Arbor View uses big plays to sink Legacy — PHOTOS
Arbor View’s football team didn’t really have a sustained drive Friday night at Legacy.
The Aggies didn’t need one.
Arbor View used big running plays and a pair of key interceptions to come away with a 42-18 road win in the “Battle of the Bulls” rivalry game.
“I thought we were on fire to start off with,” Arbor View coach Matt Gerber said. “I thought mentally we did real well. We have had a problem in the second half defensively letting teams stick around, and we kind of did that again.”
Arbor View’s first drive lasted just one play as freshman running back Kamareion Bell ripped off a 57-yard touchdown run to give the Aggies (3-4) a 7-0 lead with 9:24 to go in the first quarter. Bell ran straight ahead, spun out of a tackle near the 50 and was gone, sprinting away from the Longhorns (3-4) from there.
Christian Thatcher intercepted a pass on the ensuing Legacy drive, returning the ball 25 yards to the Longhorns 6.
Two plays later, Bell scored on a 5-yard run for a 14-0 lead with 7:35 left in the first quarter.
Arbor View’s first drive of the second quarter ended quickly as well, as sophomore running back Nylen Johnson slipped an arm tackle in the backfield and raced 80 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 11:43 to go in the half.
“They’ve got some talent, and we’re glad to have them” Gerber said of the the team’s young running backs. “I thought they stepped up and did a great job. To have those young backs step up and show what the can do, we’re happy with them. I love the effort that they gave tonight.”
Johnson finished with 125 yards on seven carries, and Bell had six carries for 92 yards. As a team, the Aggies averaged 9.5 yards per carry, racking up 237 yards on the ground.
“Our young backs are the future,” Thatcher said. “Our O-line did great. I’m super proud of all of them. We’ve just got to keep it up for next week.”
Damien Dixon added a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown with 3:27 to play to seal the win for Arbor View.
“It’s always great when the defense gets turnovers and scores on them,” Thatcher said. “It’s really great. That’s what we need.”
Just getting back on the field was big for Arbor View, which had to forfeit its game last week against Bishop Gorman after the Aggies had a postgame fight in their game against Desert Pines the previous week. Although they won the game against the Jaguars on the field, the contest was ruled a double forfeit because of the benches-clearing incident.
“Mentally wise, it’s tough to get a loss when you know you won and have to sit the next week,” Gerber said. “You sit there and dwell on it, what you could have done, what happened. And you just want to get back to normalcy, which has been tough to come by this year.”
The Aggies, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, now face a showdown against second-ranked Liberty next week.
“This is a game we’ve been looking for,” Gerber said. “It’s the mountain we’re trying to climb. We’ve been getting up that mountain, but we haven’t gotten to the top. So we’re hoping we get a good effort next week. The effort we gave tonight probably won’t get it done.”
Phoenix Jennings and Airamis Craven scored on a runs of 3 and 2 yards for the Longhorns. Dominic Oliver added a leaping catch in the end zone to complete a 12-yard touchdown from quarterback Aidan Crawford for Legacy.