Explosive Jaguars rout Miners

Desert Pines football coach Tico Rodriguez knows his team can be explosive on offense.

The Jaguars scored more than 40 points in each of their first five games this season.

Friday night was no different. The Jaguars took less than 19 minutes against Sunrise Mountain to keep the streak going.

Desert Pines put up 50 points and 407 yards in the opening half as they cruised to a 57-19 win.

Even so, Rodriguez acknowledged the heat is still coming, as Desert Pines (6-0, 2-0 Sunrise) has yet to play Virgin Valley or Moapa Valley.

“We know we can put up points,” Rodriguez said, whose team scored 28 points in its first 20 plays Friday. “It’s all about the system. When we stick to the system, we put up points. Now we are getting into the heart of the schedule, and three tough games down the road.”

Eric Wilkes racked up 207 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the first half. He finished with 213 yards on 12 carries, including an acrobatic 73-yard score to end the half. Wilkes broke six tackles and reversed the field on his way to the end zone.

At halftime, the Jaguars had 322 yards on the ground, and held the Miners in check defensively. Sunrise Mountain (1-5, 0-2) was without a first down until the 3:59 mark of the second quarter.

“We stick with the things we can do,” Rodriguez said. “However, we can’t rest on what we have done, we still have lots of work left to do.”

Iquan Corsey added 94 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Jaguars. He also threw a pair of touchdowns — a 70-yard strike to Andre Watts and a 38-yard pass to Tim Hough.

Wanya Calahan had 115 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Miners. He also threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Daquwan Doyle.