NOTES: DeShawn Eagles, Frank Harris shine at receiver for Basic
Basic’s football team has produced a first-team all-league wide receiver in four of the past five seasons, dating to when current UNLV standout Devonte Boyd was at the school.
Wolves coach Jeff Cahill probably will have two players he can nominate for the honor this year.
DeShawn Eagles and Frank Harris are the latest to shine at the position for the Wolves, and the seniors have emerged as one of the top receiving tandems in the valley through the first half of the season.
“It’s still early in the year. We knew both were going to be good. We didn’t know how good, and they’ve both been excellent,” Cahill said. “The great thing about it is you can’t take both of them away. You can double one of them, but the other one is going to be ready to go, and they’ve been really good about sharing the ball and all that kind of stuff.”
Eagles and Harris have surpassed their output from last season when they were third and fourth, respectively, on the team in receiving.
Eagles leads the Wolves (3-1) with 27 receptions for 423 yards and five touchdowns, and Harris has 22 catches for 388 yards and five scores.
Harris had 190 yards and two TDs on 11 receptions in Basic’s 33-30 overtime loss to Canyon Springs on Friday with assistant coaches from San Diego State and UNLV in attendance.
The 49 catches and 811 yards combined by Eagles and Harris is second among area receiving duos, trailing Chaparral’s Kentrell Petite and Devin Gaddy (51 catches, 1,020 yards and 14 TDs).
“During the summer we’ve been in the weight room, we’ve been out here working on drills and stuff like that, just working on our skills,” Harris said. “I think as a duo, we make a great team.”
The 6-foot-3-inch, 200-pound Harris is the two-time defending Class 4A (then Division I) state champion in the high jump and has a personal best of 7-0¼ in the event. He also is one of the state’s top returners in the 100 and 200 meters.
Harris’ track talents have attracted several of the nation’s top programs, and he has a football scholarship offer from Idaho. Harris also has been drawing interest from Colorado State, Montana, UNR, Utah, Utah State and others for football, according to Cahill.
“I’m very passionate about both, so right now I’m undecided about that,” Harris said. “But if there was a possibility of doing both, I would definitely take that.”
Eagles (6-4, 190) increased his strength in the offseason and has proven to be a sure-handed target for Basic quarterback Aaron McAllister. Eagles is drawing interest from Montana, San Diego State and Utah State.
“We lost a lot of key players from last year, and both of us coming from varsity players, we just took control,” Eagles said. “I think a lot of it’s just maturity. We both know what’s expected out of us, be a leader for the team and we kind of took that role. We just click.”
POLL POSITIONS
■ Liberty’s football team remained in the national rankings after its 49-32 loss to Centennial-Corona (California), as the Patriots were No. 24 in this week’s USA Today Super 25 poll. Bishop Gorman retained the top spot heading into Friday’s game against No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida).
■ Del Sol jumped six spots to No. 4 in the USA Today/National Soccer Coaches Association of America Region VIII boys rankings released Tuesday. Durango is No. 8, and Bishop Gorman is No. 13 in the same poll.
■ Gorman checked in at No. 8 in the Region VI girls poll, with Arbor View at No. 12.
Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