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Newman’s last-minute TD pass lifts Sunrise all-stars past Sunset

Tyler Newman made big plays all season for the Liberty football team.

But the record-setting quarterback had to wait until Saturday’s 43rd West Charleston Lions Club Charity All-Star Football Game to lead a game-winning drive.

Newman connected with Coronado’s Jackson Cofer for a 2-yard touchdown with 37 seconds remaining, lifting the Sunrise Region all-stars to a 27-23 victory over the Sunset all-stars at Bishop Gorman.

Newman finished 18-for-34 passing for 295 yards and three touchdowns and was named Most Valuable Player of the game, which was moved from the summertime to December this year.

“It’s a great way to go out,” said Newman, who added 31 yards on the ground, including a weaving, 29-yard scramble late in the first quarter. “It’s the last game I’ll ever play in high school, and I couldn’t ask for a better way to end it.”

Newman’s throw to Cofer capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive that took about three minutes off the clock. Legacy kicker Julian Castro gave the Sunset a 23-20 lead with 3:46 to play with a 48-yard field goal.

Castro put the Sunset ahead 20-17 with a 22-yard field goal late in the third quarter. Arbor View’s Devin Turner set up both kicks with long punt returns.

On the winning drive, Newman hit Las Vegas High’s Aaron Zanin-Banks for a 46-yard gain on third-and-5 from the Sunrise 25, and he found Kyler Chavez of Green Valley for 29 yards to the Sunset 1-yard line.

Two plays later, Newman hit Cofer in the corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score.

“After that big throw to Aaron Zanin-Banks, we knew we were going to win the game after that,” Newman said. “Our receivers went harder, and they caught every pass.”

Zanin-Banks finished 128 yards on five catches — he had a 31-yarder in the first quarter while lying on his back — and was named the offensive player of the game.

Palo Verde’s Parker Rost (105 yards passing) tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Octavius Payne of Sierra Vista and a 4-yarder to Panthers teammate Jake Ortale in the first half for the Sunset.

Palo Verde defensive back Calvin Beaulieu was named defensive player of the game.

Ortale’s score, which was set up by a fumble recovery from Faith Lutheran’s Vinny DeGeorge, put the Sunset ahead 17-10 with 3:50 remaining in the second quarter.

Newman then engineered a nine-play, 78-yard drive, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass to Liberty teammate Drew Hladek, to send the teams into the locker rooms tied at 17.

SENIOR BOWL

Armani Jones-Sailor of Silverado finished 13 of 26 passing with two touchdowns and added 27 yards rushing to help the East to a 14-8 victory over the West in the Senior Bowl at Faith Lutheran.

Jones-Sailor got the East started with a 29-yard TD pass to Eldorado’s Fareti Tauaivale with 10:31 left in the first quarter. Jones-Sailor ran in the extra point to make the score 8-0.

Minutes later, Jones-Sailor connected with Sierra Vista’s Octavious Payne on a 55-yard screen pass to extend the lead to 14-0. Jones-Sailor was named the offensive player of the game.

Desert Pines’ Iquan Corsey scored the West’s only touchdown, a 38-yard run with 9:05 left in the third quarter.

Cimarron-Memorial linebacker Wayne May recovered a fumble and led the West in tackles to win defensive player of the game.

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