‘Cats make fast recovery

The Las Vegas High football team spent 48 minutes on the field Friday, but it was one particular minute that made most of the difference.

The third-ranked Wildcats returned back-to-back fumbles for touchdowns over a 60-second span in the third quarter and went on to edge host Basic, 28-21.

Las Vegas (6-1) trailed 13-7 when Jayson Stetson recovered the first Wolves fumble. He ran it back for a 23-yard touchdown to give his team a 14-13 lead with 4:45 left in the third. Teammate Ray Langston scooped up a second loose ball a minute later, returning it 4 yards to extend the lead to 21-13.

"Sometimes when things turn around like that, kids get down a bit," Wildcats coach Chris Faircloth said. "(Basic) made a second mistake, and we were able to capitalize both times."

Faircloth's team made its own key miscue in the first quarter, as Omar Valenzuela intercepted an Emir Lopez pass and returned it 67 yards to give Basic (5-2) a 7-0 lead.

"That's football," Faircloth said. "We made a mistake, and they capitalized to take the momentum."

The ninth-ranked Wolves went ahead 13-0 on a 15-yard pass from Robby Faiman to Justin Burdno early in the second quarter.

Lopez responded by hitting Aaron Franklin with a 37-yard TD pass late in the quarter, cutting the Wildcats' deficit to 13-7 at halftime.

After falling behind with the fumbles in the third, the Wolves battled back to tie it in the fourth on another TD pass from Faiman to Burdno with 6:55 left.

But Las Vegas answered with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Reggie Bullock.

Faiman, who completed 10 of 20 passes, led the Wolves deep into Las Vegas territory in the game's final minute, but his last pass was batted down near the end zone as time expired.

Faircloth said he was not surprised to see such a close battle.

"We knew it was going to be a hell of a game," he said. "We knew they were a good football team and it was going to be tight."

• Bishop Gorman 41, Sierra Vista 26 -- At Bishop Gorman, senior quarterback Joe Huber rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more to lead the second-ranked Gaels past the Mountain Lions.

Huber had TD runs of 21 and 3 yards in the first quarter for Gorman (7-1, 4-0 Southwest). He added a 3-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Spencer, and Kawika Antolin had a 39-yard TD run as the Gaels rolled to a 28-0 second-quarter lead.

After leading 28-12 at halftime, Gorman seized control in the third quarter. The Gaels marched 80 yards in 12 plays on the opening possession of the second half, capped by Raphel Finley's 2-yard touchdown run.

After Gaels lineman Miles Langston blocked a punt on the Mountain Lions' next possession, Huber drove Gorman 50 yards in seven plays, connecting with Spencer on an 11-yard TD pass to make it 41-12 with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.

Senior defensive end Justin Chaisson led the Gaels' defense with two sacks.

Akil Sharp rushed for 106 yards on 17 carries for the Mountain Lions (2-5, 1-3). His 66-yard run set up Sierra Vista's first score in the second quarter, then he added a 3-yard TD run to bring his team to within two scores with 10 seconds left in the first half.

-- Tim Guesman

• Del Sol 12, Coronado 7 -- At Coronado, Saei Huihui threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to fullback Jon Kirschbaum on fourth-and-goal in the third quarter, giving the penalty-plagued Dragons (6-1, 3-0 Southeast) a 12-0 lead, as Del Sol held off the Cougars.

Despite being limited to 23 yards in the first half, Coronado (2-5, 0-4) kept the game close with the help of numerous Dragons miscues and a solid defense.

Del Sol was called for 16 penalties and committed three turnovers, two of which negated touchdown runs.

The Cougars also had trouble holding onto the ball, committing three turnovers, and they had a field-goal try blocked late in the second quarter.

Dragons running back Derek Eamon scored on a 7-yard run late in the second quarter to give Del Sol a 6-0 halftime lead. Eamon, a Coronado transfer, finished with 105 yards on 20 carries.

Huihui's TD pass with 2:17 left in the third quarter capped a 13-play, 72-yard scoring drive.

Coronado's only score came on a 52-yard burst by Kenny Lawrence with 3:12 left.

Del Sol ran out the clock after the Cougars failed to recover an onside kick.

-- Stu Mandelbaum

• Bonanza 34, Durango 6 -- At Bonanza, quarterback Sterling Sprau threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Bengals won their fifth straight game.

With the win, Bonanza remained tied with Bishop Gorman atop the Southwest League.

Sprau threw for 163 yards, including touchdowns of 60 and 18 yards to Aaron Simon and 25 yards to Delano Helmuth. Sprau added a 15-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.

The Bengals (5-2, 4-0 Southwest) gained 440 total yards, led by Antonio Beals' 201 on 37 carries with one TD.

Durango, outscored 252-56 in its six losses, scored with 8:57 remaining as Julio Mora raced 65 yards for a touchdown. The Trailblazers had just 92 yards rushing on 26 tries.

Bonanza held Durango (1-6, 1-3 Southwest) to 191 yards, 76 in the second half. But the Bengals were penalized 20 times for 197 yards.

-- Sam Leeper

• Green Valley 17, Liberty 0 -- At Green Valley, the Gators (5-2, 3-0 Southeast) rode a dominating performance by their defense and special teams to a homecoming shutout of the Patriots (3-4, 1-3).

Green Valley won its fourth in a row, setting up a first-place showdown in the Southeast League at No. 5 Del Sol next week.

Taylor Jones scored on a 2-yard run early in the second quarter to make it 10-0. Quarterback Nick Libonati put the game away with a 30-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds left in the game.

Liberty was held 102 yards of offense, 31 of which came on a pass from Robert Gilliland to Shawn Murray on the final play of the first half.

