FOOTBALL: Skyhawks get defensive, top Las Vegas

Silverado football coach Randall Cunningham takes great pride in his defense, so he wasn't pleased when his squad gave up 44 points in a loss to Liberty last Friday.

But the coach had a feeling his players would rebound Thursday, and he was right.

The Skyhawks capped a game-opening 15-play possession with a touchdown, and the defense took over from there to give Silverado a convincing 21-7 road victory over eighth-ranked Las Vegas.

Seth Georgelos carried 28 times for 152 yards and a TD for Silverado, but the defense powered the win. The Skyhawks (5-3, 2-1 Northeast League) held the Wildcats (6-2, 2-1) to 67 yards while allowing just two first downs and forcing three turnovers.

"Whenever you play a team like Liberty and get beat up, there's going to be a gut-check the next week," Cunningham said. "Our defense stepped up tonight. We are a defensive team, and we need the defense to carry us."

By the time Cunningham's defense took the field, Silverado already had a 7-0 lead, thanks a 26-yard, fourth-down scoring sprint by Georgelos that capped an 80-yard drive.

"That's the kind of talent Silverado has," Cunningham said. "A kid like (Georgelos) comes in as a third-team running back, has fun and gets the job done."

The Skyhawks got a momentary scare, as Las Vegas scored just one play later when Elijah Hicks scampered for a 40-yard TD run. But that was it for the Wildcats, who gained just 37 yards the rest of the way.

Silverado reclaimed the lead when Micah Weber connected with Devion Clayton in the left corner of the end zone to make it 14-7 with 10:50 left in the second quarter.

After the Skyhawks fumbled at the Las Vegas 3-yard line late in the quarter, the Wildcats could not move the ball and eventually fumbled at their own goal line. Defensive end Dean Doss fell on the ball for a TD to give Silverado a 21-7 lead with 2:07 left in the half.

Las Vegas never put together a serious threat in the second half, as Silverado controlled the clock with time-consuming drives.

"We just went out and had fun tonight," Cunningham said. "If you play a game and you're not having fun, then you shouldn't be playing."

Weber helped the Skyhawks with 63 yards on 10 carries, and he completed 6 of 19 passes for 71 yards.

Hicks rushed 10 times for 66 yards to lead the Wildcats, who had a six-game winning streak snapped.

Faith Lutheran 36, Sunrise Mountain 14 — At Faith Lutheran, Christian Marshall only had 12 carries, but he made them count, rushing for 108 yards and two TDs as the Crusaders beat the Miners in the first round of the I-A Southern Region playoffs.

Sunrise Mountain stumped the Crusaders (9-1), three-and-out, on their first three drives. That gave the Miners great field position, as their first three drives started in Faith Lutheran territory.

But only one of those ended in points, with Trayvon Ward scoring on a 13-yard run to put Sunrise Mountain up 7-0 with 8:24 to go in the first quarter.

The Faith Lutheran offense finally got going on its fourth possession, marching 80 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 4-yard TD by Marshall. From there it was all Crusaders, who got a 75-yard touchdown strike from Brenden Joyce to Brytton Weber with 6:30 to go in the third quarter, and then forced three fourth-quarter turnovers to put away the Miners.

Ward rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown to lead the Miners (6-4). Daltyn Pytrysson caught a 4-yard TD pass from Steven Wright for Sunrise Mountain, which was making its first postseason appearance.

Ryan Callan had field goals of 20 and 33 yards for Faith Lutheran, and teammate Robby Schwartz intercepted a pass.

The Crusaders play Chaparral (8-2) in a state quarterfinal on Friday, Nov. 6.

Moapa Valley 52, Sierra Vista 12 — At Overton, Nate Cox completed 15 of 26 passes for 225 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Pirates by the Mountain Lions in the opening round of the Division I-A Southern playoffs.

Cox threw four TDs in the opening half to give Moapa Valley a 35-6 lead and added a 7-yard strike to Trystin Deal with 7:07 left in the third quarter to put the game away.

R.J. Hubert, who led the team with six catches for 134 yards, scored on a 40-yard TD pass for the game's first score. He also had a 43-yard interception return for a score for the Pirates (9-1).

Jay Mortensen hit a 30-yard field goal and was 7-for-7 on extra-point attempts for Moapa Valley.

Damean Bentley had a 60-yard TD run, and Isaiah Zavala added a 10-yard rushing score for Sierra Vista (3-7).

Oscar Aliaga was 2 of 9 passing for 33 yards and an interception for the Mountain Lions.

Legacy 28, Shadow Ridge 7 — At Legacy, tailback Naim Geeslin ran for 146 yards and four touchdowns as the Longhorns defeated the Mustangs, 28-7.

"With this being our last home game, we wanted to go out with a bang," Geeslin said.

