Rancho and Mojave played an old-fashioned game of cat-and-mouse Friday, and the Rattlers made the best move at the right time.

Bennie Morris' 4-yard touchdown with 3:23 to play proved to be the difference as Mojave spoiled Rancho's homecoming with a 12-6 victory at Canyon Springs High School.

Friday was Rancho's only "home" game of the season. The Rams played at Canyon Springs because new school buildings are being constructed on the site of their old athletic fields. The rest of Rancho's games are on the road this season.

The Rattlers' decisive drive began at the Rancho 44 after a 5-yard Rams punt. After quarterback Matthew Taylor ran for 9 yards on first down, back-to-back gains of 15 and 11 yards by Morris moved the ball to the 9.

Two plays after a 4-yard Taylor carry, Morris found the end zone. The Rattlers attempted a two-point conversion, but the Rancho defense stopped Morris at the 1, and the Rams had one final chance.

Rancho (2-3), which lost senior quarterback Ariece Perkins to an injured right thumb late in the first quarter, moved the ball from its own 14 to the Mojave 49. But that was as far as the Rams got. Backup quarterback Angel Acosta threw three incomplete passes and suffered a sack.

"We knew going in it was going to be a hard-fought battle," said Mojave head coach Tyrone Armstrong, whose team improved to 4-1 in the Northwest. "We got lucky that Rancho made more mistakes than we did. I don't take anything away from them; they really played hard."

Both teams had little trouble moving the ball early on, combining for 205 yards in the first quarter. But the teams racked up only 198 yards the rest of the way.

Rancho took the opening kickoff and moved 76 yards in nine plays, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Scott McCorkle.

Mojave answered on its first possession by moving 72 yards in just five plays, the final 39 yards on a run by Robert Bolden. The point-after kick failed.

"Losing their quarterback (Perkins) really hurt them," Armstrong said. "We were making mistakes up front, and that hurt us. It was a typical North Las Vegas football game, with both teams playing hard and knocking each other around."

j Chaparral 26, Desert Pines 23 -- At Chaparral, senior running back Tyler Morris threw for one touchdown and ran for two more, leading the Cowboys (1-4, 1-1 Northeast) over the Jaguars (0-5, 0-2) for their first victory of the season.

Morris hit Matt Huestis on a halfback-option pass for a 51-yard touchdown with 20 seconds remaining in the first half to give Chaparral the lead for good.

Morris added two more scores in the third quarter on runs of 18 and 58 yards. He finished with 260 yards on 14 carries.

Jaguars sophomore Michael Ball rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries. His second TD cut the Cowboys' lead to 26-23 in the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys defense sacked quarterback Daniel Behre twice and intercepted two passes. Defensive back Juan Ramirez also stripped the football and returned it 75 yards for a third-quarter touchdown. -- David LaShomb

j Basic 35, Liberty 21 -- At Basic, the Wolves (2-3, 1-1 Southeast) jumped to an early lead and held off the Patriots (3-2, 1-1).

Basic broke out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter against Liberty.

Basic was paced by senior quarterback Kenny Ware, who threw for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Ware also led the Wolves in rushing with 69 yards and a score.

Liberty was never able to fight back into the game despite some spectacular plays. Llo'Witt Cook threw a 60-yard touchdown on a halfback option to Joe Crawford to pull the Patriots within two touchdowns.

After a strong kickoff return by Greg Henderson, Basic answered with Ware's third touchdown of the game, a pass to Randy Trujillo.

Liberty pulled back within 14 points when Blake Niggemeier intercepted a Ware pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown.

-- Joshua Wikler

j Foothill 56, Del Sol 20 -- At Del Sol, after taking a 12-0 lead, the Dragons were unable to stop Falcons standout D'Angelo Jones, who rushed for 134 yards and four touchdowns.

Jones ran for scores of 8, 38, 2 and 5 yards, and also returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, helping No. 1 Foothill improve to 5-0.

Jones was replaced by junior Jeremy Hitt in the third quarter, and he compiled 102 yards on 17 carries, including a touchdown.

