Lewis cuts loose as Desert Shields top Jaguars

Cheyenne’s Myloe Lewis wasted no time announcing his presence on Thursday night. And he made it felt over, and over again.

Lewis scored on a 55-yard run on the game’s first offensive play and finished with 354 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries as the Desert Shields defeated host Desert Pines 30-22 in the season opener for both teams.

Not only did Lewis score on his first carry, but he had a 23-yard TD run on his second as Cheyenne took a 16-0 lead with 10:01 to go in the first quarter.

“It was great,” Lewis said of the way the game opened. “We were hyped, but we kind of let it go to our heads a little bit. But that won’t happen again.

Turnovers proved costly and helped the Jaguars stay in the game all night. Cheyenne lost five fumbles, including three in the first half to help Desert Pines stay close.

The Jaguars’ Iquan Corsey had a 14-yard TD run with 47 seconds to go in the first quarter, and Cheyenne’s lead was 16-6 at the half.

It took two second-half carries before Lewis scored, but his 84-yard TD run helped the Desert Shields push their lead to 24-6.

“I just think he has exceptional vision, I really do,” Cheyenne coach David Cochran said. “He’s exceptional with his vision and reading defenses. I think that’s what sets him apart from a lot of other backs in town.”

Lewis added a 7-yard TD run with three seconds to go in the third quarter, and Cheyenne looked like it was going to pull away.

But fumbles again cost the Desert Shields, as Darrion Hammond fumbled a snap, and the Jaguars recovered at the Cheyenne 15 with 3:44 to play.

Desert Pines immediately took advantage of the miscue, as Travis Nofoa hit Leon Flintroy with a 15-yard TD pass on the next play, and the two-point conversion cut the lead to eight.

Lewis was able to pick up two first downs on the ensuing possession, and Cheyenne ran out the clock.

Lewis had 13 runs of 10 or more yards in the game. Cheyenne finished with 424 rushing yards.

Corsey rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries to pace Desert Pines.

Along with the fumbles, Cheyenne also hurt itself with penalties. The Desert Shields were called for 13 penalties for 112 yards.

“That’s exactly what we need to fix,” Cochran said. “We were just lucky to get some breaks and overcome those obstacles. We’re going to go back at it, preach ball security, maintaining our cool and keeping our focus.”