Bulldogs survive late scare

The Centennial High football team has mastered the art of winning unnecessarily close games this season, so it was only fitting that the Bulldogs secured a playoff spot Thursday by way of another nail-biter.

Centennial blew most of a 28-point halftime lead but hung on for a 35-22 victory at Cheyenne.

Willie White carried 13 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns, sealing the win with a 3-yard scoring run and helping the Bulldogs clinch the No. 3 seed in the Northwest Division.

Though he expressed concerns over his players' sloppy second half, Centennial coach Leon Evans said he was happy just to see his squad break a six-year postseason drought.

"We haven't been to the playoffs in years," said Evans, whose eighth-ranked team improved to 7-3 overall and 5-3 in the Northwest. "This is quite an accomplishment, especially in this division."

It looked as if it would be easy in the first half, as quarterback Cody Clark helped open the floodgates with a 1-yard keeper late in the first quarter.

White made it 14-0 early in the second on an 8-yard run, and Jacobi Owens extended the lead to 21-0 by breaking a 45-yard run up the middle with 4:22 left in the half.

When Clark connected with Najeem Popal for a 21-yard TD pass just before halftime, it appeared the second half would be little more than a formality.

But the Desert Shields (3-5, 2-5) came out strong to start the third quarter, scoring on a 3-yard run by Tyler Spight to make it 28-8.

"We just stopped playing," Evans said. "We couldn't get anything going offensively, and it just snowballed from there."

The Bulldogs began having defensive troubles as well, as Kenneth Counts scored on 4- and 1-yard runs to cut Cheyenne's deficit to 28-22 with 6:26 remaining.

"When it got to be a four-point game with those players on the field, they could have scored quickly and we could have lost the game," Evans said.

Instead, his team mustered a 73-yard drive that was aided by two costly Cheyenne penalties, sealing the win on White's second TD run with 2:09 left.

Owens rushed 14 times for 84 yards to help Centennial.

Counts carried 16 times for 111 yards to lead the Desert Shields, and Spight racked up 77 yards on 19 carries.

■ Arbor View 48, Faith Lutheran 28 -- At Faith Lutheran, the Aggies used 641 yards of offense to turn a nail-biter into a romp.

Arbor View (9-0, 7-0 Northwest) gained all but 25 yards on the ground, including 288 yards from Roderick Eason, who rushed for 194 yards in the fourth quarter.

Eason was also a defensive star. With the Crusaders (4-5, 2-5) marching late in the first half, Eason had the first hit on Faith Lutheran quarterback Joe Portaro to halt the drive at the 1-yard line with no time on the clock.

Defense at the 1 would make a difference in the second half as well. After Eason's 40-yard TD run broke a 21-21 fourth-quarter tie, the Aggies forced a Crusaders fumble just outside the goal line after a 79-yard drive.

Arbor View got 252 yards rushing from junior Christian Rodriguez, while Faith Lutheran was led by its air attack with 396 yards passing by Portaro. Don Pearson and Brett Lubbe had 164 and 149 yards receiving, respectively.

Arbor View clinched a home playoff opener with the win.

-- Neil Grepke

■ Las Vegas 46, Eldorado 6 -- At Las Vegas High, Hasaan Henderson threw four touchdown passes as the playoff-bound and fourth-ranked Wildcats rolled past the Sundevils.

Henderson completed 7 of 10 passes for 211 yards, 187 of those in the first half as Las Vegas (9-1, 7-0 Northeast) cruised to a 33-0 halftime lead on just 11 plays. He threw TD strikes of 53 and 83 yards to Cameron Rogers, 5 yards to Farrell Victor and 13 yards to Marquan Major.

In those 11 plays, the Wildcats gained 253 first-half yards.

Dee Hall added a 69-yard punt return for another score. Hall, who also intercepted two passes, scored a special teams touchdown for the second time in three weeks.

Quarterback JaQuorrey Williams scored Eldorado's only points on an 8-yard run with just under two minutes remaining.

Williams led the Sundevils (4-5, 3-4 Northeast) with 125 yards on 24 carries. He also passed for 81 yards.

