ROUNDUP: No. 7 Foothill ignores mistakes, revs up for shutout over Gators
The seventh-ranked Falcons created numerous learning opportunities Thursday, but finally overcame themselves to cruise to a 33-0 victory at Green Valley in the Southeast League opener for both teams.
Kyle Keplinger scored three touchdowns for Foothill, which killed several promising drives with eight penalties and an interception in the first quarter.
“We were expecting to be a little better on offense,” Redmond said, “especially in that first quarter. We were not focused.”
But the Falcons (4-0, 1-0 Southeast) ignited momentum late in the quarter when they tackled Gators punter James Durbin in the end zone for a safety.
Parker Riggin, who completed 18 of 29 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns, helped extend Foothill’s lead to 10-0 when he connected with Keplinger for a 46-yard touchdown with 11:52 left in the first half.
Connor Afoa made it 17-0 with a 5-yard TD run in the second quarter, and Keplinger scored on a 35-yard pass from Riggin just before halftime to make it 24-0.
“This was our first league game,” said Keplinger, who scored on both of his receptions. “That always means the most to me. We knew (Green Valley’s) secondary was a little weak, so we tried to target the secondary a bit.”
Keplinger scored his final touchdown on defense, intercepting a Paul McKay pass and returning it 14 yards to make it 31-0 early in the third quarter.
“We changed coverages on them there,” Redmond said. “Kyle got a great jump on the ball, and just stepped in front and took it.”
The Falcons capped the night by blocking a punt for a safety in the third quarter.
“Our defense played exceptionally well,” said Redmond, whose squad held the Gators to negative yardage in the first half. “Our special teams played well also.”
Connor Afoa helped Foothill with 67 yards on eight carries, and Connor Waitkus caught five passes for 74 yards.
For Green Valley (1-3, 0-1), which had four turnovers, Aaron Love rushed for 76 yards on 15 carries and Kris Hanson had 30 yards on four receptions.
Coronado 30, Basic 27 — At Coronado, Brock Morrison kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime and the Cougars (2-1, 1-0 Southeast) shocked the fourth-ranked Wolves (3-1, 0-1).
Coronado lost 19 yards on its overtime possession, but Morrison came through with the long field goal to break the tie. The Cougars then stopped Basic on its offensive series to seal the win.
Sophomore quarterback Kevin Lucero guided the Cougars on a fourth-quarter comeback, throwing a 4-yard TD pass to Devon Riley and a 24-yard scoring strike to Cody Mucino. Lucero then hit Riley with a two-point conversion with 24 seconds remaining to tie the game.
Lucero was 9 of 13 for 104 yards for the Cougars.
Fortenberry carried 15 times for 139 yards, with the sophomore scoring on runs of 50, 3 and 13 yards in the first half and 1 and 16 yards in the second.
KamBrenn Heatley returned the opening kickoff 76 yards for a TD and rushed for 69 yards and a score for Desert Oasis. Trevon Barnes rushed for 93 yards and two TDs for the Diamondbacks, who built a 40-20 halftime lead.
Desert Oasis’ Jossaiah Raval returned an interception 103 yards for a score in the fourth quarter, the second-longest such touchdown in state history, according to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association record book.
Bonanza quarterback Sterling Sprau completed 23 of 35 passes for 318 yards and five TDs and rushed for 72 yards.
Running back Dasean Martin caught eight passes for 123 yards and three TDs, rushed for 70 yards and returned a kickoff 85 yards for a score for the Bengals.
Bonanza was barely outgained 473-468, but couldn’t recover from four turnovers and nine penalties. The Bengals have allowed 199 points in three games.
Clark (0-3, 0-2) led 18-13 and had driven to the Trailblazers 27 until a fumble halted the drive.
Four plays later, Smith broke three tackles on a go-ahead 41-yard touchdown run with 6:41 remaining. Mora’s 4-yard run capped a drive that began on Clark’s 30-yard line and gave Durango a 28-18 lead.
Clark answered with 1:33 to play on Greg McKinney’s 5-yard run, but Durango recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
Smith led the Trailblazers with 159 yards on 13 carries. Mora, fresh off his 279-yard performance against Bonanza, finished with 115 and two touchdowns on 34 carries.
