Lake’s 213 yards, two TDs carry Green Valley past Basic

The lights at Basic went out at the start of the fourth quarter Thursday, and the Green Valley football team seemed to sleep through the final 12 minutes of the 22nd edition of the Henderson Bowl.

Luckily for the Gators, they did most of their damage in the first half.

Albert Lake rushed for 213 yards and two long touchdowns, and visiting Green Valley raced to a 25-point lead in the first half before holding on for a 42-32 victory over the Wolves.

“It’s a great win for our program and for our kids who have been working hard,” Gators coach Brian Castro said. “They took this game seriously and came out and played hard. It was a little shaky at the end; hats off to Basic. They never quit, and we knew they wouldn’t. ... We’re lucky to get out of here alive.”

The fifth-ranked Gators (4-1, 1-0 Southeast League) finished with 332 yards on the ground, but Basic made it interesting after the 20-minute delay with two touchdowns in the final 6 minutes, 45 seconds.

Josh Villaros returned a kickoff 80 yards to cut Green Valley’s lead to 42-26, and after the Gators fumbled with 1:01 left, Sean White scored on a 5-yard run with 37 seconds remaining for the Wolves (3-3, 0-1).

The Gators recovered the onside kick and notched their fourth straight victory in the rivalry.

Green Valley took control in the first half when it scored touchdowns on three consecutive plays. Lake bolted 65 yards for his first touchdown to make the score 7-3, and after Villaros was stripped on the ensuing kickoff, Gators quarterback Christian Lopez hit Brayon Williams for a 23-yard completion to make it 14-3.

Basic went three-and-out on its next possession, and Brenan Adams scored on a 47-yard run for a 21-3 Gators lead.

The Wolves had two key drops in the second quarter and drove to the Green Valley 5-yard line late in the quarter, but John Funaki was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 and the Gators took over.

On the next play, Lake broke free for a 95-yard touchdown run that put Green Valley ahead 28-3.

“We had momentum there for a while, and we got a great stop down there at the goal line and Albert got free,” Castro said. “It was a great run by him and great blocking up front. The guys did a good job.”

Lopez finished 14-for-18 for 183 yards and two touchdowns. The senior connected with Dakota Prussia for a 9-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that put the Gators up 42-20. Prussia finished with a team-high six catches for 93 yards, and Adams had 87 yards rushing and two scores.

Villaros made six receptions for 121 yards to lead Basic, and Funaki had a 1-yard scoring run on the final play of the second quarter to trim Green Valley’s lead to 28-10. Wolves quarterback Aeneas McCallister finished 11-for-34 for 176 yards.

The Wolves put together a 10-play drive that culminated with Reggie Upshaw’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Chris Flum to get within 35-20 with 8:38 to play.

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.