-- Sam Leeper

■ Palo Verde 43, Legacy 14 -- At Palo Verde, Austin Whalen rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns to help the Panthers (9-0, 6-0 Northwest) rout the Longhorns (4-5, 3-4).

Palo Verde opened the game with a 10-play, 58-yard drive capped by Whalen's 1-yard TD run.

Whalen also scampered 76 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to give the Panthers a 29-7 halftime lead.

Palo Verde overpowered Legacy with its running game as 10 players combined to gain 383 yards. The Panthers' defense limited the Longhorns to 90 yards rushing and one pass completion (for 15 yards).

Palo Verde quarterback Chaisson Prescott had a 1-yard TD run and threw a 26-yard scoring pass to Dylan Shanteu.

Legacy's L.J. McMorris had a 23-yard touchdown run and quarterback Jordan Pinkney had a 1-yard TD run.

-- Vincent Hernandez

■ Basic 32, Green Valley 31 -- At Basic, quarterback Vincent Carducci and the Wolves (5-5, 2-4 Southeast) rode a second-half rally past the Gators (3-7, 1-5) .

Carducci finished the first half with only two completions for 24 yards. After halftime, the senior completed six passes for 137 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown to Matthew Dembinski.

Carducci, who left the game with about a minute to go after suffering a knee injury, finished with 161 yards passing.

Basic's Antraye Johnson had an 11-yard touchdown run, and Benito Gutierrez and Carducci each had a 3-yard TD run.

Green Valley's Jacob Olim threw two touchdown passes, and Rakeem Griffin rushed for 125 yards, including an 80-yard TD.

-- Nolan Lister

■ Bishop Gorman 63, Bonanza 0 -- At Bonanza, the Gaels (8-2, 7-0 Southwest) scored touchdowns on seven of their eight first-half possessions to build a 49-0 halftime lead and roll past the Bengals (4-5, 3-4).

Gorman's Jarrett Solomon passed for 98 yards and three TDs, all in the first half. The sophomore hooked up with Ryan Smith for scores of 3 and 53 yards and Jamir Tillman on a 3-yard TD strike.

Freshman Nate Starks rushed for 102 yards and two TDs on five attempts for Gorman, and Justin Sweet added 95 yards and one TD on eight carries.

Evan Zeger returned a third-quarter interception 37 yards for a score for the Gaels, who have shut out their last four opponents.

-- Tristan Aird

■ Desert Oasis 35, Clark 7 -- At Clark, Devin Fortenberry and Trevon Barnes each each scored two touchdowns in the first half as the seventh-ranked Diamondbacks built a 35-0 halftime lead and rolled past the Chargers (3-6, 3-4) to secure second place in the Southwest League.

Fortenberry had 19 carries for 92 yards, including touchdown runs of 4 and 15 yards, for Desert Oasis (8-2, 7-1).

Barnes threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Jordyn Compehos and had a 56-yard touchdown run to help Desert Oasis jump to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

Inas Santiago powered the Diamondbacks' defense, returning a fumble 24 yards for a touchdown.

-- Tim Guesman

■ Foothill 45, Coronado 24 -- At Foothill, the sixth-ranked Falcons scored 28 points thanks to defense and special teams in a win over the Cougars (2-7, 1-5 Southeast).

With the score 7-3 midway through the second quarter, Foothill's Cameron Thurman returned a fumble 20 yards for a touchdown.

The Falcons (9-1, 5-1) recovered the ball on the ensuing kickoff, and Parker Riggin threw to James Henderson on the next play for a 43-yard touchdown.

Cody Mucino led Coronado with four receptions for 95 yards.

-- Sean Jaramillo

■ Liberty 20, Cimarron-Memorial 13 -- At Cimarron, Jeremy Lagasca had an 83-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and the Patriots (8-1) held the Spartans (4-5) scoreless in the second half to secure the victory.

Demarlo Lewis had a 40-yard scoring run in the first quarter and later added a 4-yard TD run to give the Spartans a 13-7 lead heading into the half. Lewis finished with 118 yards on 16 carries.

Lagasca's 83-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter tied the game, and Mike Rivera's extra point gave the Patriots a 14-13 lead.

Liberty's Niko Kapeli scored on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter for the final margin.

