FOOTBALL: Cofer’s five TDs power Coronado

Every football coach counts on his go-to players to step things up in big games.

For Coronado coach Brad Talich, that player always seems to be quarterback Jackson Cofer.

Cofer delivered a career performance Friday by rushing for four touchdowns and passing for another to lead the Cougars to a 34-25 victory over host Foothill.

“Jackson is a special athlete,” Talich said. “We need to have the ball in his hands.”

Though Coronado (3-4, 2-1 Southeast League) controlled the first half, Talich said he knew the Falcons were capable of making a late run.

“We knew it was going to be a tight ballgame,” Talich said. “But our kids were ready for this game, and they believed.”

No one believed more than Cofer.

“To come out here and play like that in a hostile environment, it doesn’t get any better,” said Cofer, who rushed 23 times for 225 yards.

Both defenses controlled the early pace, as both teams had four furuitless possessions in the first quarter.

“It took a while to make adjustments,” Talich said. “But we were finally able to put some points on the board.”

Cofer connected with Michael Simpson for a 49-yard TD pass midway through the second, then scored on a 37-yard sprint up the middle with 3:40 remaining in the half to give his team a 14-0 lead.

A Cory Fisher field goal put Foothill on the board just before halftime, but Cofer broke free for a 90-yard TD run early in the third quarter to put Coronado back in control at 21-3.

The Falcons responded by scoring twice in just over a minute. Drew Doxtator hit Ian Ellis and Bryce Broadwell with TD passes late in the third to cut the Falcons’ deficit to 21-18.

“We had a special teams error there,” Talich said of a kickoff fumble that led to Broadwell’s score. “But the kids stayed patient and didn’t fold under pressure.”

Cofer capped an 11-play drive early in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard run to rebuild Coronado’s lead, but Foothill again answered when Doxtator hit Broadwell with a 45-yard TD pass to cut Coronado’s advantage to 28-25 with 4:21 left.

A late fumble by the Falcons (4-3, 2-1) sealed their doom, allowing Cofer to put it away with a 35-yard TD run with 47 seconds remaining.

Cofer also completed 14 of 24 passes for 149 yards. Simpson finished with 100 yards and a touchdown on five receptions to help Coronado, which racked up 435 yards on the night.

Doxtator completed 20 of 39 passes for three TDs and 332 yards to lead Foothill. Teammate David Persi caught nine of those passes for 175 yards.

Desert Pines 23, Chaparral 22 — At Desert Pines, the Jaguars’ defense made a goal-line stand as time expired to earn the victory on senior night.

Chaparral missed a potential winning field goal with 23 seconds left but got another opportunity after a roughing-the-kicker penalty. A few plays later, the Cowboys were stopped at the 1-yard line with no time remaining.

Quarterback Iquan Corsey led Desert Pines (8-0, 4-0 Sunrise) back from a 16-point deficit, finishing with 84 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Chaparral (3-5, 1-3 Sunrise) stormed out to a 16-0 first-quarter lead on Richard Hernandez’s two rushing touchdowns.

Desert Pines responded in the second quarter with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Corsey to Eric Wilkes. Seitu Wyche’s 14-yard TD run gave Chaparral a 22-8 lead with 1:28 left in the half, but Desert Pines’ Tim Hough returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards for a score to make it 22-16.

A 15-yard touchdown reception by Malik Davis with 1:52 left in the third gave the Jaguars the lead for good.

— Ashton Ferguson

Bishop Gorman 56, Cimarron-Memorial 7 — At Gorman, Russell Booze and Daniel Stewart each rushed for two touchdowns as the No. 1 Gaels handed the No. 9 Spartans their first defeat of the season.

Booze had eight carries for 107 yards, including TD runs of 3 and 71 yards for the Gaels (6-2, 2-0 Southwest).

Stewart scored Gorman’s first two touchdowns on runs of 1 and 8 yards to give the Gaels a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Jonathan Shumaker had a 60-yard TD run, and Randall Cunningham threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Chambers in the second quarter that pushed the Gorman lead to 35-0.

