Falcons’ defense foils Liberty

Foothill coach Martin Redmond watched helplessly from the sideline as his offense blew opportunity after opportunity Friday.

Fortunately for Redmond, his defense was near perfect.

The Falcons forced seven turnovers and allowed only 22 passing yards en route to a 12-0 home victory over ninth-ranked Liberty.

"The defense was outstanding," Redmond said. "That was the key. It's what we stressed all week. We needed to get turnovers to win."

Though the Patriots (3-2, 1-1 Southeast) lost four fumbles and threw three interceptions, Foothill (3-2, 1-1) capitalized only once. Rico Meeks, a 245-pound defensive lineman, recovered a Liberty fumble and trudged across the field for a 75-yard touchdown to give the Falcons a 6-0 lead with 5:30 left in the first half.

Foothill made it 12-0 on its next possession when Parker Riggin connected with a leaping Tyrel Garner for a 5-yard touchdown.

The Falcons' defense took over from there.

"We knew this was going to be a defensive game," said Foothill safety Keegan Buck, who had an interception and a sack.

Liberty tried to answer on its first second-half possession, but a 44-yard drive was squelched when Foothill's Miles Killebrew made an interception in the end zone.

The Patriots turned over the ball on two of their next three possessions and were held without a first down in the fourth quarter.

"This win is huge for us," Redmond said. "If we would have lost, we would have been really worried about our chances of making the playoffs."

Riggin led the Falcons offense, completing 15 of 25 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown. Garner made six catches for 86 yards. Ty Byrd led the Patriots, rushing for 61 yards on seven carries.

• Palo Verde 48, Cheyenne 34 -- At Cheyenne, Brandon Wright rushed for 183 yards on 18 carries and scored five touchdowns as the top-ranked Panthers (6-0, 4-0 Northwest) held off the Desert Shields (3-3, 3-2).

Wright scored on runs of 56, 31, 8 and 2 yards, and returned a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter after Cheyenne had pulled to within eight points.

Led by Chappell Thomas with 121 yards and a touchdown, Palo Verde ran for 334 yards to make up for its worst defensive showing all season. The Panthers had allowed only 14 points through five games.

Cheyenne quarterback Kody Stahl passed for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 14-for-23 accuracy. Jordan Butler caught TD passes of 30 yards from Stahl and 12 from Chris Spencer, and Marquise Hall made seven catches for 134 yards including a 15-yard TD from Stahl.

Xavian Johnson scored twice in the second quarter for the Desert Shields on a 15-yard run and a 34-yard pass from Spencer.

-- Adam Candee

• Bishop Gorman 58, Green Valley 0 -- At Bishop Gorman, the No. 2-ranked Gaels (6-0) scored touchdowns on their first six possessions and led 42-0 at halftime to defeat the Gators (2-3) in a game televised nationally by CBS College Sports.

Sophomore Shaquille Powell rushed for 160 yards on five carries, including touchdowns of 63 and 92 yards, and freshman Jarrett Solomon completed 8 of 10 passes for 149 yards and three scores.

Xavier Grimble made two touchdown catches and Taylor Spencer scored on a 36-yard reception and 24-yard interception return.

Jelani Walls's interception set up Ronald Lyles' TD run, and Victor Belen also scored for Gorman, which held Green Valley to minus-28 yards rushing and 78 total yards.

Gators quarterback Jordan Corbett completed his first six passes and finished 9 of 17 for 95 yards. Bobby Shiroky had four catches for 70 yards.

-- Todd Dewey

• SIlverado 44, Coronado 14 -- At Coronado, the fourth-ranked Skyhawks (5-0, 1-0 Southeast) took over defensively in the second half, holding the Cougars (2-2, 0-2) to 66 yards and no points to rally from a 14-9 halftime deficit.

In the second half Silverado made four sacks and forced two turnovers that led to touchdowns.

Trent Tipton's 35-yard bootleg put the Skyhawks ahead 16-14 midway through the third quarter. His TD came one play after Sincere Hill recovered a fumble on a botched handoff by Coronado.

Parker Gibbons partially blocked a punt on the Cougars' next possession, and Tipton soon ran in from 1 yard.

Silverado's Terran Madu-Jules had 176 yards on 25 carries, including touchdowns of 10 and 5 yards.

Matt Hollen had two sacks for Silverado and recorded a second-quarter safety after an errant punt snap in Coronado's end zone. Dariouse Gravely added a 28-yard touchdown on an interception return.

Coronado's Kentavius Hudson rushed for 115 yards in the first half, surpassing his previous season total (73 yards). He scored on a 4-yard reception in the first quarter and a 1-yard run for a 14-7 lead.

-- Tim Guesman

• Desert Oasis 23, Spring Valley 6 -- At Desert Oasis, Ronald Hunt gained 128 yards on 29 carries, including touchdowns of 1, 4 and 11 yards, and the Diamondbacks (3-2, 2-2 Southwest) stopped the Grizzlies (3-3, 3-2).

