Wolves don’t let down

Trailing by two touchdowns on the road against an inspired team in its homecoming game. That was the unenviable spot Basic got into early in its Southeast League showdown at Liberty on Friday night.

But the ninth-ranked Wolves didn't shrink from the challenge. Rather, they responded with a vengeance, reeling off 28 unanswered points to take control and win, 44-33.

"We had a slow start, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish," Basic quarterback Robby Faiman said. "We came out in the second half and did what we wanted to do."

After falling behind 13-0 on two touchdowns by Liberty running back Shawn Murray, who finished with 234 yards rushing, the Wolves (5-1, 3-0) hit the comeback trail.

They slipped ahead 14-13 at halftime, then made it 28-13 by scoring on their first two possessions of the second half.

Faiman, who ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns, also passed for three scores, all to Justin Burdno. Their first scoring hook-up, a 4-yarder on fourth-and-3, gave Basic a 21-13 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Basic's Jared Darnell forced a fumble by Murray and the Wolves recovered deep in Patriots territory. Faiman scored on the next play, sprinting around left end for 25 yards.

"The big play was when Jared Darnell made (Murray) fumble," Basic coach Jeff Cahill said. "We got the ball, scored again and got up two scores, and that was tough for them."

Sage Nua ran in from 4 yards to lift Liberty within 31-26 early in the fourth quarter. But Basic quickly regained control when Burdno took a short pass from Faiman and turned it into a 56-yard score.

"It's a huge win for us," Cahill said. "We knew Liberty would be tough and they were tough. It's really great to get a victory on their field and get halfway through the (league) undefeated. We're getting better and better every week."

Murray put Liberty ahead 13-0, running for touchdowns of 25 and 68 yards.

"We played hard, but we should've come out harder," Murray said. "They were the better team tonight."

Charles Phillips rushed for 102 yards and scored Basic's first TD on a 15-yard run late in the first quarter. Faiman's 50-yard sprint in the second quarter gave the Wolves a lead they wouldn't give up.

• Palo Verde 17, Cimarron-Memorial 14 -- At Cimarron-Memorial, Alex Bonczyk missed a 27-yard field-goal attempt in the final seconds of regulation, but kicked a 22-yarder in overtime as the No. 1-ranked Panthers stayed unbeaten by beating the No. 9 Spartans.

Bonczyk made a 46-yard catch from Kelly Zurowski with eight seconds left, but his kick was no good. He got another chance in overtime after Liloa Nobriga intercepted a third-down pass by Cimarron. Three plays later, Bonczyk kicked the winner.

Trailing 14-7 in the fourth quarter, Palo Verde (6-0, 3-0 Northwest) drove 61 yards and tied the game on a 4-yard run by Chaz Thomas (107 yards) and Bonczyk's extra point with 3:05 to play.

Cimarron (3-3, 2-1) had taken a 14-7 lead on Zach Barbara's 30-yard run with 11:17 left.

Barbara, who finished with 78 yards, also scored on a 15-yard run in the final minute of the first half.

Stephen Nixon led the Spartans with 86 yards on 13 carries.

Sidney Hodge scored on a 6-yard run for the Panthers, who lost three fumbles.

-- David Schoen

• Bishop Gorman 55, Clark 0 -- At Clark, Taylor Spencer scored four touchdowns and the Gaels defense held the Chargers to 91 yards as No. 2-ranked Gorman blanked the Chargers.

Spencer caught scoring passes of 44, 18 and 2 yards to help Gorman (6-1, 3-0 Southwest) speed to a 28-0 halftime lead. In the fourth quarter, after teammate Travis Najbicz intercepted a pass and then fumbled, Spencer recovered and ran 38 yards to finish the scoring.

Gorman forced four turnovers by Clark (1-5, 1-2).

Gaels quarterback Joe Huber was 13-of-19 passing for 285 yards and four TDs, helping Gorman compile 427 yards of offense.

-- Tim Guesman

• Del Sol 40, Foothill 17 -- At Foothill, Earnest Hall gained 146 yards on 20 carries, including touchdowns of 18 and 3 yards, and the fifth-ranked Dragons beat the Falcons with a 27-point second half.

Del Sol (5-1, 2-0 Southeast) established the tempo early, but penalties helped Foothill (2-4, 0-2) keep it close.

Hall and Derek Eamon (61 yards on seven carries) scored on first-half runs, but Foothill's Terrance Walls kicked a 30-yard field goal and Connor Afoa ran for a 3-yard touchdown to cut Del Sol's halftime lead to 13-10.

The Dragons dominated the second half, fueled by Jordan Molina's 74-yard punt return. John Kirschbaum, who rushed five times for 116 yards, added an 18-yard touchdown, taking a lateral from Tim Lawson.

-- Jeff Wollard

• Spring Valley 33, Sierra Vista 20 -- At Spring Valley, Jacques Adams rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns to carry the No. 7 Grizzlies to a Southwest League victory over the Mountain Lions.

Adams scored on runs of 9, 36 and 21 yards as the Grizzlies (4-1, 2-1) compiled 185 yards on the ground. Anton Stallworth passed for a touchdown and ran 1 yard for another.

Sierra Vista (2-4, 1-2) scored first on Garland Latham's 40-yard run in the first quarter, but then Spring Valley's defense took over.

Jacob Bodine returned an interception 36 yards to the Sierra Vista 23. Two plays later, Adams ran for his first touchdown.

On the Mountain Lions' next possession, the Grizzlies stopped Akil Sharp on fourth-and-1, and Adams soon raced 36 yards to give the Grizzlies a 13-7 lead.

