Keplinger keys Foothill win

Foothill High's Kyle Keplinger was so busy scoring touchdowns that he failed to notice he was having a career night.

The senior wide receiver caught three first-half TD passes and also scored on a kickoff return to spark the fifth-ranked Falcons to a 43-26 home victory over Canyon Springs on Friday night.

"I honesty didn't even notice I was having a good night," said Keplinger, whose team needed less than six minutes to build a 20-0 lead. "I was just trying my hardest to do it for the team."

Foothill (2-0) wasted no time taking control, as Jeremy Purdie ended the Pioneers' first possession by blocking a punt and running it back six yards for a TD.

The Falcons' first two possessions were capped by touchdown passes from Drew Doxtator to Keplinger to make it 20-0 with 6:42 left in the quarter.

Canyon Springs (0-2), which compiled 184 first-half yards while holding Foothill to 97, erased any chance of rallying by turning the ball over five times.

"Field position was huge," said Foothill coach Martin Redmond, whose team scored 20 points off turnovers. "Our special teams and defense came up big."

Donnell Pumphrey scored the first of his four touchdowns on a 47-yard run to cut the Pioneers' deficit to 20-6, but Keplinger answered with a 10-yard TD reception from Doxtator early in the second quarter.

"Kyle is just a special kid," Redmond said. "We try to find different ways to get him the ball."

After Pumphrey scored on a 3-yard run to make it 27-14 with 17 seconds left in the first half, Keplinger found a new way to score when he returned the ensuing kick 86 yards to give Foothill a 34-14 lead at halftime.

The Falcons needed only five second-half plays to extend their lead to 40-14 on a 9-yard run by Jarrett Arcangel.

Though Pumphrey scored on a 48-yard run late in the third quarter and a 91-yard pass from Gerad Davis in the closing minutes, Vincent Franzeo put an exclamation point on Foothill's victory by nailing a 33-yard field goal.

Doxtator completed 13 of 16 passes for 106 yards and three TDs for the Falcons, and teammate Naim Muhammad rushed seven times for 62 yards. Keplinger finished with 69 yards on seven receptions.

Pumphrey carried 20 times for 169 yards to lead Canyon Springs.

■ Las Vegas 24, Centennial 21 -- At Centennial, Farrell Victor scored two second-half touchdowns and rushed for 209 yards on 15 carries, and the No. 4 Wildcats (2-0) beat the Bulldogs (0-1) in a back-and-forth battle.

Centennial led 21-10 at halftime, taking advantage of three Las Vegas fumbles, but the Wildcats quickly shifted the momentum in the third quarter.

Victor scored on a 16-yard run off left guard to cap an 80-yard drive, triggered by Hasaan Henderson's 41-yard scramble on the first play.

Centennial's Matthew Kane missed a 32-yard field goal after a 10-play, six-minute drive in the fourth quarter and the Wildcats took over on their own 15-yard line with 5:36 remaining. Victor ran on four out of the next five plays, capped by his electrifying 55-yard TD sprint off for a 24-21 lead with 4:34 left.

Centennial manufactured a 73-yard drive on 10 straight carries by Jacobi Owens to reach the Wildcats' 7. Rather than attempt a tying 24-yard field goal on fourth-and-3, the Bulldogs went for it. Austin Turley connected with Najeem Popal in the back right corner of the end zone, but Popal was ruled out of bounds.

Henderson passed for 102 yards, including a 74-yard TD hookup to Jace Turner early in the second quarter.

Centennial's Owens accumulated 275 yards on 40 carries, with a 55-yard TD

-- Brennan Karle

■ Basic 46, Rancho 0 -- At Basic, the Wolves (1-1) used a 26-point second quarter to roll past the Rams (0-2).

Junior Devonte Boyd made the first of his two interceptions and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown on the third play of the game. Mike Roberts scored on two 1-yard runs to trigger Basic's second-quarter surge. Sophomore Antraye Johnson caught a 15-yard TD pass from Eddie Vega, then scored on a 13-yard run.

Boyd also scored on a 47-yard pass from Jalen Rose and had 125 yards receiving. Vega threw for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

-- Alan Abair

■ Liberty 35, Desert Pines 21 -- At Liberty, Jeremy Lagasca scored on a heads-up play to highlight the No. 8 Patriots' comeback win over the Jaguars.

On the final play of the first half, Desert Pines kicker Gustavo Galvan attempted a 58-yard field goal. The kick fell well short, and Lagasca grabbed the ball and raced downfield. With the Jaguars walking off the field, Lagasca went untouched for an 82-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21.

After that, the game belonged to the Patriots (1-1), who wore down the Jaguars (0-2) with a bruising ground game. The Kapeli brothers -- Niko and Jordan -- carried the load in the second half, combining for 139 yards rushing and both Liberty touchdowns. The Patriots finished with 303 yards on the ground, led by Niko Kapeli's 187 on 32 carries and Jordan Kapeli's 77 on 12 carries.

The Jaguars, who led 21-7, rushed for 230 yards but were held to 19 total yards in the second half.

-- Sam Leeper

■ Bonanza 58, Pahrump Valley 21 -- At Pahrump, Jayveon Taylor rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns on three carries as the Bengals (2-0, 1-0 Southwest) routed the Trojans (0-1, 0-1).

