Mojave defense turns tide in playoff win over Jaguars

Mojave coach Joe Delgado had mixed emotions after his team's first home playoff victory Thursday.

On one hand, the Rattlers committed two turnovers while committing 11 penalties. On the other, the defense forced five fumbles and three interceptions.

After a turbulent first half, the Rattlers settled down and rolled past visiting Desert Pines 42-28 in a Division I-A Southern Region quarterfinal.

"It was ugly," Delgado said. "Fortunately, (Desert Pines) made more mistakes than we did, and we capitalized on those mistakes."

Despite his team's mishaps, Delgado said he was pleased with the win.

"There's no experience like this," said Delgado, whose Rattlers (6-4) will host Moapa Valley in the semifinals Nov. 2. "It's great to see the seniors win a playoff game, let alone a home playoff game."

Mojave's defense kicked into high gear after the Jaguars (5-5) went ahead 14-13 on a 39-yard pass from Travis Nofoa to Tim Hough with 4:36 left in the first quarter.

The Rattlers scored two touchdowns in an 18-second span when Ty Flanagan scored on a 4-yard run and Marcus Hines scored on a 28-yard interception return.

A 28-yard touchdown run by Zack Arave midway through the second quarter gave Mojave a 35-14 lead.

Nofoa connected with Donavan Wright just before halftime to make it 35-22, but the Jaguars never mounted another serious threat. Arave, who finished with 97 yards on 10 carries, scored his third touchdown early in the third quarter.

Flanagan led Mojave with 110 yards on 14 caries.

Iquan Corsey, who came in when standout running back Malik Davis was injured in the first quarter, gave the Jaguars their last touchdown with a 16-yard run late in the third.

■ Cheyenne 44, Virgin Valley 14 - At Cheyenne, Myloe Lewis ran for 272 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Desert Shields (8-2) past the Bulldogs (5-5) in a Southern Region quarterfinal.

Lewis scored on the opening play on a 55 yard-run to give Cheyenne the lead.

Virgin Valley took the lead early in the second quarter when Garrett Leavitt scored on a 1-yard run, but the Desert Shields scored three unanswered touchdowns to put the game out of reach.

Cheyenne's Darrion Hammond threw two TDs to Devin Tatum. Agbor Enokenwa rushed for 54 yards and also scored.

Leavitt finished 14 of 28 for 176 yards and a TD for the Bulldogs. Dee Bowler finished with 104 total yards and a TD.

- Steven Slivka

■ Boulder City 57, Faith Lutheran 33 - At Boulder City, Xavier Steel rushed for 247 yards and two TDs on 20 carries to lead the Eagles (9-1) past the Crusaders (5-5) in a Southern Region quarterfinal. Boulder City meets Cheyenne next week.

Steel scored on runs of 60 and 1 yards for Boulder City, which rushed for 522 yards and eight TDs. D.J. Koopman ran for 120 yards and two TDs on 10 carries, and Billy Viera had 87 yards and a TD.

Faith Lutheran's Greg Benson completed 29 of 59 passes for 410 yards and four TDs with one interception.

He connected with Sean Bischel 10 times for 164 yards and a TD, Anthony Pryatel-Farmer 10 times for 137 yards and a score and Mark Rubalcaba three times for 48 yards and two TDs.

- Stephen Weeks

■ Moapa Valley 65, Pahrump Valley 0 - At Overton, Conner Mortensen scored four TDs, three on the ground, as the Pirates (10-1) routed the Trojans (2-8) in a Southern Region quarterfinal.

Mortensen ran for 109 yards and returned a punt 67 yards as Moapa Valley took a 53-0 halftime lead. Jared Repp ran for a 20-yard TD and returned an interception 36 yards for a score. Sean McConnell ran for a touchdown.