Clark football hopes to build on surprising success

First-year Clark football coach Ricky Pickens knows his squad isn’t expected to do much this season. And he doesn’t care about others’ expectations.

“We don’t have nothing to prove to anybody else,” Pickens said. “Clark, they’re not picked to win anything, they’re not picked to do anything. Anything we do is a surprise to everybody, so we just want to keep surprising people.”

The Chargers (2-1, 1-0 Class 4A Southwest League) get another shot at surprising people at 11 a.m. Saturday when they play at No. 10 Sierra Vista (2-1, 1-0).

“It’s a statement game for us,” Clark senior lineman Alejandro Encinas said. “I feel a lot of people underestimate what we can do. We’re going to hit them hard. We’ve been working on a plan to beat them, and I think it’s going to work out.”

Things didn’t work out well for Clark in Week 1. The Chargers, coming off a 1-8 season, lost 34-33 to Boulder City.

This was the same Boulder City team that dropped out of the Class 3A Sunrise League to play an independent schedule after going 1-8 last season. It was the kind of loss that could define a season and has defined Clark seasons in the past.

But instead of folding, the Chargers bounced back, upsetting Virgin Valley and shutting out Desert Oasis to gain a little momentum. Now the trick is keeping it going.

“These wins are not a surprise for us,” Pickens said. “These kids always knew that they could win, they just needed somebody to help them put it all together. No knock on last year’s coaches. The benefit of having a new coach is a fresh face, fresh philosophies, a fresh system. That helped them to get a whole fresh outlook.”

Senior Aquantay Morris said that outlook paid off with a new work ethic in the offseason.

“The players, we have a different grind, we have a different motivation,” Morris said. “Our coaches motivate us a lot. They tell us what to do, they teach us what to do and they push us.”

Morris has responded, with eight touchdowns in three games. He’s rushed for 275 yards and three TDs and caught 10 passes for 257 yards and five scores.

But he’s far from the only big-play option for the Chargers. Isaiah Bigby has caught 10 passes for 213 yards and four TDs, and Daimanuel Mayfield has nine catches for 193 yards and a TD. Defensive back Isaiah Veal has six interceptions.

“If you key in on one of us, we have six other players that can go off,” Morris said. “I’m always going to put in work, and I know the rest of my team is going to put in work. So if you key in on one of us, that’s a mistake.”

Pickens said one of the keys is keeping his players grounded after a couple of weeks of success and recognition, something most of the players haven’t experienced.

“We shouldn’t be complacent,” Encinas said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do. I don’t think our last two games really meant anything. They weren’t the best teams we could have faced. But nonetheless, we’re going to show what we’re capable of.”

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Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.