The win secured the Southwest League's No. 3 seed for the Longhorns (3-6, 2-2 Southwest), who face Centennial in the opening round of the Sunset Region playoffs. Shadow Ridge (1-8, 1-3) plays Arbor View in the opening round.

Kody Presser passed for 90 yards and a touchdown for Shadow Ridge (1-8).

After the opening kickoff went for a touchback, Presser hit Dominick Wilson for an 80-yard score on the first play of scrimmage, giving Shadow Ridge a 7-0 lead with 11:44 to play in the opening quarter.

Legacy responded on the next drive when Geeslin punched in a 3-yard touchdown run with 8:40 to play in the first quarter, tying the score at 7-7. The senior had five carries for 44 yards on the drive.

Geeslin struck again just before the half, scoring on a 1-yard run with 50 seconds to play in the second quarter, and Legacy took a 14-7 halftime lead.

The senior added a third touchdown on a 1-yard run, putting the Longhorns ahead 21-7 with 7:21 to play in the third quarter.

Geeslin scored a career-high fourth touchdown on an 11-yard run with 3:12 to play in the third quarter, making the score 28-7.

Legacy coach John Isola, who coached the inaugural season at Shadow Ridge in 2003, said he was especially proud of the Longhorns' defensive performance on Friday.

"We were supposed to perform tonight and we did," Isola said. "After their first score, our guys really took over."

Canyon Springs 50, Valley 6 — At Canyon Springs, Diamante Burton scored three touchdowns and the Pioneers (3-5, 1-2 Northeast) dominated the Vikings (0-9, 0-4).

Burton returned the second-half kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, and added TD runs of 1 and 35 yards. He finished with 75 yards on eight carries.

Jerrod Blackwell added 105 rushing yards on 10 carries for Canyon Springs, which finished with 271 yards on the ground, with eight players carrying the ball. Marcell Selmon, Devin Allen-Tucker and Tre'von Dean also had rushing TDs for the Pioneers.

Canyon Springs nearly completed the shutout, but Valley's Iyen Medlock scored on a 38-yard run with 1:38 to play.

Medlock had 77 yards on 14 carries for Valley, which was limited to 129 yards of offense.

Green Valley 54, Eldorado 7 — At Green Valley, Austin Warhop and Marquez Powell each scored twice in the first half and the Gators held the Sundevils to 11 yards of offense to get the victory.

Spencer Cofer opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal on the Gators' first drive. Warhop scored the first of his two TDs on a 21-yard run, and a 23-yard touchdown pass from Xavier Jarvis to Ryan Becker extended the lead to 16-0.

Powell caught a 4-yard pass in the end zone for his first touchdown, and Kawika Jones followed on the next Green Valley possession with a 5-yard TD run.

Powell electrified the crowd, breaking multiple tackles on his way to a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown midway through the second quarter to extend the lead 37-0.

A 26-yard Warhop touchdown run and a 32-yard Cofer field goal gave Green Valley (4-4, 2-1 Southeast) a 47-0 lead by the half.

Shane Barnes caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Deven Dabbs for Eldorado (2-7, 0-4).

Cimarron-Memorial 49, Bonanza 20 — At Bonanza, Antwaun Rainey scored three touchdowns, and teammate Tyree Riley rushed for 216 yards and a score to power the Spartans (2-7, 1-3 Northwest League) past the Bengals (2-7, 0-4) to earn a spot in the Sunset Region playoffs.

Cimarron will play at top-ranked Bishop Gorman next Friday.

Rainey ran off right tackle and weaved left across the field for a 55-yard score on the Spartans' second play in the first quarter.

Riley provided a 55-yard run of his own on Cimarron's next drive, which was capped by a 21-yard TD reception by Rainey from quarterback George Tribble to make it 14-0 with 6:09 left in the first quarter.

Michael Soukup caught a 25-yard TD pass from Tribble inside the front right pylon on the first play of the second quarter to increase the Spartans' lead to 21-0.

Bonanza quarterback Wyatt Allison found a rhythm after opening with eight incompletions and led the Bengals on a 9-play, 72-yard drive, which was capped by his TD plunge from inside the 1-yard line to cut the lead to 21-7.

The Bengals were on the march two drives later, but Cimarron's Isaiah Herron intercepted Allison on a sideline pass and raced 70 yards for a score on the final play of the first half, giving the Spartans a 28-7 lead.

Riley provided a 69-yard TD scamper, and Rainey, who rushed for 146 yards on eight carries, added a 15-yard TD rush to give Cimarron a 42-7 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Bonanza got a 39-yard TD run from DeShawn Williams, and a 7-yard TD carry from Ricardo Hill to make it 42-20 with 4:18 remaining.

Tribble finished a three-play drive with a 1-yard rushing score for Cimarron, which got an interception from Soukup.

Allison completed 8 of 32 passes for 118 yards for the Bengals, and Williams rushed for 104 yards.

