Harris does it with feeling

Before he stepped on Ray DePalma Field at Shadow Ridge, Palo Verde's Torin Harris had that tingle, that craving.

He stretched, he paced, but most of all, he itched for the ball. He just knew that once it landed in his hands on the opening kickoff, he would land in the end zone.

Call Miss Cleo. She's got some psychic competition.

Harris returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a score, giving the second-ranked Panthers all the momentum they would need Thursday in a 39-18 victory at Shadow Ridge.

The Panthers (4-0, 1-0 Northwest) added a second special teams touchdown, as junior Rockney Ricafrente bolted 99 yards for a kickoff return.

"First touch of the game, I had the feeling," Harris said. "I wanted the ball; give it to me. I had a feeling. I wanted to take it to the house, I got the ball, I did it. Did what I had to do."

Harris displayed great patience during his return, as he waited for blockers to gradually form a wedge before hitting second gear. But once he did, he quickly went into overdrive, speeding past his blockers, the coverage, and a Porsche zooming down the street.

Harris' second kickoff return of the season wasn't a coincidence for Palo Verde head coach Darwin Rost.

"We knew we had to make special teams plays to stay in this game," Rost said. "But we practice it. We're out there half an hour early every time just working on individual special teams skills. Then we get straight into team special teams stuff. And we close practice with special teams. Every day, every practice."

For his part, Shadow Ridge head coach Gabe Gledhill took full blame for the coverage inadequacies.

"We're not getting downfield the way we should," Gledhill said. "We put a lot of time into special teams, but it didn't show in this game. We just didn't get it done, and that's my fault. I take full responsibility for that."

With his normally potent ground game finding little running room against the Mustangs (2-2, 0-1), Rost was happy to rely on what he considers to be truly one-third of the game. He was quick to give his players credit.

"Every game for us will be like this," Rost said. "This is black and blue -- one of the toughest leagues in the state. Every game you have to get up. There are no weak sisters in this league."

Running back Sidney Hodge added two short scores, leading Palo Verde with 74 yards on 18 carries. Chauncey Moore made the most of 12 carries, gaining 99 yards and scoring two touchdowns, including a beautiful 37-yard run.

• Canyon Springs 53, Eldorado 14 -- At Canyon Springs, senior Devonte Christopher threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score to power the third-ranked Pioneers (3-1, 2-0 Northeast) over the Sundevils (1-4, 1-1).

Christopher connected on 9 of 15 passes for 155 yards and rushed for 79 yards, including a 25-yard TD scramble for a 41-7 lead in the third quarter.

Juron Criner made four catches for 142 yards, all for touchdowns. He had receptions of 10, 57, 60 and 15 yards, with the 57-yarder coming on a halfback option pass from Deshawn Stewart in the second quarter. Stewart also ran for a score and led the Pioneers with 84 yards rushing.

Canyon Springs defensive back Donvontay Poter had two interceptions and five tackles.

Eldorado's Mike Elliott rushed for 111 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown.

-- Tim Guesman

 

• Del Sol 38, Coronado 0 -- At Del Sol, Bryan Grenier rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries as the fourth-ranked Dragons (4-0) routed the Cougars (1-4).

Jon Kirschbaum (79 yards, seven carries) opened the scoring with a 31-yard run in the first quarter, and Grenier stretched the lead to 17-0 at halftime with a 30-yard field goal and a 5-yard run.

Grenier ran for 136 yards in the first half, then sat out most of the second. Evan Weinstock, Matt Burge and Tayib Dauda supplied second-half TD runs.

Coronado was plagued by nine penalties and a stifling Del Sol defense, which allowed only 30 yards rushing in the first half.

Taylor Knowles made six receptions for 80 yards for the Cougars.

-- Michael Dugan

 

• Mojave 40, Legacy 12 -- At Legacy, running back Deandre Taylor ran for a 91-yard touchdown and returned a kickoff 80 yards for another as the sixth-ranked Rattlers (4-0, 1-0 Northwest) blasted the Longhorns (0-4, 0-1).

Taylor ran for 168 yards and finished with 248 all-purpose yards.

Legacy wideout Devin Conway made four catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, and running back Deshae Edwards gained 101 yards on 25 carries.

-- Brian Danise

 

• Spring Valley 26, Bonanza 0 -- At Bonanza, Stefan Klein rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns as the No. 7 Grizzlies (4-1, 1-0 Southwest) blanked the Bengals (1-3, 0-1) to rebound from last week's loss to Palo Verde.

Klein scored on runs of 40 and 38 yards as Spring Valley compiled 332 rushing yards. Eight of Klein's 20 carries went for 10 yards or more.

The Grizzlies broke open a 6-0 game with back-to-back touchdowns to open the third quarter. Besides Klein's second TD, Tracy Lide scored on a 13-yard run. In the fourth quarter, Kyle Wolak passed to Brandon Weisenberger for a 19-yard score.

Bonanza had 204 yards of offense, 88 in the first quarter when the Bengals were unable to score on two red-zone chances.

Antonio Beals led the Bengals with 109 yards on 23 carries. Rakim Lowe completed 11 of 12 passes for 56 yards.

-- Sam Leeper

 

• Las Vegas 25, Desert Pines 7 -- At Las Vegas, Emery Schexnayder hauled in a 97-yard touchdown pass from Wesley Grass with 2:52 to play, and the No. 8 Wildcats (3-2, 1-0 Northeast) breezed past the Jaguars (1-4, 0-2).

