Chaparral quarterback Iopu Tauli’ili keys Cowboys victory

Chaparral quarterback Iopu Tauli’ili prefers to be called Joe. In the Cowboys home opener against Pahrump Valley on Friday, Tauli’ili didn’t play like an average Joe in rallying his team to victory.

Facing a 6-0 deficit, Tauli’ili directed the Cowboys to three touchdowns on three consecutive offensive plays in the second quarter to spark Chaparral to a 34-6 win.

Tauli’ili struggled in last week’s opener at Bonanza, completing 1 of 4 passes for five yards and an interception. The sophomore said a good week of practice helped turn things around against Pahrump.

“The coaches pushed us to come out better and stronger,” said Tauli’ili, who finished a perfect 6 of 6 passing for 175 yards and two scores. “It felt good because last week wasn’t a good week.”

Tauli’ili had a nifty 43-yard touchdown run with 6:57 left in the second quarter to give the Cowboys (2-0) their first lead.

After Trevon Owens came up with a sack on fourth down to end the Trojans’ next drive, Tauli’ili threw a swing pass to TyRay Collins, who raced 85 yards down the left sideline for a 14-6 lead.

The Cowboys forced another three-and-out, and Tauli’ili threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Demetreus Jackson to give Chaparral a decisive 21-6 lead.

“We were trying to get the defense off-balance, running and passing,” Tauli’ili said. “We were building up our confidence and we had more and more confidence in our blocking.”

The second-quarter outburst was more than enough for Chaparral’s defense, which limited the Trojans to 153 yards of offense, including just 34 after halftime.

“We had to step it up. It took a lot of effort and a lot of heart,” Cowboy linebacker Sonny Togagae said after recording two sacks. “And we have been looking forward to this game because they beat us last year.”

Tauli’ili was knocked out of the game with a leg injury midway through the third quarter, but he returned in the fourth and said he expects to play again next week at Eldorado in annual “Cleat Game.”

“The (defense) did pretty good, and offense did good today,” said Tauli’ili. “Next week we will just come back even stronger.”