Basic rides turnovers to win

It's tough to deny the obvious, but both coaches tried Thursday night after seventh-ranked Basic routed Cheyenne in a 39-7 home victory.

The Desert Shields (5-5), playing their first game under new coach Sam Norris, appeared confused and disorganized from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.

Norris, who became the team's third head coach in 11 games after former coach was Perryn Hale was released Monday because of problems with his teaching license, watched in frustration as his squad turned the ball over seven times.

"I'm not going to make any excuses," Norris said. "It's just hard to gain any momentum when you're turning the ball over like that."

Basic coach Jeff Cahill said his team stuck to a game plan that was developed before Cheyenne's coaching dilemma was announced.

"None of that really matters," said Cahill, whose squad led 19-7 at halftime. "They came out to play, and we came out to play."

Actually, two different Basic squads came out to play, as Cahill played his reserves throughout the second half.

The Wolves (8-1) forced three turnovers in the first six minutes, taking a 7-0 lead on a 16-yard TD pass from Tyler Dobbins to Omar Valenzuela.

Back-to-back fumbles by the Desert Shields led to an 18-yard Edward Villaros touchdown run and a 34-yard scoring sprint by Dobbins early in the second quarter to give Basic a 19-0 lead.

Cheyenne answered with a 14-play, 85-yard drive capped by Kody Stahl's 14-yard TD pass to Xavian Johnson.

But the Wolves dominated the second half, with reserve quarterback Vince Carducci connecting with Blaze Galardy and Daeshawn Nixon for TD passes and Rayshawn Gulley rushing for a 12-yard score.

Carducci ran six times for 42 yards and completed 3 of 7 passes for 44 yards and two touchdowns.

Stahl completed 10 of 24 passes for 159 yards for the Desert Shields (5-5). Teammate Chris Spencer caught five passes for 111 yards.

• Bishop Gorman 61, Clark 0 -- At Gorman, Shaquille Powell rushed for three touchdowns and Victor Belen added another as both surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season and powered the top-ranked Gaels (10-0, 8-0 Southwest) over the Chargers.

Powell rushed for 164 yards on eight carries, including scoring runs of 45, 21 and 33 yards. Belen had three carries for 70 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run.

Powell finished the regular season with 1,011 yards rushing and Belen with 1,013.

Jarrett Solomon threw touchdown passes of 48 and 19 yards for the Gaels.

Gorman's defense, which had its sixth shutout of the year, opened the scoring as Ian Bobak scooped up a Clark fumble and returned it 20 yards for a TD on the game's third play.

Jelani Walls also scored for the Gorman defense in the fourth quarter, as he took a fumble 61 yards for a score. The Gaels held Clark (5-5, 3-5) to 112 yards of offense.

-- Tim Guesman

• Del Sol 61, Green Valley 35 -- At Green Valley, Dezerick Reed rushed 33 times for 336 yards and four touchdowns as the Dragons broke open a tight game late in the second quarter to pull back into a tie for the Southeast League lead with Basic.

Sixth-ranked Del Sol (8-1, 4-1 Southeast) can claim the league title with a home win next week against Coronado.

Evan Weinstock caught five passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns and also returned a Reed fumble 30 yards for a score for the Dragons.

Rakeem Griffin ran for 209 yards and three touchdowns for Green Valley (3-6, 1-4). Ryan Lopez intercepted a Troy Miller pass and returned it 30 yards for a TD for the Gators.

-- Adam Candee

• Palo Verde 42, Centennial 7 -- At Palo Verde, Tyrone Blake scored three TDs, including two on punt returns, as the No. 3-ranked Panthers won their 20th straight home game.

Palo Verde (9-1, 7-1 Northwest) scored 14 points in its first five plays, and then Blake took over. He had punt-return TDs of 64 and 61 yards in the second quarter.

Centennial (3-7, 3-5 Northwest), which totaled 124 yards of offense, got on the board early in the fourth quarter on Taj Cole's 18-yard TD run.

Chappell Thomas led the Panthers with 76 yards on five carries. Blake added 75 yards on 12 attempts for Palo Verde.

Thomas opened the scoring with a 38-yard run, and Brandon Wright added 4-yard TD run as the Panthers led by 14 points just 3:41 into the game.

-- Sam Leeper

• Legacy 21, Shadow Ridge 0 -- At Shadow Ridge, quarterback Devin Wiedemann's 17-yard touchdown run broke a scoreless tie with 9:37 left in the fourth quarter and led the second-ranked Longhorns (10-0, 8-0 Northwest) past the Mustangs (1-8, 1-7).

Martell Crockett ran for 160 yards and two TDs on 17 carries for Legacy.

After Wiedemann's score, Marcus McCollum intercepted a pass and returned it to the Shadow Ridge 30-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by Crockett. Crockett's 40-yard TD run with 3:21 left capped the scoring.

-- Kevin Klein

• Cimarron-Memorial 49, Faith Lutheran 24 -- At Faith Lutheran, James Poole rushed for 231 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Spartans (7-2, 6-2 Northwest) over the Crusaders (1-8, 1-7).

Stephen Nixon rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries for No. 4-ranked Cimarron.

Faith Lutheran's Joe Portaro threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns and scored on two quarterback sneaks. Don Pearson had 192 yards receiving for the Crusaders.

-- Brian Danise

• Arbor View 45, Mojave 0 -- At Arbor View, Thomas Flanagan and DeMarlo Virgil each rushed for two TDs to lead the Aggies (6-4, 4-4 Northwest) over the Rattlers (2-7, 1-7).

Flanagan had a 33-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 42-yard TD in the third. Virgil capped the scoring with an 11-yard TD run and a 36-yard scoring scamper in the third quarter.