Schexnayder's reception was one yard short of what is believed to be the state record. On third-and-30 from the Las Vegas 3, Grass completed the pass to Schexnayder at the 15 before the sophomore cut to the right and raced down the sideline for his second score of the game.

Schexnayder also had a 3-yard TD run in the fourth.

The Wildcats scored the first time they touched the ball when Zerrick Pryor returned a Desert Pines punt 75 yards for a touchdown. Robert Hackett's 5-yard run early in the second quarter stretched the lead to 12-0.

Kwame Banks scored the Jaguars' touchdown on a 3-yard run late in the half. Desert Pines mustered 195 yards of total offense, running 57 plays.

The teams combined for 22 penalties, 18 in the first half.

-- Bartt Davis

 

• Western 50, Durango 9 -- At Western, the ninth-ranked Warriors (3-1, 1-0 Southwest) scored on seven straight possessions and rolled up 548 yards in total offense to blow out the Trailblazers (1-4, 0-1).

Western's running game was nearly unstoppable. Reggie Bullock, who leads the area in yards per carry, had 228 yards on 14 attempts, including touchdowns of 80 and 81 yards, and Maurice Harrison ran for 104 yards and three scores. J.D. Buonantony passed for 171 yards, with touchdowns to Harrison and Ryan Patterson.

Durango quarterback Steven Flores rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown.

-- Adam Berchin

 

• Silverado 25, Foothill 18 -- At Foothill, Telvin McMillian had 185 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries to help the Skyhawks (5-0, 2-0 Southeast) slip past the Falcons (0-5, 0-2).

Terran Madu-Jules scored on a 49-yard run in the third quarter to give Silverado a 25-12 lead, and the Skyhawks hung on.

Ray Gray's second touchdown of the game, a 1-yard plunge, got Foothill within 25-18 at the end of the third, and the Falcons had two chances to pull even in the final four minutes. Both possessions ended with interceptions.

Silverado established the tempo early, going ahead 13-0 on scoring runs by Michael Wadsworth and McMillian.

Gray answered with a 12-yard TD run, but the Skyhawks forced a fumble on the Falcons' next possession and cashed in on Kolton Villa's 53-yard touchdown run.

Muaava threw a 19-yard TD pass to Tommy Silvas to lift Foothill within 19-12.

-- Jeff Wollard

 

• Cheyenne 34, Arbor View 3 -- At Arbor View, the Desert Shields (2-1, 1-0 Northwest) used a powerful ground game to score four second-quarter touchdowns -- three by V'son Milton -- in an easy victory over the Aggies (2-2, 0-1).

Milton scored on an 80-yard run four minutes into the second quarter and also had scoring runs of 33 and 5 yards before halftime. Cheyenne's Anthony Johnson returned a Greg Gloria fumble 55 yards for a touchdown in the last minute of the half.

Gloria's 63 yards rushing keyed the Aggies' offense, which held the ball for most of the first quarter. Adam Fitzgerald kicked a 37-yard field goal for Arbor View.

-- Gabe Whetten

 

• Green Valley 41, Liberty 14 -- At Liberty, senior Cody Aughney scored two defensive touchdowns during Green Valley's 29-point first quarter, helping the Gators (2-3, 1-0 Southeast) defeat the Patriots (1-4, 0-2).

Aughney, a 6-foot-6-inch defensive end, recovered a fumble on Liberty's first possession and returned it 16 yards for a score. Later in the quarter, Aughney grabbed a deflected pass and ran 22 yards for a 29-7 Green Valley lead.

Running back Frank Satterfield, who missed the Gators' previous game with a sore shoulder, rushed for 254 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

Garrick Powell accounted for both of the Patriots' scores, returning an interception 75 yards in the first quarter and a kickoff 93 yards in the third.

-- David Garrett

 

• Sierra Vista 42, Clark 7 -- At Clark, Sierra Vista junior Emil Lopez went 9-for-12 passing for 180 yards, completing his first seven attempts, as the Lions (1-3, 1-0 Southwest) defeated the Chargers (1-3, 0-1) for their first victory.

Sierra Vista scored touchdowns on its first four drives, highlighted by a 66-yard completion from Lopez to Blake Marshall in the second quarter.

Lopez finished with three touchdowns, and teammate Garland Lathan led all rushers with 81 yards and a TD. Akil Sharp supplied 78 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

Clark's Dimarko Shoulders gained 69 yards on 11 carries for Clark.

-- Jamie Chagnon

 

• Chaparral 41, Valley 26 -- At Chaparral, Quentin McCloud rushed for 260 yards and three touchdowns, and Tyquise Anthony ran for 127 as the Cowboys (1-4, 1-1 Northeast) beat the Vikings (0-5, 0-2).

Valley scored first on Kerwin Williams' 10-yard run, but McCloud took over in the second quarter with consecutive touchdown runs of 48, 23, and 81 yards.

Anthony threw a 29-yard TD pass to Nick Woholbach in the fourth to extend the Cowboys' lead to 34-20.

Valley quarterback Rigo Sosa compiled 269 total yards and three touchdowns.

-- Nathan Stuck

 

• Indian Springs 47, Sandy Valley 12 -- At Indian Springs, Trent Sargent threw two touchdown passes, caught one and ran for another score as the Thunderbirds (3-2) coasted.

Derek Oliver and Nick Vandever each scored two touchdowns for Indian Springs, while Junior Baker added a touchdown run.