Roundup: Green Valley leans on running game to win Henderson Bowl

Green Valley coach Brian Castro just wanted his team to run a smart play. The Gators were up seven points with a little more than nine minutes to play in their annual Henderson Bowl with Basic but on their own 1-yard line.

The play Green Valley ended up calling was not just smart, but perfect. Junior running back Desmond Bowers turned a run to the left side into a 99-yard touchdown to finish the scoring in the Gators’ 35-21 home win over the Wolves on Friday.

“I just saw the whole left side open up and I followed my blockers right through,” Bowers said.

Bowers’ big play was fitting because Green Valley’s running game carried the team’s offense all night, even though Gators quarterback A.J. Barilla entered the game as Southern Nevada’s fourth-leading passer. Green Valley (6-1, 2-1 Southeast League) rushed for 301 yards in the win, with junior Julian Hulse running for 146 yards and two touchdowns and Bowers adding 108 and his fourth-quarter score.

“We thought we may have an advantage being able to run the football,” Castro said. “Julian Hulse did a great job running between the tackles early.”

The Gators’ successful rushing attack also set up its passing game, as Barilla’s go-ahead third-quarter touchdown pass came on a play where Basic kept an extra defender in the box. With the Wolves crowding the line of scrimmage, Barilla completed a deep pass to senior Braxton Harms for a 59-yard touchdown, with Harms carrying a defender on his back the final 10 yards.

“As soon as (the coaches) called it, I knew I was going to take it to the house,” said Harms, whose touchdown made the score 28-21, said. “I just wanted to score. I knew we needed to put points on the board.”

Green Valley didn’t end up needing any more points after Harms’ score, as the Gators’ defense shut down the Wolves in the second half. The teams were tied at 21 at halftime and looked to be headed for a shootout, but Green Valley held Basic (3-4, 2-1) to just 64 yards on 22 plays in the second half.

Overall, the Gators outgained the Wolves 556-226.

“We just talked to them a little bit about attitude at halftime. Being tough,” Castro said. “(We) played a great second half.”

Green Valley’s dominant second half allowed the team to lift the Henderson Bowl trophy for the first time since 2014 on a night where leading receiver Kalyia Waialae sat out because of injury. The Gators’ running game stepped up with the team’s passing game at less than 100 percent, and the offense kept rolling.

“They’ve gotten us the last couple of years,” Castro said of Basic. “They’re a good football team and like normal it came down to the end.”

Virgin Valley 26, Moapa Valley 14 — At Overton, Jayden Perkins had 20 rushes for 214 yards and two touchdowns and added a 25-yard touchdown catch to lead the Bulldogs past the Pirates in

Perkins had a 75-yard TD run on Virgin Valley’s opening possession, and the Bulldogs led 20-14 at the half.

Cade Anderson completed 6 of 14 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns, and Vicente Pinto caught a 34-yard touchdown for Virgin Valley (5-2, 1-0 Class 3A Sunrise League).

Easton Jensen had two interceptions for the Bulldogs.

Braeden St. John and Hayden Redd each had a rushing touchdown for Moapa Valley (5-2, 1-1).

Faith Lutheran 43, Shadow Ridge 8 — At Shadow Ridge, the Crusaders scored 47 seconds into the game and never looked back in a victory over the Mustangs.

Quarterback Sagan Gronauer led the Crusaders’ offensive attack with 281 passing yards and four touchdowns. He connected with wide receiver Peyton Thornton for two touchdowns and 159 yards, and Saundre Spiller rushed for 111 yards and one touchdown.

The Crusaders (4-3, 4-1 Northwest League) nabbed two interceptions and notched a first-quarter safety.

Aubrey Nellems rushed for 85 yards on 14 carries for Shadow Ridge (5-2, 2-2). Elisha Young gained 79 ground yards on five carries, and teammate Kody Presser rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown for the Mustangs.

Las Vegas 35, Eldorado 16 — At Las Vegas High, Elijah Hicks rushed for 265 yards and three scores to carry the Wildcats over the Sundevils.

Hicks rushed for 82 yards on the opening drive for the Wildcats (1-6, 1-1 Northeast League), but it was Cody Summer who finished the drive with a a 4-yard TD run. Hicks scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 5-yard run in the second quarter to give Las Vegas a 14-0 lead.

Eldorado (1-6, 1-2) got on the board late in the first half with an 11-play drive, capped with a 25-yard field goal by Alonzo Rubio. The Wildcats answered immediately, with Miles Davis returning the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown to give Las Vegas a 21-3 lead at the half.

Hicks added third-quarter touchdown runs of 5 and 64 yards to give the Wildcats a commanding 35-3 lead that was never threatened.

Eldorado’s Jalen Malone had two interceptions, returning one 50 yards for a score.

Bishop Gorman 64, Desert Oasis 0 — At Gorman, quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed 9 of 11 passes for 247 yards and three touchdwons, and the Gaels scored on their first 10 possessions en route to an easy win over the Diamondbacks.

Thompson-Robinson had TD passes of 9 and 26 yards to Jalen Nailor and a 37-yard TD toss to Brevin Jordan.

Nailor’s 26-yard touchdown catch over the middle capped Gorman’s four-play, 57-yard opening drive, and following a blocked punt by Jeffrey Ulofoshio, Amod Cianelli supplied a 5-yard scoring run to make it 14-0 for the Gaels.

Cianelli added a 1-yard TD plunge, and teammate Zavien Ragsdale had an 8-yard touchdown carry to push the lead to 28-0 after the first quarter.

Thompson-Robinson found Jordan down the right sideline and he dove inside the right pylon for a 37-yard TD hookup with 10:33 remaining in the first half, triggering the running clock for Gorman.

