Virgin Valley shuts down Mojave

Jayden Perkins ran for 160 yards and a touchdown as Virgin Valley grinded out a 12-0 win over host Mojave on Friday.

Cesar Zarate turned a fake punt into a 58-yard scoring run midway through the second quarter, the only score in the first half of the contest.

With penalties snuffing potential drives out for both teams, Virgin Valley (2-1) eventually simplified its offensive attack in the fourth quarter: hand the ball off to Perkins, a junior running back, and let him run downhill.

For three quarters the Rattlers (0-3) managed to bottle up Perkins and the Virgin Valley offense. However, Perkins rushed 17 times in the final quarter alone, accounting for 112 yards on the ground during that time. Perkins finished with 30 carries in the game.

Virgin Valley quarterback Hogan Fowles was 6-for-12 passing for 53 yards.

The Bulldogs defense managed to hold Mojave to 103 yards of total offense, including just five yards on the ground. Rattlers quarterback Taiwan Braden was 11-for-17 passing for 98 yards and one interception.

The Rattlers have scored only six points through three games so far in the 2016 season. Mojave’s best scoring chance was wiped out by a holding play, negating a long pass play that would have given the Rattlers an first-and-goal situation at Bulldogs’ 1-yard line.