Lewis recovered a fumble for the Spartans on the Liberty 47 with 50 seconds to play, but Cimarron was unable to move the ball.

-- Adam Berchin

■ Shadow Ridge 42, Mojave 6 -- At Shadow Ridge, quarterback Nick McDearmon had 313 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns to lead the Mustangs over the Rattlers.

McDearmon ran for touchdowns of 55 and 13 yards and had a 6-yard TD pass to Erick Thompson.

Mojave's Trevonte Veal passed for 188 yards and a score.

-- Brian Danise

■ Western 34, Sierra Vista 26 -- At Western, Tadarrel Mason rushed for 333 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Warriors (2-6, 1-6 Southwest) past the Mountain Lions (1-8, 1-6).

Mason, a senior, had touchdown runs of 53, 10, 11, 63 and 35 yards, and Western's defense forced three turnovers (one fumble and two interceptions).

David Scheref led Sierra Vista with three receiving touchdowns.

-- William Terrill

■ Rancho 39, Valley 29 -- At Rancho, Shamel David rushed for 203 yards, including touchdown runs of 46 and 14 yards, to help the Rams (6-5, 5-3) defeat the Vikings (2-9, 2-6) to clinch the Northeast League's final playoff spot.

Valley's Anthony Sanders ran for touchdowns of 5 and 10 yards and threw an 11-yard TD pass to Rashad Richardson.

-- Matthew Hagan

■ Spring Valley 49, Pahrump Valley 9 -- At Pahrump, the Grizzlies (5-4, 4-3 Southwest) gained 406 yards in 39 plays on seven scoring drives and handed the Trojans (0-9, 0-7) their 27th consecutive defeat.

Austyn Wallace rushed for 115 yards and scored on runs of 9, 22, 15 and 5 yards. Quarterback Jordan Cox completed 12 of 23 passes for 250 yards, including TD passes of 15 and 28 yards to Nick Santos.

Pahrump scored on a 38-yard field goal by Carlos Sawtelle and a 1-yard run by Josh Harvey.

-- Don McDermott

■ Chaparral 40, Sunrise Mountain 6 -- At Chaparral, Antonio Thomas returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and added a 48-yard scoring run as the Cowboys (1-8, 1-6 Northeast) routed the Miners (0-9, 0-7).

Jacob Barr threw TD passes of 28, 41 and 33 yards to Toure Williams.

Karlventz Thegenus led the Chaparral ground game with 139 yards on 17 carries. He also returned an interception 84 yards for a score.

-- Chris Randolph

■ Mountain View 48, White Pine 12 -- At Mountain View, T.J. Engel threw for 113 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 215 yards and a score as the Saints (5-5, 4-3) routed the Bobcats (3-6, 3-4) to clinch the final Class 2A Southern League playoff spot.

Mountain View scored on its first four drives while shutting out White Pine in the first quarter.

-- Sean Walker

■ Boulder City 37, Durango JV 22 -- At Boulder City, Tyler Washburn ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles (4-6) beat the Trailblazers' junior varsity.

-- Jim Konst

■ Moapa Valley 7, Virgin Valley 6 -- At Mesquite, Kelan Weiss scored on a 1-yard plunge with four seconds left in the first half and Dylan Mortensen converted the extra point, helping the Pirates (5-4, 2-1) scrape past the Bulldogs (7-2, 1-1) to claim the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A Southern League playoffs.

Virgin Valley's Dee Bowler had a 2-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs' 2-point conversion run failed.

■ Needles 58, Agassi Prep 50 -- At Needles, Calif., Daric Courtwright ran for a touchdown in the third overtime to lift the Mustangs (6-4, 6-1 Class 2A Southern League) past the Stars (6-2, 6-1).

■ The Meadows 30, Laughlin 8 -- At The Meadows, Garrett Gosse threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score, leading the Mustangs (5-4, 5-2 Class 2A Southern League) past the Cougars (2-7, 0-7).

■ Spring Mountain 78, Round Mountain 6 -- At Round Mountain, Alistair Houpe scored four touchdowns as the Eagles (6-2, 3-2 Class 1A Southern League) routed the Knights (3-6, 0-5).