FOOTBALL: Explosive Legacy rolls past Hurricane in opener

The Legacy football team put together a beautiful, 14-play drive during the first half of its season opener that yielded absolutely nothing on the scoreboard.

Casey Hughes and DeMichael Walker proved it was about quality rather than quantity for the Longhorns on Saturday.

Hughes and Walker combined to rush for 367 yards and scored four total touchdowns, and No. 6 Legacy showed off its big-play capabilities in a 34-14 victory over visiting Hurricane (Utah).

“Those kids are capable of doing that on a regular basis,” Longhorns coach Dave Snyder said. “They’re very explosive kids.”

Hughes, a senior, finished with a game-high 189 yards on 15 carries, scoring on a 46-yard run in the second quarter and a 64-yard sprint late in the fourth quarter.

Walker added 178 yards rushing, including an 84-yard touchdown run down the left sideline that put the Longhorns (1-0) up 21-7 early in the third quarter. The junior also scored on a 99-yard kickoff return after Hurricane linebacker Jeremiah Ieremia brought back an interception 21 yards for a TD on the first play of the game.

“Obviously they’re both going to get carries. They’re outstanding running backs,” Snyder said. “We’re trying some new things on offense. We have some good athletes and we’re trying to get them the ball, but we didn’t forget what we’re made of. We established the line of scrimmage, and that’s what won the game for us.”

The Longhorns defense held Hurricane (0-3) to 196 yards of total offense, with a chunk of that coming on the final drive well after the game was already decided. J.D. Stansworth led the Tigers with 43 yards rushing.

“Our defense played really well,” Snyder said. “We’re going to rely on them heavily.”

Cody Polvado added 54 yards on the ground for Legacy, all in the first half. The Longhorns finished with 420 yards rushing.

After Ethan Stratton missed a 47-yard field-goal try for Hurricane late in the third quarter — Stratton also pushed a 50-yard attempt just wide right in the first quarter — Walker helped the Longhorns put away the game as he busted loose for a 44-yard run.

Six plays later, quarterback Devin Williams went in from 3 yards to cap the 80-yard drive and give Legacy a 28-7 lead with 28.2 seconds remaining in the quarter.

“We have a good offensive line. Those guys work hard,” Snyder said. “They understand we like to pound the football and they take care of business.”

Canyon Springs 16, Coronado 15 (OT) — At Canyon Springs, Bradley Alexander threw a two-point conversion pass to Marck Cassino in overtime to lift the Pioneers over the Cougars.

Zaviontay Stevenson scored on a 7-yard run to bring Canyon Springs (1-0) within 15-14 and set up the two-point conversion. Stevenson had 24 carries for 118 yards to lead the Pioneer ground attack.

Coronado (0-2) had taken its first lead of the game on it first possession of overtime when John Farella scored on a quarterback keeper from 1 yard out. Spencer Cofer connected on the extra point to put the Cougars ahead 15-8.

Both teams had chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter on field-goal tries. But Coronado missed a 40-yard try with 6:37 left, and the Pioneers had their 27-yard field goal try blocked with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Alexander hit 14 of 26 passes for 194 yards for Canyon Springs. He gave the Pioneers the lead on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 15 seconds left in the second quarter. The TD was set up by 27-yard pass play to Jordan Davis on fourth-and-1. Davis made a leaping midfield catch then landed just short of the goal line.

Kyhren Howard then hauled in an Alexader pass on the two-point try to make it 8-0.

Coronado pulled even when Jackson Cofer scored on a 22-yard pass from Faella in the third quarter. Farella then hit Tanner Gorski with a pass on the two-point conversion to tie it up.

Farella threw for 133 yards on 22-of-36 passing to lead the Cougars.

— Tim Guesman

Green Valley 58, Basic 36 — Larry Norman rushed 28 times for 225 yards and a touchdown to lead the Gators past the Wolves.

Though Basic led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter, the Gators took over in the second and led 30-20 at halftime when Christian Lopez connected with Kyler Chavez for a 22-yard touchdown just before halftime.

