Walker’s four touchdowns give Legacy victory over Desert Oasis

Legacy rolled to a 49-21 win over Southwest League opponent Desert Oasis, yet the Longhorn coaching staff was not happy afterward.

The Longhorns (5-2, 2-1) have big goals for the upcoming postseason, and the coaches don’t think their team’s performance Thursday would get them very far.

“I’m not taking anything away from Desert Oasis. They played their butts off, but the bottom line is we got complacent and some of our kids were going through the motions,” Legacy coach David Snyder said. “It’s like I told the kids, we cannot take anybody for granted.”

“Some of these kids get caught up in their own clippings. They need to realize they are playing an opponent that is trying to beat them, and they need to prepare every day for that opponent and prepare to the best of their ability.”

While the Longhorns had some lapses on defense and special teams that kept the Diamondbacks in the game, running back DeMichael Walker came ready to play. The junior ran for 193 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries, including touchdown runs of 40 and 73 yards. Walker carried the load after senior running back Casey Hughes – one of the top backs in Las Vegas – left the game with an injured neck.

“I have to give it up to my line for blocking out there and making those big holes for me,” Walker said. “In the first half, we played a little bit lethargic, but then we picked it up after halftime and did what we had to do.”

As far as Hughes is concerned, Snyder said he expects his star to be back for next week’s game against Cimarron-Memorial.

“I think he strained his neck, but I think he’ll be alright,” Snyder said. “I don’t think we struggled offensively without him out there. They stopped us once. What hurt us more than anything was not having Casey on the field defensively. He is one of our leaders on the field.”

The Longhorns jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead on scoring runs by Hughes, Walker and Cody Polvado. However, Desert Oasis (3-4, 0-3) rallied in the second quarter, scoring on a 29-yard run by Jocquez Kalili and a 28-yard touchdown pass from Richie Stammetti to Gary Abdella to cut the Longhorns’ lead to 28-14.

After both teams traded touchdowns early in the third quarter, Desert Oasis’ defense finally stopped Legacy. The Diamondbacks drove to the Longhorns 26, but their drive ended when Kalili was stopped on fourth down. The Longhorns put the game away two plays later when Walker broke free on a 73-yard touchdown run, giving Legacy a 42-21 lead.

The Longhorns final touchdown came on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Devin Williams to Nieamiah Lane.

Kalili led the Diamondbacks with 161 yards rushing and a touchdown on 28 carries. He also returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.