Andre Nevarez throws for 387 yards, 3 TDs in Del Sol rout of Sunrise Mountain

Del Sol head coach Mike Valenzuela is only in his second season leading the Dragons, but he knows the jump teams can make after their first game.

He was the beneficiary of that improvement Friday night.

After getting throttled 44-13 in last week’s opener against Desert Oasis, the Dragons returned the favor Friday night, handling Sunrise Mountain, 36-0 at home.

“Week one to week two is always the greatest improvement of all weeks,” Valenzuela said. “It was hard to sleep Friday night last week, and we couldn’t wait to get to this Friday to redeem ourselves.”

Senior quarterback Andre Nevarez did most of the redeeming. Nevarez threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns, completing 16 of 24 passes for Del Sol (1-1).

Maalik Flowers was on the receiving end of two Nevarez scoring tosses, grabbing four passes for 159 yards. Markell Turner had 113 yards and the other touchdown on five receptions.

“Today, (Nevarez) had really clear vision, and he was composed,” Valenzuela said. “He found open guys. He moved in the pocket well. Kept his eyes open. He just made more good decisions than bad ones. That always helps.”

The Dragons finished with 596 yards of offense and held the Miners to 137. Trey Alexander rumbled for 163 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries. Kamani Wilks ran in a touchdown on his only carry.

But the offense wasn’t the only unit to have fun. When Del Sol linebacker Logan Morgan dropped quarterback Tyree Hayes in the end zone for a safety early in the second half to push the host’s lead to 23-0, it gave Del Sol’s defense more points than Sunrise Mountain’s offense.

It was symbolic of the Miners entire night on offense, as Hayes was routinely left to make plays with his legs, while also playing defense, and even returning kickoffs. Hayes finished with 59 yards on 19 carries.

“(It was) probably our inexperience,” Sunrise Mountain coach Kevin McNulty said. “Taking nothing away from them, I mean they had a week to fix what they did last week. And our first time out getting in the action, and it showed tonight.

“(Hayes) showed a lot of heart tonight.”