Hunt helped Desert Oasis to a 157-32 yardage edge on the ground, and Spring Valley was held without a first down until 2:06 remained in the game.

The Diamondbacks took control with a 17-point second quarter on Brennen Stott's 31-yard field goal and Hunt's 1- and 4-yard touchdowns.

Spring Valley ended Desert Oasis' shutout bid with 20 seconds to play on Jordan Cox's 5-yard pass to Eric Derkas.

-- Sam Leeper

• Durango 49, Pahrump Valley 7 -- At Pahrump, Julio Mora rushed for five touchdowns and Mario Corchado returned an interception 101 yards for a score, helping the No. 10 Trailblazers (5-1, 4-1 Southwest) defeat the Trojans (0-5, 0-3).

Pahrump led 7-6 at halftime for its first lead all season, but couldn't stop Durango's 43-point second-half surge. Mora scored on runs of 16, 41, 10, 2 and 2 yards, and Greg McKinney added a touchdown on a 50-yard interception return.

Pahrump took its lead on Dejhan Celius' 11-yard run and Greg Walker's conversion kick, but suffered a 14th consecutive loss.

-- Don McDermott

• Arbor View 34, Shadow Ridge 3 -- At Shadow Ridge, Thomas Flanagan rushed for touchdowns of 25 and 2 yards and finished with 88 yards on 12 carries to guide the Aggies (3-3, 2-3 Northwest) past the Mustangs (0-5, 0-4).

DeMarlo Virgil scored on a 17-yard run in the first quarter and compiled a game-high 120 yards rushing. Christian Rodriguez also scored in the first on a 20-yard run.

Brian Vignaud made two interceptions, including a 26-yard return for a touchdown at the end of the third quarter.

-- Kevin Klein

• Centennial 28, Mojave 0 -- At Mojave, the Bulldogs (3-3, 3-2 Northwest) compiled 336 yards and allowed only 42 to blank the Rattlers (2-3, 1-3).

Centennial scored one touchdown per quarter, starting with Steven Wicker's 33-yard score on a screen pass from Christopher Henderson.

Henderson completed 10 of 13 passes for 151 yards, including a 46-yard strike to Robert Holley in the second quarter. Senior Javahn Sanders added second-half touchdown runs of 24 and 11 yards, on his way to 104 yards on 12 carries.

Mojave senior quarterback Alex Sylvester suffered an upper leg injury in the second quarter and did not return.

-- Brennan Karle

• Clark 28, Sierra Vista 0 -- At Clark, the Chargers (3-3, 2-3 Southwest) dominated defensively, holding the Mountain Lions (0-6, 0-4) to 29 yards and two first downs.

Clark senior Andre Clay ran for two 1-yard touchdowns and had 83 yards on 14 carries.

The game was dedicated to fallen Metro police officer Jamie Minor, a former Clark football captain.

-- Michael S. Jackson Jr.

• Las Vegas JV 50, Sunrise Mountain 7 -- At Las Vegas High, Jeremy Lagasca scored on an 80-yard kickoff return, a 53-yard interception return and a 70-yard punt return, all in the second half, as the Wildcats' junior varsity defeated the first-year Miners (1-5).

Orlando Kincey scored for Sunrise Mountain on a 6-yard run, set up by a 10-yard completion from Chris Moore to Cody Trapp. Frank Randell had 114 yards on 13 carries.

-- Sean Walker

• Valley 28, Chaparral 12 -- At Chaparral, Garic Wharton rushed for 131 yards and passed for 91 to carry the Vikings (1-4, 1-1 Northeast).

Wharton ran for an 11-yard TD in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

Valley led 22-0 at halftime on a 5-yard run by Roland Hodge, Wharton's 2-point conversion pass to Taylor Herrington, Suki Wilks' 1-yard touchdown and Wharton's 44-yard TD pass to Mitchell Deas.

Chaparral's Zachary Luciano passed for 113 yards, including touchdowns of 21 and 3 yards to Bre Onte Griffin.

Greg Tucker caught four passes for 104 yards and rushed for 72 yards on 15 carries for the Cowboys (0-5, 0-2).

-- Vincent Hernandez

• Rancho 25, Eldorado 20 -- At Rancho, Harvey Yarbrough scored three touchdowns, including an 80-yard kickoff return, to lead the Rams (1-4, 1-0 Northeast) past the Sundevils (0-5, 0-2).

Rancho junior Brandon Pletsch passed for 143 yards, including two touchdown passes to Yarbrough. The Rams led 18-6 at halftime.

JaQuorey Williams passed for 116 yards for Eldorado.

-- Jennifer Miller

• Boulder City 15, Faith Lutheran 10 -- At Boulder City, the Eagles held the Crusaders to 71 yards in the victory.

Boulder City quarterback Ryan Washburn scored on a 15-yard run in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Eagles senior Devin Combs rushed for 153 yards on 27 carries, including a 10-yard touchdown.

Faith Lutheran's Brad Pearson returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown, and Joe Portaro kicked a 23-yard field goal to put the Crusaders ahead 10-7.

-- Jim Konst