The Gators extended their lead to 44-20 on another pass from Lopez to Chavez early in the third quarter. The Wolves battled back to cut the deficit to 44-36, but Green Valley controlled the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Lopez completed 19 of 26 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns to help Green Valley. Teammate Markus Varner caught eight passes for 111 yards and a TD.

Antraye Johnson completed 11 of 22 passes for 234 yards and a TD to lead Basic.

— Jeff Wollard

Las Vegas 61, Foothill 32 — At Foothill, the Wildcats scored 35 first-quarter points then held off a furious Falcons rally.

After the Wildcats scored 35 points in the first 9:21 of the game, the Falcons woke up. Junior quarterback Nick Gardner, who replaced injured senior quarterback Drew Doxtator, led the Falcons’ rally, drawing Foothill to within 10 points with 10:28 remaining in the game.

However, the Wildcats scored the next 19 points to seal the win.

Las Vegas was led by senior quarterback Trevor Swenson, who completed 23 of 34 passes for 375 yards and two touchdown passes. Senior running back Andrew Moreland ran for 152 yards on 18 carries, including four touchdowns. He also caught one pass for five yards.

Gardner sparked the Falcons offense, completing 20 of 35 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for a score.

— Robert Horne

Chaparral 20, Eldorado 14 — At Eldorado, Justin Alpha’s 34-yard TD run with 34 seconds to play gave the Cowboys the win over the Sundevils in the annual “Cleat Game.”

Alpha’s run came on fourth-and-8.

Chaparral’s Seitu Wyche opened the scoring midway through the third quarter with an 11-yard TD run, and Alpha added the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.

Eldorado answered on the ensuing kickoff with a 91-yard return for a score by Daveez Booth.

The Sundevils forced a turnover on downs on the following Cowboy drive and took a 14-8 lead on Joshua Brown’s 5-yard touchdown run with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter.

But Chaparral responded immediately with a 86-yard kickoff return by Richard Nelson. The extra point was blocked to leave the game knotted at 14.

Eldorado forced a punt with just over two minutes remaining, but a muffed return gave the ball back to the Cowboys which led to Alpha’s touchdown run four plays later.

— Adam Berchin

Valley 34, Del Sol 23 — At Del Sol, Valley erased a 16-point deficit and scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to open the season with a comeback win over the Dragons.

Del Sol opened the third quarter with touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to take a 23-7 lead in only five plays. But the Valley offense took over from there. The Vikings scored touchdowns on four straight possessions, led by Tyrone Prewitt who had TD runs of 65 and 30 yards, both in the final quarter, totaling 135 yards on 12 carries.

Valley also received TD runs from Amari Tatum and Malik Batiste of 15 and 13 yards, respectively, in the third.

The Valley defense held Del Sol to 69 total yards after the Dragons’ two scores.

Senior running back Austin Higgins led Del Sol with 146 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown.

— Jesse Vineyard

Mojave 27 Spring Valley 6 — At Spring Valley, Rattler running back Elijah Smoot had touchdowns on both sides of the ball to lead Mojave past Spring Valley.

Smoot recovered a fumble and went 63 yards for his first score. Smoot’s second score came on a 38-yard run in the third quarter.

Mojave quarterback Zack Arave passed for 151 yards and a touchdown. Spring Valley linebacker Christian Tasi recovered a fumble and returned it 23 yards for the Grizzlies’ lone score.

— Brian Danise

Moapa Valley 41, Clark 8 — At Clark, Zach Hymas threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score as the Pirates coasted past the Chargers.

Hymas scored on a 4-yard keeper to cap a 69-yard drive at the end of the first quarter. Hymas then found Tyler Zobrist for a 1-yard TD and Jeremy Waite on a 24-yard strike to make it 20-0 at the half.

Moapa Valley’s Jared Repp returned the second-half kickoff 55 yards, and Justin Hughes scored on a 25-yard scamper on the next play to make it 28-0. Waite supplied a 64-yard punt return for a TD, and Andrew Huerta added an 11-yard rush to make it 41-0.

Hymas finished 12-for-16 for 148 yards, and Huerta rushed for 86 yards on nine carries.

Kareem Warren passed for 125 yards and connected on a 1-yard TD pass to Marquice Stuart, who provided the two-point conversion and an interception on defense for Clark.

