Aggies run it up early, fend off Wolves

The obituary for the Arbor View football team's season was written after the Aggies suffered a lopsided loss to Desert Pines in the season opener.

But there's no need for a funeral. The Aggies are alive and well.

Reserve running back Deago Stubbs rushed for 173 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, and host Arbor View grinded out a 21-14 victory over No. 3 Basic on Friday.

"It's who we are. We battle," Aggies coach Dan Barnson said. "We have a solid program, and I'm very proud it. There's a lot of people who have their finger in this thing. It's a team effort, all the way from our administration down."

Stubbs filled in for Curtis Jones, the Aggies' leading rusher entering the game who was injured at the end of a 24-yard run late in the first quarter. Jones finished with 76 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Morris Jackson added 66 yards on 10 carries, and Andrew Wagner had 42 yards rushing and a 2-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter that gave No. 6 Arbor View a 14-0 lead.

The Aggies (4-1) finished with 362 yards rushing.

"Deago's a sophomore, and he showed a lot of heart getting in there," Barnson said. "He was kind of running with one wing there for a half, if not more. He did a really good job."

Arbor View led 21-7 at halftime and then had to hold off the Wolves (3-1) late.

John Funaki scored on a 2-yard run with 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter for Basic to cut the Aggies' lead to 21-14.

The Wolves benefitted from 30 yards in penalties on Arbor View on the drive and also converted on fourth-and-10 from the Arbor View 42-yard line when quarterback Aeneas McAllister hit DeShawn Eagles for a 12-yard gain.

Arbor View's Matt Sims intercepted McAllister with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to halt a Wolves drive.

Basic blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt with 59 seconds left and took over at its own 20, but Wagner sealed the victory with the Aggies' third interception of the night.

"Basic's a great team. I give them a lot of credit," Barnson said. "I think our kids relaxed, and they learned tonight you can't relax."

McAllister finished 13-for-33 for 120 yards passing, and he rushed for a team-high 58 yards. He also scored on a 59-yard run with 3:45 remaining in the second quarter to cut Arbor View's lead to 21-7.

Prior to McAllister's scoring run, the Wolves had 35 yards of total offense. Basic was held to 211 yards by the Aggies' defense, which was led by defensive lineman Harold Bell (two sacks).

Arbor View got off to a fast start, scoring on its first three possessions to jump out to a 21-0 lead. Jones bolted 30 yards on the opening drive, and after Bell blocked a punt to set up Arbor View at the Wolves' 3-yard line, Wagner scored two plays later to make it 14-0.

Jones hobbled off on the Aggies' third drive, and Stubbs finished off the 11-play, 73-yard march with a 5-yard touchdown run 53 seconds into the second quarter.

"Defensively, we battled hard. The kids battled on offense," Barnson said. "We had some untimely penalties and put the ball on the ground once or twice that kind of killed the drive. We went back to old-fashioned Arbor View football there for a while and just did what we did."

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.