Aquantay Morris leads Clark past Virgin Valley

The Clark Chargers debuted a new head coach, new attitude and new “color rush” uniforms in their home opener Friday night against the Virgin Valley Bulldogs.

Luckily for the Chargers, running back Aquantay Morris is still around to run roughshod over opposing defenses.

The Clark High senior ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He also caught four passes for 95 yards and two more two touchdowns as the Chargers (1-1) stunned the Virgin Valley Bulldogs with a 49-26 victory.

“It feels great, because today we showed up even when everybody doubted us,” Morris said. “I’m just going out and doing my job; doing my job for my team. I was just trying to get us the victory. That’s it.”

The win snaps a nine-game losing streak for the Chargers. It was the first win at Clark for new head coach Ricky Pickens.

“Well for me it’s good just to see our kids compete,” Pickens said. “I’ve always said we need to just get out here, compete and we’ll let the scoreboard do the talking. We’re just trying to bring Charger football back.

“Clark has always had talent. It’s just always been a thing of putting it all together. But we’re just trying to put it together each and every play. If we can compete every play, we give ourselves a chance to win.”

Senior quarterback Justin Aguilar, who threw for 277 yards and four touchdowns, got the Chargers rolling on their opening drive when he connected with Morris for a 40-yard touchdown. Aguilar hooked up with Morris again from 20-yard’s out to push Clark’s lead to 13-0.

“Aquantay is one of our leaders,” Pickens said. “He’s been a leader all three years that he’s been here at Clark. We just want to make sure that we showcase his talent. He can play anywhere and so that’s what we want to do. We want to make sure that he can show that.”

The Chargers eventually pushed their lead to 27-7 early in the second quarter on a 9-yard run by Kobe Mosley and a 40-yard touchdown reception by Isaiah Veal.

Morris scored his two rushing touchdowns in the second half on runs of 40 and four yards to close out the victory.

“It’s very different with coach Pickens,” Morris said. “I mean we put in the work, we work hard, and we’re confident. … We just have to keep putting in work. That’s all I gotta say.”

Jayden Perkins ran for 103 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries to lead the Bulldogs.