Desert Pines dominates Logan (Utah) in 42-3 victory

Desert Pines football coach Tico Rodriguez wanted his team to come out fast against Logan (Utah) on Saturday.

It took the Jaguars 16 seconds to strike.

Michael Jackson took a quick pass in the right flat from Rjay Tagataese and sprinted down the right sideline for an 80-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. The rout was on from there in a 42-3 victory Saturday in the Polynesian Football Classic at Bishop Gorman.

“That was just so exciting,” Tagataese said. “That brings up the momentum for our team and the hype for us.”

Tagataese threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns to four receivers for the Jaguars (2-0), who also had rushing touchdowns of 14 and 42 yards from Jovantae Barnes in the first quarter. Jackson had 134 yards on four catches.

Desert Pines finished with 476 yards of total offense despite the clock running the entire second half. Rodriguez said his offense didn’t take any extra motivation from the attention its defense received in the offseason, but was pleased with its production.

“We’re a team. We’re not in that whole offense vs. defense thing — we’re Jaguars,” Rodriguez said. “We have a lot of talent, and we play for each other. Our offense knows they’re good and that they’re going to put up points, so we don’t get into that.”

Darnell Washington, Branden Thomas and Malik Brooks had receiving touchdowns to help the Jaguars build a 42-0 halftime lead.

Desert Pines had interceptions from Andrew Williams and Washington and stole two possessions from the Grizzlies (1-3) by pouncing on its own kickoffs.

Logan was limited to 66 yards of offense, and its only points came on a 26-yard field goal from Noe Moreno early in the fourth quarter after Desert Pines fumbled inside its 15.

Desert Pines almost helped Logan’s offense more than it helped itself. The Jaguars had 104 yards of penalties, 50 on defense. Those mistakes coupled with the two turnovers were the only blemishes on a dominating performance.

“They were just relentless getting to the ball,” Rodriguez said. “I was really pleased with the defense. We got a little undisciplined in the second quarter and were trying to chase sacks and hitting them a little too late. We didn’t get any defensive penalties in the second half.”

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Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.