4A ROUNDUP: Wolves follow script, rally to beat Foothill
The seventh-ranked Wolves, who have made comeback victories their specialty, rallied again Friday to close the regular season by beating visiting Foothill, 21-13.
“This has kind of been our season,” said Cahill, whose second-seeded squad will host Desert Pines in a Sunrise Region quarterfinal next Friday. “We’ve been behind a few times, but this team never quits.”
Quarterback Tyler Dobbins led Basic’s surge with two second-half touchdowns, including the decisive 23-yard run in the final minutes. But he admitted he was less certain of victory.
“I was scared. I’m not going to lie,” said Dobbins, who completed 15 of 24 passes for 153 yards. “We just didn’t really show up in the first half, but it was a great comeback victory.”
The Wolves might have taken an early lead if not for two lost fumbles deep in Foothill territory.
But Foothill’s Connor Afoa was instead the first scorer, plunging 2 yards with outstretched arms for a 6-0 lead with 2:51 left in the half.
Dobbins got Basic even 6-6 in the final seconds of the third quarter, scoring on a 4-yard keeper to cap a 12-play, 80-yard drive.
Foothill took advantage of good field position to regain the lead three minutes later when Parker Riggin hit Tyrel Garner with a 7-yard pass to make it 13-6.
Dobbins connected with Travis Tatiano four times for 46 yards over the next seven plays, and Basic tied it at 13 when Edward Villaros vaulted over the defensive line and sprinted for a 15-yard TD with 4:40 remaining.
The Falcons failed to move the ball on the ensuing possession, and Basic needed only three plays to score the winner when Dobbins wove through traffic for his 23-yard TD.
“The line did a great job, then I made the first guy miss,” Dobbins said.
Villaros rushed for 71 yards on 12 carries to help the Wolves (9-1, 5-1 Southeast), and Jon Polin caught five passes for 55 yards.
Though Foothill (5-5, 3-3) was held to just 135 yards, Riggin completed 13 of 20 passes for 119.
Despite the loss, the Falcons advance to the playoffs, where they will open at Las Vegas on Friday.
Del Sol 46, Coronado 26 — At Del Sol, sophomore Chris Marshall scored twice and rushed for 157 of his 176 yards in the second half, helping the Dragons (9-1, 5-1 Southeast) pull away to beat the Cougars (3-6, 0-6) and win the Southeast League’s No. 1 playoff seed.
Del Sol’s Dezerick Reed rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, but was ejected in the second quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct after an altercation with the Coronado defense. Teammate Sy Hansell also was ejected following the scuffle.
Coronado held a 20-19 lead at halftime thanks to Ryan Newton, who completed 10 of 23 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Newton finished with 340 yards on 22-for-42 accuracy.
Devon Riley made five catches for 93 yards and Cody Mucino had six grabs for 80.
Del Sol hosts Valley on Friday in a Sunrise Region quarterfinal.
Desert Pines 41, Eldorado 27 — At Desert Pines, the Jaguars (6-4, 4-2 Northeast League) compiled 447 rushing yards to earn a victory over the Sundevils (1-9, 1-5).
Desert Pines led 27-6 at halftime, getting rushing touchdowns by sophomore Derrick Shaw (5 yards) in the first quarter and Eric Tuiloma (23), Chancellor Davis (15) and Leon Hayes (1) in the second.
Shaw finished with 157 yards on eight carries, Hayes had 103 on eight attempts and Davis supplied 82 on six rushes. Davis added a second touchdown, a 7-yarder, in the second half and Darel Allen-Tucker (21 yards) also scored for the Jaguars.
Desert Pines is the Northeast's No. 3 seed and will open the playoffs at Basic next Friday.
For Eldorado, JaQuorrey Williams passed for 194 yards and three touchdowns on 19 completions. His touchdown plays covered 18 yards to Daytron Green, 34 to Brett Van Orden and 16 to Joey Ortega, who made 12 catches for 118 yards.
Odarius Mitchell ran 5 yards for the Sundevils’ other touchdown.
Silverado (6-4, 2-4), which needed a victory along with a Foothill loss to clinch a playoff berth, had a shot to win with one second left and the ball at Green Valley 39. Jordan Corbett intercepted a Skyhawk pass at the goal line to end the game.
Jackson’s 44-yard touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter gave Green Valley its first lead, 17-10, and the Gators never trailed again.
On the Skyhawks’ ensuing drive, Green Valley lineman Gary Overstreet recovered a fumble on the Skyhawks’ first play from scrimmage.
Three plays later Jackson scored on a 10-yard run to put Green Valley in control 23-10 with 10:23 remaining.
Silverado rallied on Tyler Anderson’s 63-yard touchdown run with 5:12 left, but had three of its fourth-quarter drives end in interceptions.
Ryan Lopez had an interception and a fumble recovery and Sean Ferraro had a pair of interceptions for the Gators defense.
Silverado outgained Green Valley 229-47 in the first half, but only lead 3-0 at halftime, as the Skyhawks had a dropped touchdown pass, a missed field goal and an interception thwart first-half drives.
Teran Madu-Jules had 30 carries for 212 yards to lead Silverado, including a 34-yard touchdown run that gave the Skyhawks a 10-3 lead midway through the third quarter.
But Green Valley regained momentum on the ensuing drive when, on third down and 12, Corbett scrambled for a 68-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
Brown rushed for 134 yards on eight carries, while Rimmey ran for 121 yards to help Canyon Springs gain 325 yards on the ground.
The Pioneers are No. 2 Northeast seed for the Sunrise Region playoffs.
Liberty visits Canyon Springs for its Sunrise opener, while Valley travels to Del Sol as the Northeast’s No. 4 seed.
Ty Byrd rushed for 79 yards on nine carries, including a 22-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Quarterback Tyler Knepp ran for TDs of 3 and 2 yards for Liberty’s first two scores.
Valley’s Trey Dean rushed for 84 yards on nine carries, including a 49-yard touchdown.
