Regan leads Lake Mead past Calvary Chapel

The Lake Mead football team didn’t need starting quarterback Josh Thorell to beat Calvary Chapel at home Friday night. It didn’t need backup Mitch Dolinar either.

Third-stringer Jared Regan was serviceable enough to lead the Eagles to a 40-0 victory.

And he may have set a school record in the process.

Regan, normally a running back, filled in quite admirably for Thorell and Dolinar, and rushed for 283 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries.

Eagles coach Mitch Johnson speculated that the output might be a school record, and confirmed that he was amazed by Regan’s performance.

“He’s been doing this for eight, nine, 10 years. His entire life. Now it’s his showcase,” Johnson said. “The fact that he stepped up for a fallen teammate, that shows the kind of character that he (has).”

Dolinar started under center in place of Thorell, who sat out with a separated throwing shoulder. But he, too, was injured in the first quarter, and left with an apparent clavicle injury.

That’s when the Eagles (3-1, 2-1 Class 2A Southern League) turned to Regan. And that’s when when Regan started to run.

The 6-foot, 200-pound senior scored a touchdown on his fourth carry, and added two more scoring runs in the second quarter.

His final carry of the night — a picturesque 90-yard touchdown run — jump-started running time early in the fourth quarter and put the finishing touches on great night for the senior.

“It’s an adrenaline rush right there,” Regan said with a smile. “It’s pure adrenaline.

Lake Mead’s defense swarmed Calvary Chapel quarterback Dylan Sims, picking him off three times and sacking him nine times. Johnson credited the defensive game plan and said it was a pleasure to watch the Eagles dominate the Lions (0-4, 0-3).

“These kids, they get to release everything that they’ve got,” Johnson said. “They get to show off everything that we do during the week, and it’s a beautiful thing to be able to watch them go out there and fly around and play the sport that they love.”

Johnson and the Eagles didn’t celebrate after the game. Not even for one second.

The players ran gassers — successive sprints across the shorter length of the field — for about five minutes and gathered at midfield to hear their coach’s postgame speech.

“From now on, it’s all about beating (Class 2A Southern League leader) Needles,” he screamed.

His players roared in approval.

They’ll have a week to get ready for the Mustangs, who are 5-0 and 3-0 in conference play.

“As soon as this game was over, we were ready, because next week, we get a chance to make a statement at their place,” Johnson said. “We (want) to ruin their homecoming.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.