The Chargers’ Derrick West led all rushers with 189 yards and had scoring runs of 6 and 64.
Counts rushed for 155 yards on 14 carries, including touchdowns of 25 and 3 yards. He also ran for a two-point conversion. Spight gained 143 yards on 24 carries.
Del Sol’s Chris Marshall rushed for 211 yards on 32 carries. He scored on a 12-yard run and two-point conversion run in the third quarter.
Rivera threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Lagasca in the fourth quarter. Lagasca also had two interceptions for the Patriots, who forced four turnovers.
Ty Byrd rushed for 124 yards on 16 carries, including a 17-yard touchdown, for the Patriots, who limited Silverado to 151 yards.
Hughes broke a scoreless tie with a 6-yard run to end the first quarter. Ireland scored on an 86-yard run on Legacy’s next possession and added a 1-yard TD in the fourth quarter to make it 20-0. Ireland had 30 carries.
Legacy scored on Jordan Brown’s 30-yard pass to Zach Ducksworth.
Dee Hall scored on a 75-yard punt return in the third quarter to give Las Vegas a 21-0 lead. The Wildcats closed out the shutout by holding Desert Pines to 29 yards in the second half.
The Jaguars got 38 yards rushing by Derrick Shaw and 30 by Leon Hayes.
Senior quarterback JaQuorry Williams passed for touchdowns of 33, 19 and 21 yards and also had an interception and fumble recovery.
Eldorado outgained Valley 313-125, aided by five turnovers by the Vikings.
Junior quarterback Anthony Sanders accounted for 124 of Valley’s 125 total yards.
Christian Rodriguez rushed for 120 yards on 10 carries, including touchdowns of 18 and 42. Donnie Gaskin gained 125 yards on 17 carries, and his 15-yard TD capped the first half with Arbor View leading 29-8.
Steve Burns added two scores on a 6-yard run and a 10-yard pass from sophomore Henry Hoffend, who had five completions for 107 yards.
While Mojave’s ground game struggled to 76 yards, Trevonte Veal passed for 224 yards (on 11 of 16) and threw a 76-yard TD to Gabriel Roberts in the third quarter.
Dadrian Green added a 5-yard TD run and Terrence Davis had a 3-yarder for the Rattlers.
Powell’s TD runs were 55, 2, 28 and 39 yards. Solomon completed TD passes to Jamir Tillman (16 yards), Evan Zeger (34) and Zach Hutchins (17) in the first half and finished 6 of 8 for 111 yards.
Junior quarterback Makoa Tyndall added a 2-yard TD pass to Jamal Vickers. Justin Sweet supplied 63 yards on five carries, including a 34-yard TD.
For Sierra Vista, Gene Germaine rushed for 40 yards and Matt Murphy 38.
David ran for scores of 57 and 5 yards. Cody Hafen supplied two 9-yard TD runs, added a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown and blocked a punt.
Rancho’s William Gosse-Gardet passed for two second-quarter touchdowns and ran for a two-point conversion.
Edd Sutton and John Flores each ran for two scores, and Nick Santos, Jordan Cox and Austyn Wallace added rushing TDs for the Grizzlies.
The Meadows 38, Calvary Chapel 16 — At The Meadows, Garrett Gosse passed for 448 yards and five touchdowns to guide the Mustangs (1-2, 1-0 2A Southern) over the Lions (0-3, 0-1) in the teams’ league opener.
Austin Brown made touchdown catches of 73 and 55 yards and Max Newman scored on receptions of 77 and 47 yards to spark The Meadows to a 32-16 lead at halftime.
The Mustangs, two-time defending state champions, compiled a 542-210 yardage edge, led by Gosse, who completed 24 of 33 pass attempts.
Calvary Chapel quarterback Cody Taylor was 10 of 24 for 103 yards and a touchdown, and he added 60 yards on 14 carries.
Cooper, who had 106 yards receiving, scored in the third quarter on receptions of 79 and 18 yards from Kellen Weiss.
Weiss, 9 of 12 passes for 192 yards, also threw a 36-yard TD pass to Casen Lewis in the first quarter.
Dakota Gordon led all rushers with 55 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Hayden Waite added a 3-yard TD, and Riley Solomon scored on a 5-yard run.