Sierra Vista then missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt, and Keenan Sanders alertly returned it 57 yards. Stallworth scored from the 1.

Sharp led Sierra Vista with 96 yards on 23 carries and scored second-half touchdowns of 1 and 23 yards. Latham added 89 yards on 14 carries.

-- Sam Leeper

• Green Valley 21, Canyon Springs 20 -- At Green Valley, Quincy Bagsby rushed for 135 yards, including touchdowns of 13 and 40 yards, and ran for a 2-point conversion as the Gators (4-2) slid past the Pioneers (0-5).

Bagsby's 40-yard TD in the third quarter gave Green Valley a 21-14 lead, and the Gators hung on. Canyon Springs scored with three minutes to play, but its tying point-after kick was blocked.

Kyle Larimer got the Gators off to a fine start with a 79-yard kickoff return, setting the tone for a big game by Green Valley's special teams.

David Rimmey led Canyon Springs with 208 rushing yards, including touchdowns of 4 and 52 yards.

-- Sean Jaramillo

• Cheyenne 44, Centennial 3 -- At Cheyenne, the Desert Shields (5-1, 2-1 Northwest) had three 100-yard rushers while compiling 512 yards on the ground in an easy victory over the Bulldogs (2-4, 0-3).

Marcus Sullivan ran for 151 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, and added a 16-yard TD catch from Kaeo Helekahi. Ronnie Green (143 yards) scored on runs of 85 and 38 yards, and Jordan Butler (100) had a 73-yard TD.

Cheyenne's defense limited Centennial to 147 yards.

-- Adam Berchin

• Shadow Ridge 28, Mojave 12 -- At Shadow Ridge, Zach Hill rushed for 207 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Mustangs over the Rattlers.

Hill scored on runs of 9, 5 and 3 yards. Deantwan Miller supplied 107 yards on 19 carries for Shadow Ridge (2-4, 1-2 Northwest).

Mojave quarterback Mike Montgomery passed for 78 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown, and ran for 75 to lead the Rattlers (0-5, 0-3).

-- Brian Danise

• Durango 62, Pahrump Valley 13 -- At Durango, sophomore Julio Mora rushed for 74 yards and three touchdowns as the Trailblazers (1-5, 1-2 Southwest) got their first win, blowing out the Trojans (1-5, 0-3).

Durango scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, and Chase Roberts threw his second TD pass to Keiffer Mancebo in the second quarter to make it 27-0.

The Trailblazers' defense scored on Mario Corchado's 5-yard interception return and John Ong's 44-yard blocked punt return, both in the third quarter.

Durango junior Thomas Flanagan ended the scoring with a 72-yard run with 3:33 to play.

Pahrump Valley's Anderson Floyd rushed for 110 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown.

-- Brennan Karle

• Bonanza 41, Western 35 -- At Bonanza, senior running back Antonio Beals rushed for 286 yards on 35 carries, with three touchdowns, as the Bengals beat the Warriors in a back-and-forth battle.

The teams traded scores five times in the second half before Aaron Simon of Bonanza (4-2, 3-0 Southwest) sealed the victory with a 98-yard kickoff return with 4:26 remaining.

The Bengals scored in the second quarter on an 84-yard pass from Sterling Sprau to Aaron Beals on third-and-20.

Western (1-4, 1-2) was led by Devin Wiedemann, who was 13-of-21 passing for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

-- Jonathan Reese

• Desert Pines 27, Eldorado 14 -- At Eldorado, the Jaguars (2-4, 2-1 Northeast) rallied with three touchdowns in the final minutes to beat the Sundevils (3-3, 1-1) after trailing 14-6 to begin the fourth quarter.

Dalton Leilua's 1-yard run got Desert Pines within 14-12 with 3:15 left. The two-point conversion attempt failed.

The Jaguars' Eric Tuiloma recovered the ensuing onside kick at Eldorado's 47-yard line, and Derrick Shaw needed only one play to run for the go-ahead touchdown. He finished with 209 yards on 22 carries.

Tuiloma's 70-yard interception return added an insurance score with two minutes to play.

-- Matt Maxson

• Silverado 26, Coronado 7 -- At Silverado, Michael Wadsworth returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown and the Skyhawks (4-2, 1-2 Southeast) beat the Cougars (2-4, 0-3).

Wadsworth appeared to be stopped at the Coronado 20-yard line, but cut inside and spun away from two tackles.

The Cougars tied the score at 7-all on Blake Smith's 44-yard reception from Dane Cooper in the third quarter.

But it wasn't tied for long. Silverado's Dariouse Gravely ran for 25 yards to set up Matt Hollen's go-ahead 6-yard reception from Kyle Simmons.

In the fourth, T.J. Alofipo scored on a 15-yard screen pass and Akeem Saint Victor added an 11-yard TD run.

Terran Madu-Jules gained 95 of the Skyhawks' 265 rushing yards.

Kenny Lawrence led the Cougars with 101 yards on 16 carries.

-- Dana Lane

• Rancho 21, Chaparral 0 -- At Rancho, the Rams (3-3, 2-0 Northeast) limited the Cowboys (2-4, 1-2) to 147 yards.

Rancho quarterback James Cammack passed for 251 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown to Perry Benson.

Cammack also ran for 65 yards, including a 1-yard TD to open the scoring. Zach Foulkrod added a 26-yard TD run in the third quarter.

Dominic Morales intercepted two passes for Chaparral.

-- Kevin Klein

• Canyon View (Utah) 36, Desert Oasis 0 -- At Cedar City, Utah, Canyon View scored 29 second-half points to turn the game into a blowout.

Desert Oasis fell to 3-3 in its inaugural season.