Flanagan and Virgil each had 10 carries; Flanagan gained 144 yards and Virgil 116.

Demon Scurry returned a punt 83 yards for a TD late in the second quarter to give the Aggies a 24-0 halftime lead.

-- Vincent Hernandez

• Durango 49, Bonanza 28 -- At Durango, Julio Mora rushed for 146 yards and four TDs on 22 carries as the Trailblazers (8-2, 7-1 Southwest) beat the Bengals (3-7, 3-5).

Mora scored on the game's second play from scrimmage with a 20-yard scamper around the right end.

Bonanza's Dasean Martin, who had 159 yards on 18 carries, answered on the Bengals' first play on offense with an 84-yard touchdown run.

The Trailblazers came back with a seven-play, 80-yard drive capped by Mora's 12-yard touchdown run.

The Bengals responded again with a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended with quarterback Sterling Sprau's 32-yard run to tie it at 14.

Mora added a 20-yard touchdown reception and a 48-yard TD run to put Durango ahead 28-14 at halftime.

Durango scored 21 points in the third quarter behind two TDs by Micheal Mehling (107 yards on nine carries) and a 25-yard interception return for a score by John Williams.

Durango quarterback Chase Roberts went 7-for-12 for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

Sprau was 9-for-16 for 139 yards with one TD and two interceptions for Bonanza.

-- Brennan Karle

• Desert Oasis 47, Western 0 -- At Desert Oasis, the Diamondbacks (7-2, 6-2 Southwest) posted their second consecutive shutout to down the Warriors (1-8, 1-7).

Roycen Shepherd rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries to lead 10th-ranked Desert Oasis. Chaunsi Heatley and Ronald Hunt each rushed for 90 yards for the Diamondbacks. Hunt had three TD runs, and Heatley scored once for Desert Oasis.

-- Jennifer Miller

• Rancho 41, Chaparral 32 -- At Chaparral, Shamel David rushed for 295 yards and three TD to lead the Rams (2-7, 2-3 Northeast) past the Cowboys (0-9, 0-5). David scored on runs of 16, 8 and 49 yards.

Harvey Yarbrough took the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and later scored on a 1-yard run that put the Rams up 41-26 with 4:12 left.

Chaparral led 18-14 after the the first quarter, thanks to two long TD receptions by Bre Onta Griffin and a 36-yard interception return for a score by defensive lineman Arvid Bruns, but trailed 28-18 at halftime.

Chaparral junior quarterback Tyler Luciano started 4-for-5 for 91 yards but finished 10-for-24 for 150 yards. He also had a 1-yard touchdown run.

Griffin had three receptions for 91 yards and two TDs.

-- Sammy Scherr

• Sierra Vista 21, Pahrump 7 -- At Sierra Vista, Dontrell Hall rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns as the Mountain Lions (2-8, 2-6 Southwest) beat the Trojans (0-9, 0-8).

Hall had TD runs of 17, 10 and 5 yards. Fullback Johnathan Hall added 96 yards rushing for Sierra Vista.

Pahrump QB Brandon Murphy had a 75-yard TD pass to running back Shane Ervine.

-- Nolan Lister

• Valley 43, Eldorado 7 -- At Eldorado, quarterback Garic Wharton ran for 275 yards and three touchdowns as the Vikings (3-6, 3-3 Northeast) routed the Sundevils (1-8, 1-4).

Wharton also completed 3 of 7 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown but threw two interceptions.

Tabor Shy ran for 69 yards and a TD on six carries for the Vikings. Wallace Dean scored on a 16-yard pass from Wharton in the first quarter.

JaQuorrey Williams finished 8-for-15 for 88 yards for the Sundevils, while handing the ball to Daytron Green, who had 120 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

Joseph Ortega led all receivers with 63 yards on five catches for Eldorado.

-- Sean Walker

• Liberty 24, Coronado 19 -- At Coronado, two quarterbacks accounted for three touchdowns for the Patriots (6-3, 4-2 Southeast), who turned back a late scare to edge the Cougars (3-5, 0-5) and clinch their first playoff berth.

Samuel Tai scored the first half's lone touchdown with a 32-yard run in the first quarter.

Fellow Liberty quarterback Tyler Knepp completed only two passes, both for touchdowns, to Anthony Norris for 49 yards and Niko Kapeli for 59 yards.

Coronado quarterback Ryan Newton was 14 of 25 for 228 yards and three touchdowns. Cody Giordano had TD receptions of 49 and 21 yards.

Thomas Stone's 26-yard field goal capped the scoring for the Patriots, who turned away the Cougars' last charge after Coronado defensive lineman John Saltonstall recovered a fumble with 30 seconds left.

-- Michael S. Jackson Jr.

• Canyon Springs 36, Spring Valley 33 -- At Canyon Springs, the Pioneers put together an 11-play, 51-yard drive capped by Tyler Ward's 1-yard touchdown plunge with 51 seconds left to edge the Grizzlies.

Spring Valley (5-5) led 19-6 in the second quarter after Taj Allen scored on a 13-yard run, and Canyon Springs (6-2) was forced to punt on the following drive. But the Pioneers recovered a fumble on the return, which led to Deavin Rimmey's 2-yard touchdown run with 31 left in the first half.

Marquice Turner scored on a 20-yard run for Canyon Springs to open the second half, and Rimmey added a 14-yard TD run to give the Pioneers a 26-19 lead.

Spring Valley tied the score on Jordan Cox's 38-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Lopez.

Devin Fleischer nailed a 35-yard field goal to give the Pioneers a 29-26 lead early in the fourth. The Grizzlies forced a turnover and went 66 yards, scoring on a 7-yard run by Allen to go up 33-29.

Canyon Springs followed with the game-winning drive.

-- Adam Berchin