— Brennan Karle

Faith Lutheran 31, Sunrise Mountain 6 — At Sunrise Mountain, with 4.6 seconds to play in the first half, Keenan Smith took an errant field goal attempt by Sunrise Mountain and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown, and the Crusaders cruised from there.

The play halted a 12-play drive, and turned a potential 10-3 score into a 17-0 Faith Lutheran lead as time ran out in the second quarter. From there, the game was never in doubt.

Smith also led the Crusaders on offense, gaining 156 yards on 14 carries and scoring on runs of 13 and 54 yards. Senior Trent Dolby was perfect on four PATs and added a 24-yard field goal that started the scoring.

After Faith Lutheran (1-2) extended its lead to 31-0 on a 10-yard TD run by Fabian Lagudi, the Miners got an 80-yard kick return for touchdown from Romello Tatum..

Christian Marshall had an interception for Faith Lutheran, and Sherman Nash had one for the Miners (0-2). Nash was Sunrise Mountain’s leading rusher with 18 yards on 18 carries.

— Neil Grepke

Shadow Ridge 47, Rancho 2 – At Shadow Ridge, the Mustangs racked up 335 rushing yards and routed the Rams.

Senior Tyrique Graham led all rushers with 83 yards and one touchdown on nine carries.

Shadow Ridge (1-1) did much of its work during the first half, opening up a 40-0 lead behind 335 yards of total offense.

Senior quarterback Dustin Puia completed all three of his first-half pass attempts to senior wideout Keyshawn Grammage, including touchdowns of 16 and 43 yards. The pair combined for 71 yards through the air.

Rancho (0-2) was led by senior running back Isaac Scott, who rushed for 30 yards on six carries.

— W.G. Ramirez

Boulder City 58, Western 0 — At Western, Boulder City set the tone on its first possession as Xavier Steel sprinted around right end on a 22-yard run to the Western 1-yard line. The drive stalled, but later in the first quarter, Brooks Roe took it in from 22 yards out as the Eagles took an 8-0 first-quarter lead.

The Eagles (1-1) then exploded during the second quarter, scoring five times. Three of the drives started at or inside the Western 5-yard line, resulting in three touchdowns. The other two scores came on a 41-yard punt return by Steel and a 28-yard run by Sam Woodbury. Boulder City led at the half 45-0.

The bright spot in the game for Western (0-2) came on a 40-yard kickoff return by Miles Snyder in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors fumbled two plays later giving it back to Boulder City.

— Jim Higgins

Desert Pines 41, Pahrump Valley 27 — At Pahrump, the Jaguars (2-0) returned two punts for touchdowns in the second half to break open a close game and defeat the Trojans (1-1).

Scott Maughan rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns to lead Pahrump Valley, which trailed 14-12 at halftime and 27-19 after three quarters. Trojans quarterback A.J. Segura ran for a score and also threw a TD pass to Deon Estes.

Virgin Valley 33, Cheyenne 18 — At Mesquite, Garrett Leavitt tossed three touchdown passes, and the Bulldogs (2-0) rallied from a 12-7 halftime deficit to top the Desert Shields (0-2).

Leavitt, who completed 13 of 18 passes for 225 yards, tossed two touchdown passes to Dillon Graves and hooked up with Tony Urias on a 57-yard scoring pass.

Dee Bowler had TD runs of 1 and 3 yards for Virgin Valley. Bowler finished with 101 yards on nine carries as the Bulldogs rolled up 466 yards of total offense.

The Meadows 36, Flintridge Prep (Calif.) 20 —At The Meadows, Bryson Bickart had 145 first-half rushing yards to help the Mustangs beat the Rebls.

Bickart finished with 209 yards on 19 carries that included TD rushes of 61, 25 and 19.

Nathan DeVera added two touchdowns on the ground to go along with 10 carries for 46 yards for The Meadows, which led 29-7 at the half.

Flintridge Prep’s Stefan Smith had 167 yards on 17 carries and all three of the Rebels’ touchdowns.

Smith had touchdown runs of 65 and 12 yards in the second half in which he amassed 113 yards on just seven rushes.

— Ian Scott