Boulder City seniors finally reach old goal

Danny O'Connor and his Boulder City teammates have wanted to reach the Class 3A state football semifinals since they were freshmen.

On Saturday, the senior defensive back led the Eagles there for the first time in their high school careers.

O'Connor made a crucial interception and sack in the second half, Nick Pellegrini kicked a tiebreaking 25-yard field goal with 8:10 left, and Boulder City held on for a 10-7 road win over Virgin Valley in a 3A Southern League playoff game.

The Eagles (7-4) will visit Truckee (10-0) in a state semifinal next Saturday.

"It really means a lot to our senior class and all our kids who have been playing together since second grade," O'Connor said. "It's a real pride factor for Boulder City."

O'Connor returned an interception 35 yards to Virgin Valley's 16-yard line midway through the third quarter. Six plays later, Jack LaMarca's 5-yard run tied the game at 7.

After Pellegrini put the Eagles ahead, Virgin Valley faced third-and-5 from Boulder City's 21 with less than five minutes left when O'Connor and Steven Kaposta converged to sack Bulldogs quarterback Daniel Gleave. Victor Ruvalcaba's subsequent 41-yard field-goal attempt fell short, and Boulder City ran out the clock.

"(O'Connor) stepped up when he had to," Boulder City coach Alex Kazel said. "Seniors should step up and make plays."

Devin Combs ran for 57 yards on 21 carries for Boulder City, which held Virgin Valley (3-7) to 103 yards in the second half.

"They've been the rock we've built on all season," Kazel said of his defense, which has four shutouts.

Richard Vidal carried 24 times for 103 yards and Gleave rushed for 79 yards on 11 attempts for the Bulldogs.

• Mountain View 36, Lincoln County 22 -- At Mountain View, T.J. Engel threw three touchdown passes and rushed for 86 yards as the Saints beat the Lynx.

Mountain View (9-2) plays at Battle Mountain (8-2) in a Class 2A state semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Saints took a 22-0 lead in the first quarter, fueled by Engel's touchdown passes of 17 yards to Mark Allen and 42 to Karl Benjamin.

"That was really important, especially because we like to get our momentum up in the very beginning," Engel said.

The Saints recovered an onside kick after Benjamin's touchdown, and Cortland LeBoeuf ran for a 21-yard score.

Lincoln County (5-5) pulled to within 22-14 at halftime, with Tyler Center running for a 4-yard touchdown and Jeremy Avery catching a deflected 29-yard TD pass. Center scored on a 2-point conversion.

Mountain View regained the momentum in the third quarter when LeBoeuf scored on a 16-yard run and Allen caught a 34-yard TD pass from Engel.

• Tonopah 36, Spring Mountain 8 -- At Tonopah, Chris Thackery rushed for three touchdowns, and the host Muckers exploded for 28 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Eagles in a Class 1A state quarterfinal.

Thackery scored on runs of 3 yards in the first quarter and 6 and 20 yards in the fourth.

Denver Otteson rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown. He also threw for 31 yards, caught two passes for 21 yards and made a team-high 24 tackles.