Virgin Valley cruises with big second half

MESQUITE -- When Boulder City stopped Virgin Valley quarterback Terran Leavitt at the 2-yard line on the final play of the first half to hang onto a six-point lead, it appeared the Eagles had the momentum.

But it was the last important stop Boulder City made.

Virgin Valley dominated the second half, turning five turnovers into 25 points, in a 39-20 victory over Boulder City in the Class 3A Southern League playoffs. It was coach Kirk Hafen's 150th win at the school.

The Bulldogs will travel to Truckee (Calif.) next week in the state semifinals. Boulder City finished 5-5.

On the first possession of the third quarter, the Eagles drove to the Virgin Valley 20 in 10 plays. But quarterback Ryan Washburn was intercepted by Jonathan Gleave, who raced 90 yards for a touchdown, and the score was knotted at 20.

The Eagles had a fumble, two more interceptions and two series end on downs in the next five possessions.

"We certainly wore them down," Hafen said. "We didn't panic after being behind at halftime. I knew we had what it took to make plays, and we certainly made them."

After recovering a fumble on the next series, the Bulldogs took the lead for good as Leavitt found Gleave for a 17-yard score, and Virgin Valley led, 26-20.

Boulder City coughed up the ball on the ensuing kickoff, and the Bulldogs were in business again at the Eagles 22.

Four plays later, Colton Teerlink ran 11 yards for the second of his three touchdowns on the day.

Teerlink, who ran for 52 yards on 13 carries, scored on a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

• Moapa Valley 41, Faith Lutheran 21 -- At Overton, Brad Weiss rushed for 241 yards and three touchdowns as the Pirates won in the Class 3A Southern League playoffs.

Moapa Valley rushed for 323 yards in the game.

"Brad is a special player, but our front five blow open holes for our runners, and that is who we have confidence in, the offensive line," Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis said.

The win moved the Pirates into the 3A state semifinals for the third consecutive year.

Moapa Valley led 21-14 at the half, and Faith Lutheran was driving or the tying score in the third quarter. But the Pirates stopped the Crusaders on fourth down, setting up a scoring drive capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Max Jenkins to Tyler Waite.

Jenkins also rushed for two touchdowns.

Moapa Valley's defense held Faith Lutheran to 52 yards rushing and forced three turnovers.

-- Jon Oglesby

CLASS 2A

• The Meadows 28, Needles (Calif.) 27 -- At The Meadows, Gerard Martinez threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns to lead The Meadows (9-2) to a win in the Class 2A Southern League playoffs.

Remington Ross' second touchdown reception of the game came on a 20-yard pass from Martinez on the first play of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 27. Dylan Lee's extra point sealed the victory.

Needles (7-3) led 27-7 with 9:43 left in the third quarter but failed to pick up a first down in its last four possessions.

"We kept going, and I thought they ran out of gas," Meadows coach Frank DeSantis said. "Our guys just didn't quit."

The Meadows' Pat Kenny had 102 yards of offense, including a 24-yard touchdown pass from Martinez. He also led the defense in tackles with eight.

"They came out strong and harder than we did, but the third quarter is our quarter. We came out after the half and dominated," Kenny said.

The Meadows' Austin Brown led all receivers with 131 yards, including a 35-yard TD pass from Martinez.

Stevie Kidd opened the game with an 85-yard kickoff return for Needles. Kidd added a 10-yard scoring run in the second quarter.

Needles' Darra Russell had touchdown receptions of 55 and 12 yards.

-- Kevin Klein

• Mountain View 40, Lincoln County 24 -- At Panaca, the fourth-seeded Saints bolted to a 34-8 halftime lead and stunned the top-seeded Lynx in a Class 2A state quarterfinal.

Raymond Velarde threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more for Mountain View (5-6), which earned its first-ever postseason victory.

The Saints visit the North's No. 1 seed, Pershing County, at 1 p.m. Saturday with a trip to the state title game on the line.

Velarde completed 9 of 16 passes for 140 yards and carried 18 times for 57 yards.

Lincoln County (7-4) ran only 15 plays in the first half.

CLASS 1A

• Pahranagat Valley 58, Indian Springs 18 -- At Alamo, the Panthers outgained the Thunderbirds 459-230 in a Class 1A Southern League playoff game.

Taylor Poulsen threw for 179 yards and five TDs for Pahranagat Valley (10-0), which hosts Coleville at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Class 1A state semifinals.

Derek Oliver rushed for 89 yards for Indian Springs (5-5).