Saturday, September 20, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

UPSET VICTORY: Gaels grind out win

Gorman overcomes late fumble to beat No. 7 Cheyenne

By TIM GUESMAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Bishop Gorman's DeMarco Murray is brought down by Cheyenne defenders in the first half of the Gaels' 19-12 victory Friday. He finished with 85 yards rushing and 87 yards receiving. Photo by John Locher.

Bishop Gorman was driving for a clinching score Friday when DeMarco Murray fumbled and Cheyenne defensive back Jarrell Holman recovered at his team's 15-yard line with 8:24 left.

Five plays and 85 yards later, Cheyenne quarterback Quinton Carter scored on a 5-yard run to tie the game 12-12, shifting the momentum to the Desert Shields.

But instead of succumbing to seventh-ranked Cheyenne, the Gaels responded with an eight-play, 72-yard scoring drive. Ryan Reynolds scored his second touchdown of the game, from 6 yards out, to cap the drive and lift Gorman to a 19-12 upset of the host Desert Shields.

"We knew coming in Cheyenne was a good team," Gorman coach David White said. "But I wanted to see what kind of heart we had against a good team. I'm very pleased with what they showed me tonight."

The fumble was about the only thing that went wrong for Murray. He led the Gaels (2-2) with 85 yards rushing and 87 yards receiving, and his 74-yard touchdown reception on the second play of the second half gave Gorman a 12-6 lead.

"My teammates told me (the fumble) wasn't my fault," Murray said. "We did a good job of coming back after they scored. The coaches have been talking about playing with heart, and I think tonight we showed that."

After Reynolds' go-ahead score, Cheyenne drove to the Gorman 39 before Martrell Fantrey intercepted a pass by halfback Evon Buhecker to clinch the victory.

"This win means much more than last week," said White, whose team earned its first victory over first-year Liberty last week. "I think we are close to where we need to be as a team for where we are in the season. But everyone starts out 0-0 in league next week. We still have a lot of work to do."

Cheyenne (2-2) rallied twice to tie the game. After Reynolds scored on a 1-yard dive to give the Gaels a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, Carter hit Demarco Virgil with a 20-yard scoring pass with 20 seconds left in the second quarter to tie the game, 6-6.

After Murray's fumble in the fourth quarter, Carter hit Buhecker on a 74-yard pass to set up Carter's tying touchdown run.

Cheyenne's David Peeples ran 20 times for 143 yards, but the Desert Shields committed 14 penalties for 109 yards.

• Bonanza 28, Rancho 20 -- At Rancho, Bonanza rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to upset the fifth-ranked Rams and snap a 10-game losing streak that dated to last season.

Rancho's Josh Fox caught a 12-yard screen pass from Antonio Scott for a touchdown to give the Rams (3-1) their first lead at 20-14 with 9:39 remaining, but the Bengals (1-3) needed just three plays and 69 seconds to answer. Bonanza's Nigel Moore scored on a 16-yard run, and Brett Jaekle's conversion kick gave the Bengals the lead.

Bonanza's Alastair Bayardo scored his second 10-yard scoring run with 3:29 to go. An interception by Mark Seward sealed the victory.

Three Bengals players had 100-yard games as the team amassed 374 yards of offense. Moore rushed for 117 yards on 18 carries; Tico Pringle ran for 114 on 14 attempts; and quarterback Brett Parry threw for 122 yards and a score on 7-for-9 passing.

Rancho had allowed just 12 points and had two shutouts in its first three games.

The Rams, who finished with 370 yards, were led by running back Dale Poole with 137 yards on 18 carries.

-- Sam Waller

• Las Vegas 36, Leuzinger (Calif.) 30 -- At Las Vegas, Eric Jordan carried 33 times for 153 yards and three touchdowns to help the top-ranked Wildcats rally past the Olympians.

Jordan, limited to 38 yards in the first half, scored on runs of 1 yard and 17 yards in the fourth quarter.

Leuzinger (0-2) stole the early momentum when Gerard Armstrong intercepted a Chris Gifford pass and returned it for a 99-yard touchdown.

But it didn't last long as Ryan Meuir returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to tie the game at 6.

Las Vegas (4-0) appeared to be in control midway through the third quarter, but Leuzinger rallied to take the lead when Jaycen Taylor ran for a 27-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play to give the Olympians a 24-22 lead with 9:31 remaining.

But Jordan took over from there, and the Wildcats endured a late rally that included a 1-yard touchdown run by Armstrong.

Gifford completed 8 of 15 passes for 203 yards with an interception, and teammate Stanley Copeland had three receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown.

-- Jeff Wollard

• Centennial 28, Clark 6 -- At Centennial, Jerell Cephas ran for 92 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, helping the sixth-ranked Bulldogs (3-1) defeat the Chargers (0-4).

Centennial took a 7-0 lead on Brooks Lewis' 75-yard punt return in the first quarter. He also had an interception in the fourth quarter that set up a TD.

Cephas and Humberto Marquez combined for 183 yards on 30 carries as the Bulldogs racked up 242 yards rushing.

Clark's Josh Tuitele hit Rey Garcia for a 12-yard touchdown pass at the end of the second half, pulling the Chargers within 14-6.

