Running back Tawee Walker leads Mojave past Western

Mojave junior running back Tawee Walker had a special celebration planned for when the Rattlers scored a touchdown during their locally televised game against Western on Thursday night.

So after finding the end zone in the first half, he called his teammates over to join in on the action.

“We had the little dice game poppin’ in the end zone,” he said.

Easy money. Easy victory.

Walker started the game with a 59-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, finished the game with 143 yards and two touchdowns on six carries, and the Rattlers cruised to a 36-0 home win.

“That was the tone we wanted. He set it and up, and we wanted to keep that momentum going,” Mojave coach Abraham Gonzalez said. “(Walker) does a lot of very valuable things that an ordinary kid can’t do. He’s amazing.”

Walker rushed for 134 yards in the first quarter before rolling his ankle on his fifth carry. He sat out a couple of drives in the second quarter but returned for one more carry — a 9-yard rushing score.

Quarterback Xavier DeLong threw a touchdown pass to DeQuincy Mitchell, and running backs De’Quan Williams and Ironzi Miller added touchdowns for the Rattlers (5-2, 2-1 Sunset), who had a ball beating the Warriors (1-6, 0-3) on television.

“We’re just having fun out there. Football, you’ve got to have fun. You’ve got to have swag,” Walker said. “We had to show out.”

The Rattlers triggered the running clock early in the third quarter, and their reserves played most of the second half while the starters enjoyed the fruits of their labor.

Mojave’s defense overpowered Western’s offensive line, rendered its running game all but useless and left Warriors quarterback Joseph Medley with nowhere to go.

He struggled to field several snaps, and rarely had an uncovered receiver to throw to, finishing 6 of 14 for 64 yards.

Western finished with 113 yards of total offense, and Gonzalez was pleased with Mojave’s defensive effort.

“I told (the players), ‘This is your one chance that you get this year to be on TV,’” Gonzalez said. “They were excited all week long about it.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.