Spring Mountain rolls over Sandy Valley

Spring Mountain scored on the opening kickoff Saturday.

And on the final play.

And a bunch in between.

One week after losing 75-12 to Tonopah, the Eagles took out their frustration in a 68-0 romp over visiting Sandy Valley in a Class 1A Southern League game.

“It’s a confidence booster, big time,” Spring Mountain coach Aaron Masden said. “We’ve been rolled over the last three weeks. We’ve been making steady improvements, but just haven’t been able to put it together in games.”

The Eagles took little time to put it together Saturday.

Spring Mountain (2-3, 1-1) scored four touchdowns in the first three minutes, six seconds and coasted to a 48-0 halftime lead.

Sandy Valley (0-5, 0-3), which suited up only 12 players, was held to 3 yards of offense. The Sidewinders turned the ball over five times, allowed four sacks and had two punts blocked.

“Sandy Valley being a new program, I’m concerned that this game was too easy for us,” Masden said. “But it was a good confidence booster.”

Too easy or not, the win puts the Eagles in fourth place in league and “definitely right in the hunt” for a postseason berth, Masden said.

Delquan Danford carried twice for 82 yards and two touchdowns for Spring Mountain, including a 61-yard run on the game’s final play. He also scored on a 21-yard reception and a 30-yard interception return.

“Team, this is all team,” Danford said of the win.

David Edwards returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a score, and Spring Mountain intercepted two of Sandy Valley’s first three pass attempts.

By the time Danford brought back his interception of an Andrew Arista pass and Niko Stewart ran in for a two-point conversion, the Eagles led 32-0 with 8:54 to play in the first quarter.

“That was huge,” Masden said. “We’ve always been neck and neck or trying to catch up with other teams, so this was a new experience for our boys.”

Brandon Knipp carried 10 times for 16 yards and Conner Luther caught a 16-yard pass to lead Sandy Valley. The Sidewinders, who are in their second year as a program, have been outscored 278-8 this season.

Spring Mountain visits Round Mountain (3-2, 2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in a battle to determine who will keep pace with Pahranagat Valley and Tonopah as the top three teams in the league.

“Round Mountain is going to be a big test for us,” Masden said.