Matthew De Los Reyos contributed a 12-yard rushing score for the Gaels (6-2, 4-0 Southwest League), and a 11-yard TD reception from backup quarterback Micah Bowens. Bowens also connected with Ragsdale on a 20 yard TD for the game’s final score.

Gorman’s defense had a safety, six sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery, a blocked punt, and held Desert Oasis (0-7, 0-4) to 13 yards of offense.

Sunrise Mountain 41, Pahrump Valley 6 — At Sunrise Mountain, Tyree Hayes threw all three of his touchdown passes in the second quarter as the Miners rolled over the Trojans.

Hayes completed 9 of 16 passes for 197 yards. He hit Te’andre Love with a 19-yard pass with 7:47 left in the first half to put the Miners up 13-0, then connected with Xavier Kyles and Love again to push the lead to 27-0 at the half.

Hayes also added a 10-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Miners’ last score of the game.

Trayvon Ward carried the ball 16 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns for Sunrise Mountain (4-3, 2-1 Class 3A Sunset League). A 73-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter was Ward’s longest rush of the night.

Kyles led the Miners with four catches and 98 receiving yards, including an 18-yard touchdown reception.

The Trojans’ only score of the game was a 15-yard run by David Roundy with 6:17 left in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Dylan Coffman failed to complete a pass on five attempts for Pahrump (3-4, 1-2 Class 3A Sunset League).

Valley 42, Rancho 6 — At Valley, the Vikings scored three touchdowns longer than 40 yards and held the Rams to 112 yards of total offense in an overpowering victory.

Valley’s Seth Jarrett intercepted the first pass from Rancho and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to seize an early 7-0 lead. Running back Bryce Jones broke loose and scored on 43-yard touchdown run on Valley’s next possession to give the Vikings (3-4, 2-1 Northeast League) a 14-0 advantage after one quarter. Trayvon Mack-Escoto then returned a Rancho punt 90 yards for a score early in the second quarter.

The Rams (0-7, 0-2 Northeast League) answered the punt return with their lone touchdown, a 22-yard touchdown run by Jeremiah Bell.

Jeffery Maestas led the Vikings with 100 rushing yards and scored the game’s final touchdown on a 3-yard run. Valley’s Endy Diaz had a 22-yard TD pass to Deshan Sells and a 14-yard scoring pass to Leeland Crawford.

Needles 32, Lincoln County 20 — At Needles, California, Marcus Turner ran for a pair of touchdowns, and Jayden Yeager added a rushing score to lift the Mustangs over the Lynx.

Gillman Jenkins returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown for Needles (7-0, 5-0 Class 2A Southern League), which led 32-12 at halftime.

Noah Smith had 20 carries for 162 yards and two touchdowns to lead Lincoln County (5-3, 4-1).

Elijah Harr had a receiving touchdown, and Kobe Walker led Lincoln County’s defense with 11 tackles.

Pahranagat Valley 74, Spring Mountain 26 — At Alamo, Brodey Maxwell and Hunter Hollingshead each had three rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown as the Panthers rolled past the Golden Eagles.

Hollingshead led Pahranagat Valley (7-0, 4-0 Class 1A Southern League) in rushing with 201 rushing yards on 12 carries, and Maxwell had 158 rushing yards on 18 carries.

Pahranagat Valley’s Preston Higbee finished 6-for-11 passing for 176 yards, and had three passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and one interception.

Richard Lewis had a 61-yard touchdown reception for the Panthers, Stockton Maxwell had six tackles and two interceptions, Chris Thornton led the team with eight tackles, and Reece Thornton had six tackles and an interception.

Jeremiah Jimenez had a 67-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and quarterback Shawn Shumpert threw three touchdowns for Spring Mountain. (4-2, 3-1).

The Meadows 52, Calvary Chapel 25 — At Calvary Chapel, Josh Navallo ran for 190 yards and scored five touchdowns as the Mustangs galloped past the Lions.

Navallo led a Mustangs’ ground game that ended up with 306 yards. The sophomore scored the game’s first two touchdowns in the first quarter, on runs of 3 and 27 yards, and added an 85-yard kickoff return for a score shortly before halftime. Navallo picked up two more touchdowns in the second half on runs of 38 and 52 yards.

Peter Hoskins chipped in with 64 rushing yards and a touchdown for The Meadows (3-4, 3-2 2A Southern League), which bounced back from two straight shutout losses with a high-water mark for points in a game this season.

Calvary Chapel quarterback Dylan Sims passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns despite being sacked 12 times. Showing off nifty moves and an ability to throw on the run, Sims hit nine passes of more than 20 yards for the Lions (0-6, 0-5 2A Southern). The junior connected with Paul Yoo for touchdowns of 33 and 31 yards. Yoo ended the night with 129 yards receiving on just four catches.

Tonopah 68, Indian Springs 34 — At Indian Springs, Dillan Otteson threw for nine touchdowns and 581 yards as the Muckers cruised to victory over the Thunderbirds.

Otteson’s nine passing touchdowns was a school record for Tonopah (4-4, 2-2 Class 1A Southern League).

Fullback Vance Day caught six touchdown passess, and tight end Kevin Pope caught the other three for the Muckers.

Indian Springs fell to 1-6, 1-4.

Democracy Prep 36, Laughlin 6 — At Laughlin, the Blue Knights exploded for 36 points in the second quarter to take down the Cougars.

The Democracy Prep improved to 4-2, 4-1 Class 2A Southern League, and Laughlin dropped to 2-4, 1-4.

Lake Mead 42, Mountain View 6 — At Lake Mead, the Eagles scored 28 points in the first quarter to beat the Saints.

Lake Mead improved to 4-2, 3-2 Class 2A Southern League, and Mountain View fell to 0-5, 0-5.