Saturday, August 28, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

OPENING NIGHT: Jordan, Wildcats survive late fade

Rusher's 270 yards, four TDs build lead, then Las Vegas stiffens to top Pine View

By JEFF WOLLARD
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The Las Vegas High School football team took the field Friday hoping to begin a new era with a powerful statement.

The Wildcats appeared to have that goal in hand in their first game under new head coach Chris Faircloth, but had to struggle to salvage a 34-28 victory over visiting Pine View (Utah) in the teams' season opener.

Eric Jordan was a one-man offense for Las Vegas, rushing for 270 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries.

But in the end, the Wildcats had to weather a desperation pass into the end zone after Pine View forced a Jordan fumble at the Las Vegas 40 with 3.5 seconds to play.

That was one of few negatives for Jordan, who had a broken wrist that kept him out of the playoffs last season when Las Vegas marched to the state 4A title game.

"That injury really woke him up," said Faircloth, who served as an assistant coach for Las Vegas last season. "He has pushed himself so much harder than last year."

The Wildcats, playing without injured starting quarterback Bradley O'Ryan, dominated the first half by exploiting opportunities provided their special teams. Jordan's first touchdown, a 17-yard run up the middle, came late in the first quarter after Mark Taylor blocked a Pine View punt.

Anthony Jones made it 14-0 when he recovered a fumbled Pine View punt in the end zone, and Taylor added a safety two minutes later by falling on a blocked punt.

Jordan scored on a 23-yard run with 3:28 left in the second quarter to pump the lead to 22-0.

But the Panthers, held to 18 offensive yards in the first half, took advantage of a fatigued Las Vegas defense in the second half. Quarterback James Lark was 13 of 20 pasisng in the second half, finishing with 259 yards and three touchdowns to get his team within striking distance.

Jordan gave Las Vegas enough cushion to hang on with two touchdowns down the stretch, including an 80-yard sprint down the left sideline with 8:53 for a 34-21 lead.

• Desert Pines 14, Western 6 -- At Desert Pines, a dominant running game and strong defense helped the Jaguars hold off the Warriors.

Senior running back Donte Minton churned out 163 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries, and the Jaguars defense stifled the Warriors, allowing only 2 yards rushing and 96 total.

The Warriors opened the scoring when Julius Sample found Chase Best for a 23-yard touchdown pass to close the first quarter.

Desert Pines made it 6-6 on Minton's 28-yard TD run midway in the third quarter.

Ashton Ariola gave Desert Pines the lead for good in the fourth on a 2-yard plunge. Ariola finished with 75 yards on 11 carries.

Jarron McCraney had two of the Jaguars' three sacks, and Shawn Tatum had five tackles and an interception.

-- Jim Godfrey

• Sierra Vista 41, Chaparral 0 -- At Sierra Vista, the Lions converted three Cowboys turnovers into touchdowns on their way to an opening rout.

Steven Hill ran for 97 yards and Garrett Chapel scored two touchdowns on the ground for Sierra Vista, which outgained Chaparral 375-63.

Jeff Long, Jake Whittaker and Joe Williams added scoring runs for the Lions.

Whittaker, who was 4-for-5 for 65 yards, connected with T.J. Chapel on a 25-yard touchdown in the final minute of the first half to help Sierra Vista open a 20-0 lead.

Robert Matthews added 87 yards rushing for Sierra Vista. Brandon Lomax ran for 60 yards for Chaparral.

-- Adam Hill

• Green Valley 41, Rancho 6 -- At Green Valley, Jeff Garcia rushed for 115 yards on 19 carries and Jairus Howard supplied 110 on 12 carries as the Gators routed the Rams.

Howard scored on a 40-yard run and hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first half.

Green Valley scored on its first three possessions without passing the ball at all. The Gators finished with 350 rushing yards while limiting the Rams to 23 on the ground.

The Gators also forced four turnovers, including an 85-yard interception-return TD by Brett Johnson to make it 34-0 at halftime.

Rancho quarterback Ariece Perkins threw for 105 yards on 8-for-19 passing. He scored on a 3-yard run with 1:05 left.

-- Tim Guesman

• Bonanza 48, Liberty 7 -- At Bonanza, Nigel Moore ran for 126 yards and three first-half touchdowns to propel the Bengals past the Patriots.

Moore scored on runs of 8, 39 and 40 yards to help Bonanza to a 41-0 halftime lead.

Bonanza's defense was stifling, forcing four fumbles and holding Liberty to 99 total yards (28 in the first half).

Lawrence Bey's 11-yard touchdown run gave the Bengals a 7-0 lead, and Moore followed with his three TDs, the last with 8:26 to go in the half. Drew Bernhardy added a 51-yard TD run and Jesse Bowler returned a blocked punt by Chase Albers 11 yards for a 41-0 lead.

In the second half, Bonanza's Aaron Holly threw a 43-yard TD to Brian Ladeira.

Bowler, Albers, Andy Rangel and sophomore Troy Bloom recovered fumbles for the Bengals in the first half.

Liberty quarterback Blake Niggemeier scored on a 21-yard run with 3:08 left. Clark Mathis added an interception for the Patriots.

-- John Cranton

• Coronado 66, Del Sol 0 -- At Coronado, Christopher Desjardins rushed for six touchdowns and returned a fumble for a seventh as the Cougars crushed the Dragons in their first game.

Desjardins scored on touchdown runs of 57, 30, 23, 12, 7, and 6 yards and ran back the fumble 24 yards. He finished with 214 yards on 13 carries.

Coronado's Scott McLeod completed 5 of 8 passes for 108 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown to Tysson Poots.

The Cougars defense recovered four Del Sol fumbles and intercepted one pass. Coronado allowed only 107 yards.

-- Arnold Knightly

• Faith Lutheran 36, The Meadows 7 -- At The Meadows, the Crusaders returned two punts for touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away and defeat the Mustangs.

Jarid Rollins had a 75-yard punt return for a score, followed by Josh Washington's 83-yard punt return as Faith Lutheran grabbed a 23-7 lead.

Brandon Lake had a 3-yard TD run, Cameron Done scored on an 8-yard run and John Nixon had a 1-yard scoring run for the Crusaders.

The Meadows scored in the second quarter on Jordan Kelley's 23-yard pass to P.C. Youngblood.

Elliott Schneiderman (four carries) and Nixon (11) both rushed for 73 yards for the Crusaders.

-- Keith Freeman

• Moapa Valley 35, Carson 10 -- At Overton, Zach Davis scored four touchdowns and added a 51-yard field goal to lead the Pirates.

Davis caught scoring passes of 60 and 39 yards, ran for a 17-yard TD and returned a kickoff 91 yards for another TD. He also caught five passes for 153 yards.

Jeff Bowler passed for 145 yards for the Pirates.

• Dixie (Utah) 28, Virgin Valley 15 -- At Virgin Valley, Dallas Irvin ran for 163 yards and three TDs on only nine carries as Dixie beat the Bulldogs.

Dixie quarterback Josh Bowler was 6-for-11 for 126 yards and a touchdown.