4A ROUNDUP: All-purpose Sullivan dominates; No. 1 Cheyenne swats Cimarron

The “Duel in the Desert” wasn’t much of a duel at all. No. 1-ranked Cheyenne made sure of that.

After allowing a touchdown to No. 5 Cimarron-Memorial on the game’s first possession, the host Desert Shields exploded for 34 points on their way to a 34-7 victory Thursday that could have been dubbed the “Domination in the Desert.”

The convincing victory not only enabled Cheyenne (9-1, 6-1 Northwest League) to secure the 6-foot trophy that goes to the Duel victor, it also allowed the Desert Shields to clinch second place in the league and earn a home game in the first round of the Sunset Region playoffs. They’ll play Bonanza (6-4), the No. 3 Southwest seed, at 7 p.m. next Friday.

“The kids know how much it means. This (rivalry) is second to the ‘Bone Game,’ ” Cheyenne coach Charles Anthony said, referring to the annual Las Vegas-Rancho game. “We talked it up all week. I wish it was played on Friday so more people were here, but it’s an awesome victory.”

No player was more awesome than Cheyenne senior running back Marcus Sullivan, who scored three touchdowns and compiled 191 all-purpose yards.

After Stephen Nixon scored on a 23-yard run for Cimarron (6-4, 5-2), Cheyenne responded with a 10-play, 83-yard touchdown drive. After nine straight runs, the Desert Shields went to the pass and Kaeo Helekahi lofted a 35-yarder to Sullivan, who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone.

“Our coaches upstairs saw something and we took advantage of it,” Anthony said. “(Cimarron) had the intensity at the beginning, but we matched it after that. It’s a credit to the kids. We could have gone either way after (the early TD) and we responded. We came back and scored.”

Sullivan displayed his speed on Cheyenne’s next possession, sprinting 13 yards around right end and diving for the pylon in the end zone to make it 12-7 midway through the second quarter.

Sullivan virtually sealed the game when he returned the second-half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. He broke outside before outrunning everybody down the left sideline to give Cheyenne a 26-7 lead. It was the first kick return TD of the year for Sullivan, who said he has been recruited by Wyoming.

“The kickoff return was huge,” Anthony said. “It was a big momentum swing and gave us the boost we needed.”

Since suffering its lone loss to Palo Verde, Cheyenne has outscored its last six opponents, 195-10.

Valley 41, Rancho 33 — At Rancho, quarterback Kerwynn Williams rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries as the Vikings (5-5, 2-4 Northeast) upset the Rams to sneak into the Sunrise Region playoffs.

Valley climbed into a three-way tie for the Northeast’s final playoff spot and earned the berth by tiebreaker. The Vikings will play at Basic in the first round next Friday.

The Vikings established momentum early, using a 12-yard touchdown run by Williams and scoring runs of 4 and 2 yards by Malcom Wilks to build a 21-7 halftime lead.

But Rancho quarterback James Cammack, who completed 22 of 47 passes for 412 yards and three touchdowns, took over in the second half.

Though the Rams (5-5, 4-2) fell behind 34-7 midway through the third quarter, Cammack led several quick scoring drives and helped close the gap to 41-33 on touchdown passes of 30 and 65 yards to Dijon Holman in the fourth quarter. Holman made eight catches for 178 yards.

Valley’s defense finally got a key stop late in the fourth, and the Vikings were able to run out the clock.

Las Vegas 52, Eldorado 15 — At Las Vegas, Reggie Bullock rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 4 Wildcats (9-1, 6-0) clinched the outright Northeast League title, beating the Sundevils.

Eldorado (4-6, 2-4) failed in its bid to make the Class 4A Sunrise Region playoffs.

Freshman Farrell Victor added a game-high 127 yards and two second-half touchdowns on 12 carries for Las Vegas, which will host Foothill in the first round of the playoffs next week.

Bullock scored on runs of 3 and 11 yards, and his 46-yard punt return set up Kevin Cormier’s 3-yard touchdown as Las Vegas bolted to a 21-0 lead. Emir Lopez threw a 43-yard TD pass to Aaron Franklin on fourth-and-9 in the final seconds of the second quarter to make it 31-0.

Eldorado, held to 10 yards and no first downs in the first half, scored all of its points in the fourth quarter. DeAndre Smith’s 48-yard run set up Leslie Hildreth’s 15-yard TD pass to Charles White. They also hooked up for a 21-yarder following Tone Gatewood’s 40-yard run.

Smith finished with 70 yards rushing and Gatewood had 60 for the Sundevils.

Palo Verde 35, Legacy 7 — At Palo Verde, Sidney Hodge scored three second-half touchdowns as the top-ranked Panthers (10-0, 7-0) won their second straight Northwest Division championship.

Palo Verde, Southern Nevada’s only unbeaten Class 4A team, opens postseason play Thursday at home against Sierra Vista, the fourth seed from the Southeast. Legacy (7-3, 4-3) will visit Southwest champ Bishop Gorman for its first playoff game.

With the Panthers nursing a 7-0 lead, Hodge broke the game open in the third quarter by scoring on a 43-yard fumble return and a one-handed 21-yard catch from Kelly Zurowski.

Palo Verde added two scores in the fourth on a 24-yard pass from Zurowski to Grant Bernhardy and Hodge’s 19-yard run.