The Gaels held Cimarron (5-1, 1-1) to just 15 yards of offense in the first half.

Michael Barnson had 27 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown to lead the Spartans (5-1, 1-1).

— Tim Guesman

Centennial 36, Desert Oasis 19 — At Centennial, the Bulldogs (3-3, 2-0 Southwest) got defensive when it mattered the most.

Centennial’s defense returned an interception for a touchdown, forced three three-and-outs, made two fourth-down stops and limited Desert Oasis running back Jocquez Kalili to 28 yards rushing on eight carries during the second half. Kalili had a big first half for Desert Oasis (3-3, 0-2), rushing for 138 yards on 22 carries and all three of the Diamondbacks touchdowns.

Centennial linebacker David Porter intercepted a Richie Stammetti pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown with 7:44 remaining in the game to put the Bulldogs up 29-19.

Senior running back Lantz Worthington put away the game on a 39-yard touchdown run with 4:35 remaining. Worthington finished rushing for 129 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns.

Midway through the second quarter, Desert Oasis took a 19-14 lead on a 13-yard touchdown run by Kalili. After a Desert Oasis fumble at its own 28, Centennial completed a five-play scoring drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Coll Thompson to Brandon Harley to put the Bulldogs up 22-19 with 50 seconds remaining in the half.

— Robert Horne

Faith Lutheran 27, Cheyenne 8 — At Cheyenne, Faith Lutheran scored twice in the first quarter then survived a second half of trading turnovers to beat Cheyenne, clinching at least a tie for the Sunset League title.

The Crusaders (7-2, 4-0 Sunset) scored on their first posession, going 52 yards on 13 plays. On the Desert Shields’ second play of offense, Christian Marshall recovered an errant lateral pass to help Faith find the end zone again.

The Crusaders appeared to be in control after they traveled 85 yards on 16 plays to score on a 10-yard pass from Jake Deaville to Mark Rubalcaba with less than a minute to play in the half, but the Desert Shields hung in with a 48-yard kickoff return and a four-play drive capped by an 11-yard pass from Anthony McConnico to Deonte Perkins with no time on the clock. Jordan Johnson, who led the Desert Shields with 76 yards rushing, rushed for the 2-point conversion.

Faith Lutheran put away the game late in the fourth with a 39-yard strike form Deaville to Vinny DeGeorge, who led the Crusaders with 60 yards receiving. Fabian Lagudi finished with 93 yards rushing and one touchdown for Faith Lutheran.

Perkins totaled 74 yards receiving for Cheyenne (2-6, 2-2).

— Neil Grepke

Las Vegas 27, Silverado 9 — At Las Vegas, Andrew Moreland rushed for 132 yards and scored three times as the No. 8 Wildcats celebrated a Homecoming victory.

Moreland scored on runs of 41 and 21 yards and caught a 10-yard pass for another score for Las Vegas (4-3, 2-1 Northeast), which scored 20 points in the opening period.

Silverado scored its lone touchdown in the opening period on a 46-yard run from Alek Aragon. Aragon led all rushers with 246 yards on 44 carries.

Wildcats quarterback Trevor Swenson completed 12 of 21 passes for 116 yards and two scores, with Aaron Zanin-Banks grabbing a 5-yard toss for the other Las Vegas touchdown.

Silverado (2-5, 1-2) finished with 267 yards on the ground, but just 65 through the air.

— Sam Leeper

Liberty 54, Eldorado 0 — At Eldorado, the second-ranked Patriots put away the game early with five first-quarter touchdowns in a romp over the Sundevils.

Liberty (5-3, 3-0 Southeast) put up touchdowns on its first three offensive plays, all within the first four minutes of the game. Tyler Newman led the onslaught with 6-for-6 passing and 218 yards and touchdown passes to Drew Hladek, Deseon McQuaig, Bradley Viloria and Noah Jefferson. Kevin Verboonen stepped in during the second half and went 3-for-3 with 126 yards and touchdowns to Tyler Parvin and Ethan Dedeaux.