R. J. McCarter had 70 receiving yards for Bonanza, which got eight tackles form Ammon Montenegro.

Mountain View 48, Laughlin 12 — At Mountain View, Adam Stacey and Tyrell Brooks each ran for two touchdowns and hooked up on a scoring pass to lead the Saints by the Cougars.

Brooks ran for 144 yards on 15 carries and completed 8 of 14 passes for 145 yards, including a 22-yard TD pass to Stacey just before halftime to give the Saints (3-7, 3-5 Division III Southern League) a 22-6 lead.

Brooks scored on a 17-yard run two minutes into the game to put the Saints up for good. He added a 75-yard scoring run 54 seconds in the second quarter.

Terrence Brooks added scoring runs of 12 and 15 yards in the second half. Stacey scored on runs of 4 and 50 yards in the fourth quarter for Mountain View, which racked up 271 yards on the ground despite playing the final three quarters with only 14 healthy and eligible players.

Tyler Furr had a 2-yard TD run in the first quarter, and teammate Coda Abbati scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter for Laughlin (1-8, 1-7), which managed just 29 rushing yards on 10 carries in the second half.

The Meadows 45, Lake Mead 6 — At The Meadows, running back Adam Martinez rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns and returned a punt for a third touchdown as the Mustangs beat the Eagles to earn a playoff berth.

Martinez scored the first two times he touched the ball on a 6-yard run and a 59-yard punt return to give the Meadows (6-4, 5-3 Division III Southern) a 13-0 first quarter lead.

The Eagles (3-6, 2-6) responded with a drive late in the first quarter, but Max Hisatake ended it by intercepting Jared Regan's only pass attempt of the game. The Mustangs converted the turnover into points when quarterback Gabe Adamson connected with Hisatake on a 5-yard touchdown pass for a 20-0 lead.

Adamson, who passed for 146 yards, completed a 51-yard touchdown pass to Hisatake later in the second quarter. Antonio Gutierrez blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown to give The Meadows a 32-0 halftime lead.

The Mustangs' offense relied on the big play in the second half with touchdown runs of 69 yards by Adamson and 70 yards by Martinez.

Regan, who rushed for 100 yards to lead the Eagles, closed out the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run.

Pahranagat Valley 58, Round Mountain 20 — At Alamo, Tabor Maxwell threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score as the Panthers completed a perfect regular season by downing the Knights.

Maxwell completed 10 of 16 passes for 186 yards, including touchdown passes of 55 and 26 yards to Shawn Wadsworth and 20 yards to Cody Williams. Maxwell also had a 4-yard TD run in the first quarter.

David Ingram ran for 86 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries for the Panthers (9-0, 7-0 Division IV Southern). Ingram scored on runs of 4, 5 and 62 yards.

Wadsworth had six catches for 131 yards for Pahranagat Valley, which also got a touchdown run from Mateo Linares.

Round Mountain finished 2-7, 1-6.

Lincoln County 36, Agassi Prep 18 — At Panaca, McClain O'Connor ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns and was 13 of 20 passing for 135 yards to help the Lynx secure the league's No. 1 seed and eliminate the Stars from playoff contention.

Cody Thornock had nine carries for 60 yards and two scores and four catches for 32 yards for Lincoln County (9-1, 7-1 Division III Southern).

Will Culverwell added a 4-yard TD run in the third quarter to extend the Lynx's 22-6 halftime lead.

Stephan LauShaul scored on TD runs of 56 and 63 yards for the Stars (6-3, 5-3 Southern).

Tonopah 96, Beaver Dam 46 — At Tonopah, Tanner Otteson threw for 324 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 146 yards and three TDs as the Muckers routed the Diamondbacks.

Otteson completed 17 of 24 passes for Tonopah (7-2, 5-2 Division IV Southern). Tanner Otteson hauled in eight passes for 204 yards and three scores for the Muckers.

Jamaree Earl added 153 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries for Tonopah.

Beaver Dam finished 5-4, 3-4.

Spring Mountain 72, Sandy Valley 14 — At Sandy Valley, Diquan Spiller rushed for four touchdowns and thew a touchdown pass as the Golden Eagles beat the Sidewinders.

Spiller had eight carries for 109 yards, and completed 4 of 7 passes for 74 yards for Spring Mountain. Spiller had TD runs of 31, 4, 17 and 17 yards. He also completed a 32-yard TD pass to Malik Ballard.

Spring Mountain's Kevion Berry had a 32-yard touchdown run and returned an interception 34 yards for a score. D'Quan Porchia intercepted two passes for the Golden Eagles, retruning one 55 yards for a touchdown. 

Needles 10, White Pine 0 — At Ely, Trenton Poe Evans had four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown as the Mustangs beat the Bobcats.

Frankie Garcia rushed for 59 yards for Needles, and teammate Mauricio Santos kicked a 48-yard field goal.