The Dragons (2-3) scored two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the game to take a 12-0 lead. Anthony Salas recovered a fumble in the end zone on the opening kickoff. Bryan Grenier scored on a 2-yard run after Del Sol recovered an onside kick.

Del Sol quarterback Marquis Mason completed 6 of 9 passes for 77 yards and one touchdown.

-- Jeff Neubert

j Las Vegas 35, Eldorado 14 -- At Eldorado, Jamal Lomax rushed 17 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns to lead the second-ranked Wildcats past the Sundevils.

Lomax scored on runs of 50, 2 and 16 yards in the first half to give Las Vegas a 21-0 halftime lead.

Eldorado intercepted an O'Ryan Bradley pass midway through the third quarter to make it 21-7 and later cut the deficit to 27-14 on an 81-yard kick return by DaVell Jackson.

But Las Vegas (4-1, 1-0 Northeast) scored on a 99-yard scramble by Bradley and a 9-yard run by Avant Gates to keep the lead despite committing 11 second-half penalties.

Bradley, who completed 8 of 18 passes for 101 yards, helped Las Vegas rack up 503 total yards. The Wildcats' defense, meanwhile, limited the Sundevils to 98.

Jackson, whose team gained only 4 yards on the ground, led Eldorado (1-4, 1-1) with three receptions for 55 yards.

-- Jeff Wollard

j Centennial 42, Bonanza 6 -- At Bonanza, the tenth-ranked Bulldogs (4-1) scored on their first five possessions and rolled to a win over the Bengals (0-4).

Centennial senior quarterback Jared Noa passed for two touchdowns and rushed for one. Bulldogs junior Mike Tagliaferri set up his own short TD with a 63-yard run in the first quarter and also ran for a 12-yard score in the first.

Centennial also got a rushing touchdown from junior Jaren Walker and touchdown catches from juniors Austin Hill and Zack McCoy.

Tagliaferri finished with 148 yards rushing and Walker had 123. Noa passed for 166 yards.

Bengals senior Brian Ladeira caught a 25-yard pass from senior Aaron Holly in the fourth quarter for Bonanza's lone score.

-- Jeff Hoskin

j Bishop Gorman 72, Durango 13 -- At Durango, the third-ranked Gaels racked up 554 rushing yards to pick up a victory in their Southwest Division opener.

Gorman (3-1, 1-0) averaged 17.3 yards per carry.

DeMarco Murray led the rushing attack with 272 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries. The Gaels star also added a 70-yard interception return for a score.

Corey White added 170 yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries.

Durango (1-4, 0-2) scored first in the game. The Trailblazers began the opening drive at the Gorman 41-yard line after the Gaels were forced to kick off from their own 20-yard line because of a pregame unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Seven plays later, Louis Kimble scored on a 10-yard run to give Durango the early lead.

Kimble led the Trailblazers attack with 55 yards on 16 carries.

Bishop Gorman scored 28 points in the first quarter on just seven plays. The Gaels scored on three consecutive two-play drives, then closed the period with a 78-yard run by White, a one-play drive.

The Gaels defense limited Durango to just 103 yards of total offense.

-- Adam Hill

j Western 37, Sierra Vista 14 -- At Sierra Vista, Julian Sample threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as the sixth-ranked Warriors (4-0, 2-0 Southwest) rolled past the Lions (1-4, 1-1).

Sample threw scoring passes of 45 and 10 yards as Western built a 29-0 halftime lead.

The Warriors' defense came up big in the first quarter, sacking Jake Whittaker for a safety on the third play of the game and then recovering a fumble that set up Sample's 5-yard running TD.

Sample finished with 106 yards on 4-for-9 passing with two interceptions.

Sierra Vista got 1-yard touchdown runs from Bradley Blakenship and Elijah Wahilani to make it 29-14 before Sample put the game out of reach on a 16-yard scoring run that made it 37-14 with 1:14 left.

-- Christian Wloszczyna

j Spring Valley 19, Clark 14 -- At Clark, Steven Shaw scored three touchdowns as the Grizzlies (3-2, 2-0 Southwest) won their second consecutive division game.