Legacy scored on Prince Oroke’s 13-yard run in the third quarter. Deshae Edwards, the Longhorns’ leading rusher, played in the secondary and punted, but touched the ball only once on offense and was flagged for intentional grounding.

Palo Verde’s first-half touchdown was a 10-yard pass from Torin Harris to Tyrone Blake midway through the second quarter.

Chaz Thomas led the Panthers with 100 yards on 20 carries. Legacy was held to 209 total yards, 139 on the ground.

Del Sol 28, Silverado 21 — At Del Sol, Derek Eamon rushed for 232 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 8 Dragons (8-2, 5-1 Southeast) held off the Skyhawks (4-5, 1-5).

Del Sol finished as the No. 3 seed in the league and will travel to Rancho next Friday to open the Sunrise Region playoffs.

Eamon scored on runs of runs of 1, 2, and 45 yards in the first three quarters, respectively. Fullback Jon Kirschbaum wasn’t merely a good lead blocker on most of Eamon’s 23 carries; he also supplied 130 yards on 11 carries. All of the Dragons’ 407 yards came on the ground.

Eamon’s 45-yard touchdown with 3:25 left in the third quarter appeared to be a back-breaking, putting the Dragons up 21-7. But Silverado got back in the game with big plays.

Dariouse Gravely’s 49-yard run on the last play of the third quarter led to Akeem Saint Victor’s 13-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 21-14.

But the Dragons quickly answered, marching 75 yards in eight plays on Ernest Hall’s 2-yard run.
Keenan Graham’s 79-yard kickoff return set up Silverado’s first score on Trenton Tipton’s 1-yard run.

Coronado 20, Foothill 13 — At Foothill, Dane Cooper scored on a 10-yard keeper on the first play of overtime, then the Cougars’ defense held on fourth-and-1 to beat the Falcons.

Foothill (4-6, 2-4) tied the game at 13-all on Connor Afoa’s 25-yard run in the fourth quarter, but the successful conversion kick was called back by nullified by a holding penalty and the teams went to overtime.

Cooper carried Coronado, passing for 178 yards and a touchdown. He also kicked field goals of 38 and 28 yards.

For Foothill, Algernon Sewell rushed for 77 yards, and Carson Warr scored on a 7-yard run in the first quarter.

Clark 40, Western 20 — At Clark, Aaron Arlt rushed for 193 yards and two touchdowns and Andre Clay rushed for 178 yards and three scores, carrying the Chargers (3-7, 3-4 Southwest) past the Warriors (2-7, 2-5).

Western’s Dawon Maxey rushed for 139 yards on seven carries, including an 80-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. But Arlt put the game out of reach in the fourth with touchdown runs of 8 and 17 yards.

Late in the first quarter, Western’s Thomas Johnson returned an interception 101 yards for a touchdown.

Desert Pines 14, Canyon Springs 0 — At Canyon Springs, Dennis Scott ran for 101 yards and a 2-yard touchdown, helping the Jaguars (4-5, 4-2 Northeast) blank the Pioneers (1-8, 1-5) to earn a spot in the Sunrise Region playoffs.

Derrick Shaw scored on a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Scott scored in the fourth.

Desert Pines’ defense allowed 53 yards, forced two turnovers and had five sacks.

Trevor Davis made two interceptions and a fumble recovery for Canyon Springs.

Spring Valley 58, Durango 7 — At Durango, Jacques Adams rushed for 145 yards and four touchdowns as the Grizzlies (8-1, 6-1 Southwest) defeated the Trailblazers (1-9, 1-6).

Spring Valley scored on its first four possessions, with quarterback Anton Stallworth (104 yards rushing) throwing a 90-yard TD pass to Brandon Lopez in the second quarter to make it 28-7.

Durango’s Chase Roberts threw a 53-yard pass to Thomas Flanagan, leading to Amean Galindo’s 6-yard TD run.

Spring Valley senior Keenan Sanders ended the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown return from a free kick after a safety.

Centennial 48, Mojave 6 — At Centennial, sophomore Brandon Wright ran for 308 yards and four touchdowns on only 14 carries as the Bulldogs (4-6, 2-5 Northwest) beat the Rattlers (0-9, 0-6).

Centennial took control quickly by driving 83 yards five plays, capped by Wright’s 43-yard TD run. Matt Holley returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 less than five minutes in.

Wright also scored on runs of 12, 75, and 66 yards.

Josh Cabrera sparked Mojave with 71 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown, on 19 carries.

Arbor View 36, Shadow Ridge 27 — At Arbor View, Taylor Wooten rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns, and the Aggies (6-4, 3-4 Northwest) held off the Mustangs (2-8, 1-6).

Wooten ran for touchdowns of 4, 33, 3 and 5 yards. His first touchdown ended the first quarter and put Arbor View ahead for good, coming after teammate Allen Jackson’s 88-yard kickoff return touchdown.

Arbor View began the second half with a 62-yard, eight-play drive, capped by Wooten’s 3-yard touchdown. His final touchdown and Patrick Cape’s 25-yard field goal sealed the win for the Aggies.

Shadow Ridge’s Zach Hill rushed for 131 yards, including touchdowns of 61 and 1. The latter cut the Aggies’ lead to five, but the Mustangs got no closer.

Jordan Karl scored on a 26-yard pass from Matt Rodman for Shadow Ridge.