Bulldogs air out diverse offense in win at The Meadows
Virgin Valley football coach Kirk Hafen sensed coming into the season that his team would have a more diverse offense than last year.
The Bulldogs put that improvement on full display Saturday.
Virgin Valley saw 11 rushers combine for 312 yards, quarterback Humberto Urias passed for 90 yards and a touchdown, and the Bulldogs cruised to a 47-6 win at The Meadows.
“I think we overpowered them a little in the middle, which helps out a lot,” Hafen said. “And we had a couple interceptions on our side to give us (good) field position.”
The Class 3A Bulldogs (2-1) outgained the Class 2A Mustangs (0-2) in total offense, 402 yards to 187.
Urias also rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown on four attempts and picked off one of Virgin Valley’s three interceptions on defense.
The Bulldogs led 40-6 at halftime and closed the game by scoring 40 unanswered points.
Urias helped set the tone for Virgin Valley with a 37-yard touchdown run to cap a four-play, 68-yard drive to open the game, and the Bulldogs led the rest of the way.
Later in the first quarter, he fired a 22-yard scoring strike to Daniel Gleave to give Virgin Valley a 19-6 lead.
“Humberto is throwing the heck out of the ball,” Hafen said of Urias, who completed 5 of 9 passes with one TD and one interception. “It’s nice to be able to have both options instead of just run, run, run.”
Urias was one of several Virgin Valley starters to rest the second half, which was played with a running clock.
Richard Vidal carried 10 times for 54 yards, including a pair of 3-yard TD runs in the second quarter for the Bulldogs. Virgin Valley’s Jade Jensen added 75 yards and one TD on six carries.
Garrett Gosse completed 13 of 32 passes for 121 yards and one TD with the three interceptions for the Mustangs, who had only 4 rushing yards in the first half.
Austin Brown caught six passes for 78 yards, including a 25-yard TD grab in the first quarter for The Meadows’ only points.
Playing larger schools in their first two games, the two-time defending 2A state champion Mustangs are 0-2 for the first time since 2004.
Virgin Valley will face two Class 4A opponents before opening 3A Southern League play at Boulder City on Oct. 8.
“Now we’ve got to go face 4A schools, so it’s kind of a reverse,” Hafen said. “We’re just hoping we can stay healthy and get through these next (two) games until we get to league.”