Brett Doyle passed for 244 yards and two TDs for the Bengals. He had a 53-yard TD pass to Colton Bennion and a 60-yard scoring strike to Jordan Ozosky.

Bennion also scored on a 35-yard run. Taylor had TD runs of 58 and 48 yards.

Pahrump's A.J. Segura passed for 152 yards and a touchdown and scored on two 3-yard runs.

-- Don McDermott

■ Faith Lutheran 29, Shadow Ridge 16 -- At Faith Lutheran, Shawn Balva and Brad Pearson returned interceptions for touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and the Crusaders defeated the Mustangs in both teams' opener.

Gino DeGeorge threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Chris Mays on the second play of the fourth quarter to put Faith Lutheran ahead to stay, 14-10.

For Shadow Ridge, James Grigsby kicked a 34-yard field goal, Chris Edwards scored on a 4-yard run and Alex Wise caught an 8-yard TD pass from Justin Nehls.

-- Neil Grepke

■ Cimarron-Memorial 28, Mojave 7 -- At Cimarron, Gerard Martinez threw second-quarter touchdown passes to Daniel Stewart and Anthony Turner, fueling the ninth-ranked Spartans (2-0, 1-0 Northwest) over the Rattlers (0-1, 0-1).

Junior Tuilealatasi Taoipu rushed for 34 yards and Cimarron's other two touchdowns, and senior Demaryae Williams rushed for 138 yards.

Mojave senior Bryant Lewis scored on a 90-yard kickoff return.

-- Kevin Porter

■ Clark 41, Western 18 -- At Western, the Chargers rolled over the Warriors in both teams' season opener.

Senior Marquise McKinney rushed for 183 yards on 15 carries, including two touchdowns, and also had two catches for 46 yards with a touchdown.

Senior Shane McLin rushed for 100 yards and a TD on 18 carries, while Cooper Platt passed for 76 yards (3-for-5) and a touchdown and ran for a score.

Western's Reggie Williams scored on an 80-yard kickoff return and had 79 yards on 17 carries. Qwajon Walker scored on a 66-yard fumble return.

-- Adam Eslinger

■ Virgin Valley 22, Sierra Vista 13 -- At Sierra Vista, the Class 3A Bulldogs (2-0) pulled away from a scoreless halftime tie for a 22-0 fourth-quarter lead and held on to beat the 4A Mountain Lions (0-1).

Virgin Valley recovered a Sierra Vista fumble with 9:38 left in the third. One play later, Humberto Urias found Kyle Tostenson wide open for a 37-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline for the game's first points.

Urias passed for 141 yards and two TDs, including a 3-yard strike to Tostenson early in the fourth.

Justin Green scored on an 80-yard run and Taz Wilson hit Matt Murphy for a 15-yard TD to bring Sierra Vista within 22-13 late, but the Mountain Lions couldn't complete the comeback.

Green rushed for 159 yards on 21 carries for Sierra Vista. Ramarius Cooley supplied a sack and an interception.

Tostenson caught three passes for 72 yards and two TDs for Virgin Valley, which sacked Wilson four times.

Virgin Valley has beaten 4A opponents by a combined score of 65-19 in the first two weeks.

-- Tristan Aird

■ Coronado 45, Sunrise Mountain 0 -- At Coronado, the Cougars romped in their opener, with Christopher Johnson rushing for 124 yards and four TD to anchor a running game that compiled 387 yards.

Nate Webb scored on a 55-yard run, hurdling a would-be tackler. Coronado forced two fumbles, made two interceptions and limited Sunrise Mountain (0-1) to 36 total yards.

-- Steve Spigelmyer

■ Eldorado 16, Boulder City 13 -- At Eldorado, Javen Nihipali returned a kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown to ignite the Sundevils (1-0) over the Eagles (1-1).

Zaccheus Davis added a 5-yard TD early in the second half to put the Sundevils ahead's running back Xavier Steel had a 20-yard touchdown run.

-- Brian Danise

■ Moapa Valley 54, Chaparral 6 -- At Overton, Sean McConnell rushed for 58 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries to spark the Pirates (2-1) to a rout of the Cowboys (0-1).

McConnell scored three times in the second quarter on a 55-yard punt return and two 7-yard runs. He also opened the scoring with a 4-yard rush.

Conner Mortensen supplied 57 yards and three TDs, and Dakota Gordon had 67 yards including a 3-yard score.

Chaparral's Antonio Smith rushed for 75 yards on 10 carries, including a 20-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

■ Durango 21, Spring Valley 6 -- At Spring Valley, the Trailblazers (1-1, 1-0 Southwest) pulled away from a halftime tie to beat the Grizzlies (0-1, 0-1). Nick Santos ran for 80 yards for Spring Valley.

■ Diamond Ranch (Utah) 25, Agassi Prep 18 -- At St. George, Utah, Diamond Ranch gained its second win over the Stars in an eight-day span. Terrell Kemp threw for two touchdowns and ran for one to lead Agassi Prep (0-2), which lost to Diamond Ranch 26-8 on Aug. 25. Kendrick Glinton and freshman Kobe Williams caught touchdown passes for the Stars.

■ Spring Mountain 68, Beaver Dam (Ariz.) 0 -- At Mesquite, Leroy Freeman returned the opening kickoff for one of his four touchdowns for the Golden Eagles (1-0). Freeman also caught two TD passes and returned an interception for a score.