Calvin Tubbs led the rushing attack for Liberty with two touchdowns and 72 yards on three carries.

Liberty’s defense held Eldorado to 96 total yards of offense and forced four turnovers, including three fumbles.

— Jesse Vineyard

Canyon Springs 52, Valley 7 — At Valley, Zaviontay Stevenson rushed 15 times for 168 yards and a touchdown as the Pioneers ran past the Vikings.

Canyon Springs scored 42 unanswered points after taking a 10-7 lead at halftime aided by three second-half turnovers, including Marcel Selmon’s two interceptions.

Bradley Alexander threw for 105 yards and a touchdown, and Jordan Davis threw two TD passes, including a 54-yard heave to Rashad Richy. Richy also scored on a 2-yard run.

Valley’s Tyrone Prewitt totaled 211 yards of offense with a rushing touchdown but threw two interceptions. Amari Cavillo-Tatum caught eight passes for 46 yards.

— Zac Alexander

Arbor View 42, Durango 0 — At Durango, the No. 4 Aggies (5-1, 2-0 Northwest) rushed for 504 yards, averaging just more than 13 yards on 38 carries, and held the Trailblazers (0-6, 0-2) to 86 total yards of offense in the shutout.

Anthony Smith totaled 172 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and Salah Boyce added two touchdown runs, finishing with 111 yards on six carries. Arbor View’s Devon Turner, Jacob Speaks and Denajiou McZeal each rushed for more than 50 yards and a touchdown.

— Adam Berchin

Palo Verde 45, Spring Valley 0 — Darrion Finn ran for 53 yards and three scores and Jaren Campbell added 122 yards and a score as the Panthers (5-1, 2-0 Northwest) routed the Grizzlies (1-5, 0-2).

Finn scored on two pitches of 15 yards and one of 23 yards, and Campbell broke a 60-yard TD run on Palo Verde’s first play from scrimmage.

Panthers quarterback Parker Rost ran for a 9-yard score and connected on a 77-yard TD strike down the middle to Jake Ortale.

Kicker Bradley Matsukawa went 6-for-6 on extra points and hit a 21-yard field goal, and tailback Calvin Beaulieu rushed for 92 yards on 12 carries for Palo Verde, which got fumble recoveries from Griffin Kemp and Josh Hamilton.

E.J. Wilbert finished with 66 yards, and teammate Raheem Edmonds supplied 11 tackles for Spring Valley.

— Brennan Karle

Green Valley 74, Rancho 6 — At Rancho, the Gators used a balanced attack and superior defense to stay undefeated in the league.

Offensively, No. 6 Green Valley (5-2, 3-0 Northeast) was led by junior quarterback Christian Lopez, who passed for 238 yards and four touchdowns, and junior Jose Martinez, who rushed for a team high 151 yards and three scores.

The Gators took control of the game quickly as they scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. Two of the scores were on passes by Lopez to Kyler Chavez and Brandon Ehret, while junior running back Larry Norman Jr added a 15-yard touchdown run to give the Gators a 21-0 lead.

The Rams (0-7, 0-3) were unable to move the ball consistently until midway through the second quarter, when quarterback Shawn Spencer, who passed for 142 yards, was able to connect with receiver Angel Alvarez on a 26-yard completion which put the Rams in scoring position. Spencer then completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Bellows for the Rams’ lone score.

The Gators, who did not punt the entire game, scored on all but one of their second quarter possessions (turnover) to take a 54-6 advantage at halftime.

The Gators’ offense amassed 511 total yards, while the defense held the Rams to 115 yards.

— Ron Harris

Basic 34, Del Sol 13 — At Del Sol, Jon Scoffield rushed for three touchdowns as the Wolves (3-4, 2-1 Southeast) rolled.

