McAllister throws for three scores, runs for one as Basic tops Las Vegas

With a nine-point lead late in the fourth quarter and his offense pinned deep in its own territory, Basic football coach Jeff Cahill made a gutsy call to put the ball in the air.

Josh Villaros ensured it was the right decision.

Villaros hauled in a 32-yard reception with a little more than four minutes remaining, and the play helped seal the Wolves’ 42-32 victory over host Las Vegas on Friday in the Division I Sunrise Region semifinals.

“Josh is our guy, man,” Cahill said. “He’s the No. 1 receiver in our conference, and we felt like he could beat the kid. They were playing press (coverage) every time it was third down, so we knew it was open.”

Basic, which finished fourth in the Southeast League, advances to the Sunrise title game for the first time since 2009. The Wolves (6-5) will play 7 p.m. Friday at Liberty.

“Nobody expected us to be here, so we’re going to strap it up next week and go play and see what happens,” Cahill said. “It takes a lot of luck, and the kids just believed they could do it. And they came out and did it. I’m proud of them.”

Basic quarterback Aeneas McAllister finished 15 for 19 for 193 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 41 yards rushing and scored on a 3-yard keeper after Las Vegas fumbled on the opening drive of the second half.

Jake Waldren blocked a 20-yard field goal attempt by Las Vegas’ Astrid Catalan with 5:36 remaining in the fourth quarter to preserve the Wolves’ 35-26 lead. On third-and-6 from Basic’s 9-yard line, McAllister threw a deep fade to Villaros, who came back to the ball to make a sliding catch.

“It’s a play that we practice, it’s a situation we practice,” Villaros said.

Sean White then capped the nine-play, 95-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run that put Basic up 42-26 with 1:40 left.

Villaros finished with eight receptions for 133 yards and two first-half touchdowns that helped the Wolves take a 21-13 lead at halftime.

Dante Ortiz rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns for Las Vegas. His second score brought the Wildcats (6-5) to within 28-20 late in the third quarter, but Dallon Ellett returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a score to give Basic a 35-20 advantage.

“That was a huge play,” Cahill said.

Las Vegas quarterback Trevor Swenson connected with Kyle Christensen for a 13-yard touchdown with 11:07 remaining to cut the Wolves’ lead to 35-26. Christensen also caught a 12-yard touchdown on the final play of the game and finished with seven catches for 70 yards.

Swenson completed 24 of 36 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns.

■ Bishop Gorman 52, Centennial 7 — At Bishop Gorman, the Gaels inched closer to winning their sixth straight state championship with a dominating win over Centennial.

Using a balanced effort on both sides of the ball, the Gaels tallied 445 yards of offense — 309 in the first half — while their defense stymied the Bulldogs every time they seemed to have something going.

Gorman quarterback Tate Martell completed 9 of 12 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Russell Booze ran for 136 yards on nine carries and had two touchdowns.

Martell was able to operate the big-play scheme against a Bulldogs defense that was missing star defensive lineman Greg Rogers, as only two of his completions went for fewer than 10 yards. Meanwhile, Gorman’s rushing game gained 254 yards.

“Offensively I loved the way we were able to run the football,” Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. “Our defense played well, but we didn’t tackle well. … My frustration always stems from I want to be perfect, and it wasn’t perfect. At the end of the day, we’re always pursuing perfection.”

Centennial, which got its lone score on an 81-yard run by Rhamondre Stevenson at the 9:45 mark of the first quarter, totaled 278 yards of offense but couldn’t finish any of its drives in the end zone.

Stevenson finished with 143 yards on 19 carries to lead the Bulldogs.

The Gaels travel to Arbor View next week for the Sunset Region title.

“Arbor View is going to try to line up and run it right at us, and nobody’s really been able to do that,” Sanchez said. “They’re going to try, and we’ve always been good against the double-wing. They’re going to line up and do what they do.”

— W.G. Ramirez

■ Liberty 33, Coronado 27 — At Coronado, Spencer Wilson’s 14-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter broke a 13-13 tie and helped the Patriots (9-2) top the Cougars (7-4).

Ethan Dedeaux scored two touchdowns for Liberty, hauling in a 63-yard touchdown pass from Kenyon Oblad in the first quarter before running for a 7-yard score early in the fourth quarter.

Two Matt Blumberg field goals increased Liberty’s margin to 26-13 midway with 6:36 left in the fourth quarter, but Coronado’s Michael Simpson hauled in a 53-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Tanner Gorski with 6:18 to play to trim the lead to 26-20.

Calvin Tubbs’ 3-yard TD run two minutes later made it 33-20.

The Cougars tried to rally late as Spencer Cofer tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Kevin Verboonen with 1:53 to play. Coronado then forced a fumble and took over on the Liberty 30-yard line but a fourth-down pass was broken up near the goal line.

Nick Trejo and Jordan Patterson each had a touchdown run for Coronado.

— Tim Guesman