Desert Pines whips Palo Verde, awaits challenge of Gorman

The blueprint for Desert Pines’ football team this season has been pretty simple: a whole lot of defense and some big plays by freshmen, especially on special teams.

The Jaguars stayed true to that plan, and it worked out Thursday night, as they rolled to a 48-7 home victory over Palo Verde in the Class 5A Southern Region quarterfinals.

Desert Pines (8-2) plays at top-ranked Bishop Gorman (10-1) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Nov. 4.

“It’s been our formula all season,” Desert Pines coach Tico Rodriguez said. “Our defense is stout, and our special teams makes explosive plays. It gives our offense the energy they need, the momentum.”

Desert Pines didn’t allow an offensive touchdown against the Panthers (5-6), intercepted two passes, returning one for a score, and got a kick return touchdown.

“We just tried to stay aggressive,” said senior linebacker Labarrio Mays, who had a sack and a tackle for loss. “They came out here trying to make us get off our game, but we just stayed and made sure we did what we had to do.”

Palo Verde’s only points came when Cedric Cade picked off a pass at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a score to cut the Desert Pines lead to 21-7 with 8:09 to go in the second quarter.

But Jaguars freshman Treyshaun Jackson answered with a 90-yard kick return on the ensuing kickoff to push the lead back to three scores.

Jackson wasn’t the only freshman to post a big game. Receiver Massiah Mingo had eight catches for 167 yards, including an 8-yard scoring strike from fellow freshman A.J. Stowers.

Freshman Isaiah Nickels added four catches for 79 yards, including a 28-yard TD pass from Stowers. Freshmen had all 13 of Desert Pines’ receptions for 242 yards.

“They come out to practice every day and work their butts off,” Mays said of the freshmen. “I see why they’re doing exactly what they’re doing.”

Stowers, who was starting in place of injured senior Marquis Roby, completed 13 of 19 passes for 242 yards and the two TDs, but was intercepted four times.

“He’s a freshman, so he’s going to make some freshman mistakes,” Rodriguez said. “But overall, I thought he played really well.”

Senior running back Malik Jones added 135 rushing yards and three touchdowns on seven carries for Desert Pines.

“Malik Jones had a great night,” Rodriguez said. “He’s been waiting his time. (Running back Greg Burrell) was kind of banged up, so we rested him. So it was a good opportunity for Malik to showcase his talent.”

Landon McComber returned an interception 45 yards for a score, and Lono Solomon added an interception for Desert Pines, which allowed 108 yards of offense.

The Jaguars have outscored Nevada opponents 341-68 in nine games, with the team’s only Nevada loss coming 16-7 to Liberty on the final night of the regular season. Now the defense will face its toughest test against a Gorman team that rolled to a 72-0 win over Faith Lutheran on Thursday.

“We’ve got a monster,” Rodriguez said. “They’re amazing. They’re really good. These guys grew up with a lot of their players, so it’s going to be a great challenge that we’re looking forward to.”