Desert Pines thrashes Las Vegas High

Desert Pines delivered a resounding shellacking of Las Vegas at home on Friday night.

The Jaguars rolled 55-7 over the Wildcats in a Northeast League game that featured running clock much of the second half.

“We just ran to the ball,” Desert Pines head coach Tico Rodriguez said. “The kids practiced hard all week. We moved some people around and guys were excited.”

Offensively, Desert Pines (6-2, 3-1 Northeast) did just about whatever it wanted, compiling 575 total yards and 408 rushing yards on 12.8 yards per carry.

Devin McGee racked up a game-high 119 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Jamel Brown needed just seven carries to pile up 80 yards and two scores. Branden Thomas carried three times for 73 yards.

And Ezekiel Washington’s only carry resulted in an 83-yard touchdown.

Big plays like Washington’s were a constant. Desert Pines’ eight touchdowns had an average distance of 46 yards.

“It was a combination of (their athletes and our mental mistakes),” Las Vegas coach Erick Capetillo said of the chunk plays. “They obviously have some athletes that can run around. And for us, we were light on the DB side. We had a few injuries.”

It was the similar story of dominance defensively for the home squad. Desert Pines held Las Vegas to 148 total yards and just 48 rushing yards on 27 attempts.

Corey Clark’s 70-yard interception return touchdown with 7 minutes, 58 seconds left in the fourth accounted for the final points of the contest.

“We came out flat and we let them get a quick lead on us,” Capetillo said. “With good teams, you can’t let them get those jumps.”

Miles Davis’ 76-yard kickoff return with 3:13 left in the second quarter and the Wildcats already down 28-0, accounted for the only scoring for Las Vegas (3-6, 1-3).

McGee answered 63 seconds later with a 5-yard touchdown run.

Tye Moore caught five passes for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns — one each from Tyler Williamson and Donzamon Lewis-Bealer.

“After last week (15-8 win at Legacy), we wanted to go fast again,” Rodriguez said. “We kind of lost our way and were becoming a power team. When we go fast, and we spread it, and we use space and the whole field, we’re pretty dynamic.”