Spring Valley ready for test

Sometimes it's difficult to keep young players humble, especially after a big win.

So after Spring Valley High School routed Granger (Utah) 54-15 in its season opener last Friday, Grizzlies coach Johnny Macon made it clear what he thought of the win as his football team prepared to take on Desert Pines.

"On our scouting report, my message to them was: 'You haven't done anything yet,' " Macon said. "It's a steppingstone. We'll determine how well we've done when our season ends."

The Grizzlies (1-0) expect a much tougher test when the Jaguars (1-0) visit at 7 tonight.

Like Spring Valley, Desert Pines returns nearly every starter from a team that went 7-4 a year ago, and the Grizzlies expect this week's game to be more of a challenge.

"It's just a game. Just because we won big doesn't mean anything," senior linebacker Jeremy Kadoich said of the opener. "Desert Pines is a way better team. They've got more weapons than that Granger team did."

Chief among those weapons are running backs Kwame Banks and Michael Ball. Ball, who rushed for 1,126 yards as a junior, had 95 yards on 13 carries last week against Foothill. Banks had 155 yards on eight carries against the Falcons.

"Those guys scare me," Macon said. "They're great athletes. The thing with them is even if you do stop them, you're not going to stop them for the whole game, because they're good. They're going to make some plays."

Banks could see more carries this week. Ball injured his right ankle against Foothill, and Desert Pines coach Paul Bennett wasn't sure how much the running back would play against the Grizzlies.

"It's nothing major, but I figure I'll make it a game-time call and see how he feels," Bennett said. "This ain't the Super Bowl, so we'll play it by ear."

Banks gives teams a little different look. He emerged as a weapon in the offseason, offering a speedier option to complement Ball's relentless power style.

"We kind of spotted in the UNLV camp and in the scrimmages that Kwame could be a nice change-up," Bennett said. "He's a different style of runner. It's that thunder and lightning, baby."

Macon came away impressed with what he saw of Banks on film.

"That kid, he's pretty nice," Macon said. "That's a nice Christmas present. You know you've got a good present coming, but when that second one comes, that just puts a big smile on your face. He's the real deal."

With so much focus on containing Desert Pines' runners, Bennett knows the pressure could be on sophomore quarterback Dalton Leilua. Leilua didn't have huge numbers in the opener, but he passed for a touchdown, and Bennett was impressed with the youngster's poise in his first start.

"We know that anybody that walks up on us, the first thing they're going to do is load up the box because of Mike and now Kwame," Bennett said. "We're going to have to be able to execute by throwing the ball a little and loosen them up."