Pats 26-6 in the third quarter.
— Matt Martelli
Las Vegas 47, Snow Canyon (Utah) 40 — At St. George, Utah, Reggie Bullock and Kevin Cormier combined for 397 rushing yards to lead the Wildcats (2-0).
Bullock rushed for 267 yards and three TDs on 24 carries. Cormier had 13 carries for 130 yards and a TD.