The Bulldogs' defense held Clark to 60 yards in the second half. Centennial's Dexter Brandon finished with five tackles and a sack.

Bulldogs' quarterback Aaron Prado tiptoed down the sideline for a 20-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter for the final score.

-- Jim Godfrey

• Durango 47, Mojave 40 -- At Durango, La Broi Walton scored his third touchdown on a 7-yard run with 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, lifting the Trailblazers over the Rattlers.

The Trailblazers scored 27 points in the second quarter to take a 34-26 halftime lead. They got touchdown runs of 22 and 25 yards from Cliff Kelly and runs of 2 and 4 yards from Walton.

Kelly finished with 262 yards on 34 carries, and Walton had 46 yards on 10 carries.

Mojave rallied in the second half as Daniel Tilche threw touchdown passes of 69 and 65 yards to tie the score at 40-40.

Ryan Bird intercepted Tilche with 26 seconds left to seal the victory.

Tilche threw for 349 yards and five touchdowns, completing 8 of 12 passes.

-- Christian Wloszczyna

• Palo Verde 41, Green Valley 6 -- At Palo Verde, Tyree Walton ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns to lead the third-ranked Panthers past the Gators.

Walton broke a 74-yard run for a score in the second quarter and capped the scoring for Palo Verde with a 16-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers (4-0) held the Gators (1-3) to 22 yards rushing, helped by five sacks of Green Valley quarterback Lance Patonai.

Jamal Brumfield added 147 yards and a score on the ground for Palo Verde.

Jarrell Harrison completed just two passes for the Panthers, but both went for touchdowns to Justin Scheeler. Harrison also intercepted a pass and returned it 60 yards for a score as time expired in the first half, lifting Palo Verde to a 34-0 halftime advantage.

Patonai completed 15 of 30 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown.

-- Adam Hill

• Foothill 45, Western 6 -- At Western, Foothill's defense helped the second-ranked Falcons (4-0) rout Western (1-3).

The Falcons limited the Warriors to 132 yards. Western did not cross midfield until the second half.

Foothill scored on its first three possessions of the second half. John Crowley scored on a 23-yard run, Antonio Hartwell had a 1-yard touchdown run and Chris Crunk caught a 41-yard scoring pass from Mickey Beljin.

Jon Monga scored twice for the Falcons, on a 4-yard run and an 8-yard run in the second quarter.

Quarterback Julian Sample scored Western's touchdown on a 6-yard run with four minutes left.

-- Steve Jones

• Desert Pines 39, Silverado 22 -- At Desert Pines, Donte Minton ran for 115 yards and a touchdown to lead the Jaguars (2-2) past the Skyhawks (1-3).

Desert Pines jumped to a 13-0 first-quarter lead on a 4-yard run by Steve Golden and a 10-yard pass from quarterback Josh Webster to Derek Cooper. Big second-quarter plays on offense and defense helped Desert Pines to a 32-7 halftime lead.

Silverado quarterback Nicholas McCombs was 12-for-17 for 149 yards in the second half, including nine consecutive completions, to help cut the Jaguars' lead to 32-22. He scored on a 1-yard run, and Dominic Cammarata had a 9-yard TD.

Silverado reached the Desert Pines 12 in the fourth quarter, but the Jaguars' Jeff Long tackled running back Roy Oliver for a loss on fourth-and-1.

A 12-play Jaguars drive then ate up clock, and Webster scored on a 1-yard plunge with 3:29 left.

-- John Cranton

• Coronado 46, Sierra Vista 0 -- At Coronado, Andrew Hatch completed 10 of 24 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns to lead the ninth-ranked Cougars (3-1) past Sierra Vista (1-3).

Koury Fingers had touchdown receptions of 32 and 15 yards, and Christopher Desjardins caught a 20-yard scoring pass.

Coronado's Quincy Poole had 119 yards rushing on 21 carries, with touchdowns of 34 and 10 yards.

The Cougars limited the Lions to 76 yards (40 passing, 36 rushing).

-- Arnold Knightly

• Valley 57, Liberty 0 -- At Valley, Curtis Meeks ran for 52 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings defeated the Patriots.

Valley (1-3) held Liberty (0-3) to 4 total yards in the first quarter and 89 total yards for the game.

Marcus Cotton had two TD runs, and Jarrell Hawkins, Matt Christman and Darryl Charleston also had rushing touchdowns for Valley. Michael Barnes returned a punt 60 yards for a score.

-- James Aronoff

• Moapa Valley 41, Palo Verde (Calif.) 20 -- At Overton, Zach Davis had two touchdown runs and kicked two field goals and five extra points to lead the Pirates.

Davis had 107 yards rushing on just four carries, scoring on runs of 81 and 3 yards. He also kicked field goals of 27 and 19 yards.

Cameron Wilson rushed for 94 yards and a TD for Moapa Valley.

• Coronado Island (Calif.) 49, Boulder City 42 -- At Boulder City, Robert Milmeister scored five touchdowns and ran for 353 yards on 22 carries, leading Coronado Island past the Eagles.

Boulder City's Shane Stemmer caught nine passes for 126 yards, and Mitch Barlow led the Eagles' ground game with 178 yards on 16 carries.