Green Valley's special teams were a key factor. Junior Nolan Kohorst nailed a 50-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, and punter Jordan Miller twice pinned the Patriots inside their 5-yard line.

Miller's first punt was downed at the Liberty 1, and after the Patriots were forced to punt, Green Valley took over at the Liberty 26. The field position led to Jones' touchdown run.

-- David Schoen

• Palo Verde 42, Shadow Ridge 6 -- At Palo Verde, the top-ranked Panthers (7-0, 4-0 Northwest) held the Mustangs (2-5, 1-3) to 80 yards of offense and overcame a slow start to rumble to victory.

Palo Verde, which rushed for 465 yards, scored 42 consecutive points after Miguel Martinez returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown to give Shadow Ridge an early lead.

The Panthers went in front on Tyrone Blake's 15-yard touchdown run on the next drive. He added a 33-yard TD run in the fourth quarter and finished with 175 yards on 15 carries.

Chaz Thomas, who entered the game in the second quarter, ran 58 yards for a touchdown on his first play, and Palo Verde took a 14-6 lead into halftime.

Blake's 20-yard run on fourth down extended the Panthers' first drive of the second half, and three plays later Thomas scored on a 34-yard run. Thomas added an 87-yard TD run in the third quarter and finished with 194 yards on nine rushes.

-- Adam Berchin

• Valley 32, Chaparral 26 -- At Valley, Kerwynn Williams scored five touchdowns, including the Vikings' last three, to lift Valley over the Cowboys in double overtime.

After Chaparral (2-5, 1-2 Northeast) punted to the Vikings 5-yard line, Valley (3-4, 1-3) took over with 7:45 left in regulation trailing, 20-12.

Williams carried six times for 60 yards on the drive and scored the tying touchdown and 2-point conversion to send the game to overtime. He finished with 20 carries for 237 yards.

The 14-play, 95-yard drive came after the Vikings had committed five turnovers, including one at the Cowboys 1-yard line.

On Chaparral's first overtime possession, Jermal Turner's third-down pass fall incomplete, but a defensive pass-interference penalty gave the Cowboys a new set of downs. Valley was penalized 13 times for 115 yards.

Pierre Jones scored the go-ahead touchdown for Chaparral. He finished with 74 yards on 15 carries.

After the Cowboys failed on the conversion, Williams scored the next two touchdowns for Valley. The defense then stopped Chaparral on fourth down.

-- Matt Maxson

• Arbor View 28, Centennial 7 -- At Centennial, the Aggies (5-2, 2-2 Northwest) rushed for 397 yards and rolled past the Bulldogs (2-5, 0-4).

Arbor View senior Gabe Toney, who rushed for 164 yards, scored on runs of 1 yard and 3 yards in the third quarter to give the Aggies a 21-7 lead.

Sophomore Taylor Wooten, who rushed for 152 yards, capped a 99-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to seal the win in the fourth quarter.

Wooten scored on a 6-yard run on Arbor View's opening drive to make it 6-0.

Centennial offensive lineman William Smith recovered a fumble in the end zone with 7:53 left in the second quarter, and the Bulldogs took a 7-6 lead into halftime.

-- Brennan Karle

• Eldorado 22, Canyon Springs 15 -- At Eldorado, Tone Gatewood rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown to lead the Sundevils (4-3, 2-1 Northeast) past the Pioneers (0-6, 0-3).

Eldorado capitalized on good field position early, scoring two touchdowns within the first 10 minutes on possessions that began deep in Pioneers territory.

The Sundevils sealed the win late in the third quarter when quarterback JaQuorrey Williams hooked up with Charles White for a 47-yard touchdown pass.

Curtis Davis led Canyon Springs with 95 yards rushing and a touchdown.

-- Ryan Austin

• Spring Valley 47, Western 7 -- At Western, Jacques Adams ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns as the Grizzlies (5-1, 3-1 Southwest) routed the Warriors (1-5, 1-3).

Spring Valley scored 28 points and recovered two onside kicks in the first quarter.

Grizzlies quarterback Anton Stallworth ran for two touchdowns, including a 90-yard sprint at the beginning of the second half. He also threw touchdown passes of 11 and 20 yards to Brandon Lopez in the first quarter.

Spring Valley held Western to 89 yards of offense and forced four turnovers

-- Kevin Klein

• Foothill 21, Silverado 17 -- At Silverado, Algernon Sewell rushed for 174 yards on 34 carries and scored two touchdowns to help the Falcons (3-4, 1-2 Southeast) regain the El Camino Bell with a win over the rival Skyhawks (4-3, 1-3).

Foothill trailed 17-14 entering the fourth quarter, but Aaron Dupin threw a 20-yard pass to F.J. Funtila for the go-ahead touchdown with 10:19 to play.

Silverado managed only 96 yards of total offense. But the defense and special teams each scored a touchdown, keeping the Skyhawks in the game.

-- Sean Jaramillo

• Cimarron-Memorial 33, Mojave 6 -- At Mojave, Stephen Nixon rushed 13 times for 162 yards and a touchdown, James Poole had two TD runs, and the Spartans (4-3, 3-1, Northwest) routed the Rattlers (0-6, 0-4).

Cimarron's first touchdown came on a 30-yard fumble return by Timothy Hassan with 5:22 to go in the first quarter. Two minutes, later the Spartans' defense forced another fumble that led to a 5-yard touchdown run by Poole.

Poole finished with 100 yards rushing on 12 carries.

-- Jonathan Reese

• Clark 41, Pahrump Valley 14 -- At Pahrump, Andre Clay rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Chargers (2-5, 2-2 Southwest) over the Trojans (1-6, 0-4).

Clay scored on runs of 5 yards, 50 yards and 1 yard. Aaron Arlt added 135 rushing yards and a TD for Clark, which led 27-14 at the half.

-- Don McDermott