Scoffield rushed for 142 yards on eight carries, including touchdown runs of 1, 62, and 5 yards. Wolves running back Chris Hibbard had a 1-yard, first quarter plunge to open the scoring for Basic.

Aaron Williamson scored on a 65-yard run in the second quarter to lead the Dragons (0-7, 0-3).

— Brian Danise

Shadow Ridge 34, Sierra Vista 14 — At Shadow Ridge, quarterback Dustin Puia rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more, while running back Cody Alfar rushed for 150 yards on 19 attempts to lead the Mustangs (3-3, 1-1 Northwest) to a Homecoming win.

Puia finished with 40 yards rushing and 71 yards passing, including a 59-yard touchdown strike to J Henderson in the fourth quarter to put away the game.

Though Sierra Vista (2-4, 1-1) started the scoring with a safety at 5:38 of the first quarter, four first-half fumbles cost the Mountain Lions dearly, including two recovered by Shadow Ridge inside the red zone.

Running back Maliek Broady rushed for 125 yards on 12 carries for the Mountain Lions.

— W.G. Ramirez

Pahrump Valley 60, Western 0 — At Western, Scott Maughan rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries as the Trojans scored eight touchdowns on the the ground.

Keenan Harris also scored two rushing touchdowns for Pahrump Valley (3-5, 2-2 Division I-A Sunset), finishing with 94 yards on six carries.

Xerexes Tachiquin rushed 18 times for 55 yards for Western (0-8, 0-4).

— Ian Scott

Boulder City 62, Sunrise Mountain 12 — At Boulder City, Xavier Steel rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns to help the Eagles top the Miners.

Sam Woodbury added 117 yards rushing and a score for Boulder City (3-5, 1-3 Sunrise).

Romello Tatum rushed for 77 yards and a score for Sunrise Mountain (1-7, 0-4).

The Meadows 35, White Pine 0 — At White Pine, Bryson Navallo rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries to lead the Mustangs (6-2, 5-1 Division III Southern) past the Bobcats (0-8, 0-6).

Navallo scored on runs of 5, 15 and 20 yards in the first half for The Meadows, which outgained White Pine, 317-82.

Thayne Carlson had two TD runs for the Mustangs.

Jacob Gleason completed 11 of 17 passes for 155 yards for The Meadows.

Indian Springs 31, Beatty 20 — At Indian Springs, Sope Faga rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries to help the Thunderbirds (4-3, 2-2 Division IV Southern) hold off the Hornets (2-3, 1-3).

Faga scored on runs of 45 and 7 yards as Indian Springs built a 31-7 lead.

Troy Heath completed 13 of 24 passes for 124 yards, ran for one touchdown, and returned an interception 40 yards for another score for the Thunderbirds.

Beatty quarterback Jake Zamora threw two touchdown passes and ran for a TD.

Spring Mountain 50, Sandy Valley 28 — At Sandy Valley, Joshua Banasiak tossed four touchdown passes and ran for a score to lead the Golden Eagles (3-2, 2-2 Division IV Southern) past the Sidewinders (3-4, 0-4).

Banasiak tossed touchdown passes of 8, 12 and 31 yards to Valmir Bojku and hooked up with David Otuafi on a 44-yard scoring pass. Banasiak also had a 3-yard TD run that helped Spring Mountain build a 36-14 halftime lead.

Joseph Frazier and Arias Jefferson also had rushing TDs for Spring Mountain.

Pahranagat Valley 58, Round Mountain 0 — At Alamo, Jordan Cryts returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown and was one of six players to have a rushing touchdown as the Panthers (8-0, 5-0 Division IV Southern) routed the Knights (1-6, 0-3).

Cryts, Jamie Schofield, Christian Higbee, Shawn Wadsworth, Wade Leavitt and Jake Carter all ran for a TD for the Panthers, who racked up 387 yards on just 28 carries en route to the team’s 65th consecutive win.

Tabor Maxwell was 6 of 8 passing for 58 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown pass to Wadsworth.