Defense stands tall in Chaparral victory over Virgin Valley
Chaparral’s football team needed 4 yards to ice Thursday’s game. Virgin Valley was out of timeouts with just more than two minutes to play, and a first down would seal the victory for the Cowboys.
They got 5.
After handing it to their running back five consecutive plays, Chaparral quarterback Iopu Tauli’ili ran up the gut on an option keeper for the first down to let the Cowboys run out the clock on a 14-12 home victory.
“For a sophomore, it felt pretty good,” the first-year varsity player said. “I felt proud of myself and all my coaches who coached me throughout this whole week and my teammates.”
Tauli’ili ended the game, but he also got the offense going for the Cowboys (7-2, 2-1 Class 3A Sunrise League) with a 76-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to put his team up 7-6. He completed just 1 of 2 passes for 9 yards, but rushed for 86 yards on six carries. He did not attempt a pass in the second half.
“I told him you’re not a rookie anymore, you have to step your game and we’re not going to accept anything less,” Chaparral coach Paul Nihipali said. “And that’s what he did.”
Virgin Valley (5-3, 1-1) drew first blood when running back Jayden Perkins punched it from a yard out right before the half. The extra point was blocked, which turned into a pivotal play as the Bulldogs were forced to go for a 2-point conversion later in the game down 14-12 and could not convert.
After Chaparral put up 125 yards in the first half, Tauli’ili scored his touchdown on the third quarter’s second play. And on the Cowboys’ next snap after getting the ball back, sophomore running back Meshach Hawkins scored on a 46-yard run. Those two plays alone accounted for 122 yards.
“Whatever it takes to win,” Nihipali said. “They stepped up when they needed t0.”
The Chaparral defense stood tall all game, holding a Virgin Valley offense averaging almost 29 points to its second-lowest point total of the year. It was the sixth time this year the Cowboys have held a team to 12 points or fewer.
Even more impressive is that the Cowboys did it without two-way sensation TyRay Collins, who was nursing a back injury and did not dress for Thursday’s game.
“I had to step up because TyRay was gone,” defensive back Bobby Bates said. “A lot of dudes had to step up, and it was me. It was my time.”
Down by two points late in the fourth, the Bulldogs marched into Chaparral territory but faced a fourth-and-5 with just more than two minutes remaining. Virgin Valley called a shallow cross and Perkins was the target. With Collins out, Bates was tasked with defending him, and batted the pass away to force the turnover on downs.
”We’ve been practicing that play all week,” Bates said. “(Coach) told me it was going to come and it did, and I was prepared for it.”
Perkins finished with two catches for 27 yards, but had 158 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Hawkins led the Cowboys with 108 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Contact Justin Emerson at jeme
Box score:
Chaparral 14, Virgin Valley 12