Shaw caught TD passes of 31 and 35 yards, both from Adam Aguilar. Shaw's second TD catch put the Grizzlies up 19-7 at the half.

Clark got a 70-yard TD pass from Brandon Weisenberger to Kevin Shaw in the third quarter to make it 19-14, but the Chargers (0-4, 0-1) could get no closer.

Aguilar completed 9 of 22 passes for 169 yards, and Nick White ran for 63 yards and a touchdown for Spring Valley.

Weisenberger passed for 173 yards to lead Clark.

-- Maren Manning

j Cimarron-Memorial 42, Green Valley 7 -- At Green Valley, Davion Mauldin rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries as the fourth-ranked Spartans dominated the Gators.

Eric Brinkley rumbled for 116 yards on nine carries for Cimarron, which improved to 5-0. He also had a 92-yard interception return for a late touchdown.

Eddie Wide added 93 rushing yards on 20 carries for the Spartans. He also was involved in the first-quarter play that set the tone for the game.

Leading 7-0, Cimarron lined up to try a 37-yard field goal with 7:30 left in the quarter. Green Valley's Tim Erickson came off the left corner and blocked the kick, but Wide, the holder, scooped up the ball and raced 26 yards around the right side to the end zone.

The Spartans outgained the Gators, 411-192, with defensive back Ryan Saludares leading the Cimarron defense with six tackles.

Jeff Garcia rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown for the Gators (2-3), who lost their third consecutive game.

The Gators failed to score after halftime despite having their offense on the field for 15 of the first 18 minutes of the second half.

Green Valley started the half with an 18-play, 72-yard drive the Spartans stopped at the 2-yard line on a fourth-and-goal play from the 5. Cimarron fumbled it back to the Gators on the Green Valley 27, but 10 plays later Brinkley grabbed his interception at the Spartans 8-yard line and raced to the end zone.

-- Tim Guesman

j Arbor View 21, Pahrump Valley 20 -- At Arbor View, quarterback Dustin Hobbs ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, leading the first-year Aggies (1-4) past the Class 3A Trojans (0-4) for their first victory.

Pahrump Valley led 8-0 after the first quarter, but Arbor View forced three turnovers and scored 21 consecutive points.

The Trojans, who closed the gap with two touchdown runs by Rockey Spencer, had a chance to win the game but failed on a two-point conversion.

-- Brady Andrus

j Shadow Ridge 14, Galena 13 -- At Reno, Klay Dodds recovered a blocked punt in the end zone and raced 61 yards with a fumble to the end zone to help the Mustangs edge Galena.

Dodds recoveries, both in the second quarter, gave Shadow Ridge (3-2) a 14-7 lead and helped the Mustangs overcome being outgained by 200 yards on offense in the game.

Galena scored a late touchdown to pull within one, but a bad snap on the extra point try kept the Grizzlies (2-2) from tying the game.

j Faith Lutheran 20, Virgin Valley 18 -- At Virgin Valley, Brandon Lake tackled the Bulldogs' Stewart Carboni just inches short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt with 5:31 left to help seal the victory.

Lake also scored Faith Lutheran's final touchdown on a 9-yard run in the third quarter.

Stephen McCall scored the Crusaders' first touchdown in the first quarter on a 30-yard pass from Michael Portaro. Jarid Rollins caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Lake in the second quarter, giving the Crusaders (4-0, 1-0 in Southern 3A Conference) a 14-12 halftime lead.

Carboni scored the Bulldogs' first touchdown in the first quarter on a 4-yard run, and Cas Zarate added a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Carboni's 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter brought the Bulldogs (1-4) within 20-18.

Carboni rushed 28 times for 163 yards and Zarate carried seven times for 98 yards as the Bulldogs compiled 306 yards in rushing.

Nadim Ahmed led the Crusaders with 11 tackles and four assists.

j Boulder City 27, Moapa Valley 16 -- At Boulder City, Jeff Pickton rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns to help the Eagles run past the Pirates.

After four games, Boulder City's Pickton has recorded 13 touchdowns.

The Eagles defense was led by Matt Murphy who had 14 tackles.

Moapa Valley's quarterback Michael Davis threw for 133 yards and rushed for a score.