FOOTBALL: Johnson, Scoffield fuel Basic

Antraye Johnson ran all over the field to help put Basic in a position to beat Coronado at home Friday night.

Just when it looked like he was going to be able to use his legs to ice the victory, it was his arm that helped seal a 35-27 win and a home playoff game.

Johnson ran for 288 yards and two touchdowns for the Wolves. Still, Basic (4-5, 3-2 Southeast League) was clinging to a 28-27 lead with just more than three minutes remaining in the game.

The Wolves held the ball inside their own 20 and looked as if they would allow Johnson to grind out a few first downs to run the clock. Instead, he took the snap and scrambled before finding a wide-open Jon Scoffield for an 84-yard touchdown.

Still, the game wasn’t over. Coronado (4-5, 3-2) drove inside Basic’s 15-yard line before fumbling the ball away with 1:22 remaining. Then, the Cougars blocked a punt and had one final play from the Wolves’ 16. Jackson Cofer’s throw to the end zone fell incomplete and there was holding on the play anyway.

As it turned out, Johnson’s long pass did more than help seal the game. Basic needed to win the game by six or more points to clinch No. 2 seed from the Southeast League, according to the tiebreaker system.

Basic coach Jeff Cahill said he was well aware of the tiebreaker, leaving the Wolves no choice but to go aggressively for a score instead of simply trying to run out the clock.

Coronado settles for the third seed from the league.

The Cougars were in position to win and grab second place after dominating the third quarter. Coronado took the second-half kickoff and scored on a 46-yard pass from Cofer to Michael Simpson. They tied the game at 21-21 on a two-point conversion.

Basic went three-and-out, and a bad snap on the punt allowed Coronado to take over at the Wolves’ 20. The Cougars quickly took advantage with a 1-yard run by Cofer. Basic jumped offsides on the extra point attempt, prompting Coronado to go for another 2-point conversion, which was unsuccessful. That left the Cougars up by just six and allowed Basic to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter on a 4-yard run by Scoffield.

“The third quarter was rough. We came out and had some bad things happen, but we stuck together and this was a great team win,” Basic coach Jeff Cahill said.

Scoffield added 134 yards on the ground to his two catches for 97 yards and two scores. Johnson, who lines up at running back, quarterback and wide receiver at various times, threw for 152 yards and two TDs.

Cofer completed 17 of 27 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 123 yards, but he fumbled after a long run inside the Basic 15-yard line with 15 seconds remaining in the first half to allow the Wolves to take a 21-13 lead into the break.

Canyon Springs 21, Las Vegas 14 — At Las Vegas, Kyhren Howard returned a blocked punt 63 yards for the game-turning touchdown, as the No. 6 Pioneers earned a home game for next week’s playoffs.

On fourth-and-33, the Pioneers punted, but the No. 8 Wildcats blocked the kick. The ball bounced right into the arms of Howard, who raced untouched for the score and a two-touchdown Canyon Springs lead.

The Pioneers (8-1, 4-1 Northeast) pushed the lead to 21-0 on Bradley Alexander’s 20-yard pass to Marck Cassino with just under four minutes remaining.

Two Trevor Swenson touchdown passes in a 1:10 span for Las Vegas made things close, but the Pioneers ran out the clock to earn the victory.

Alexander’s 14-yard run in the second period opened the scoring for Canyon Springs.

Canyon Springs held Las Vegas (5-4, 3-2) to 90 yards on the ground, 75 from Andrew Moreland. Swenson was 19-of-33 passing for 173 yards, 133 after halftime.

Zaviontay Stevenson led the Pioneers with 83 yards on 27 carries.

— Sam Leeper

Bishop Gorman 49, Centennial 21 — At Bishop Gorman, Randall Cunningham Jr. had a Senior Night to remember.

The Gaels quarterback rushed for 242 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries to lead his team to a 49-21 win over a game Centennial (4-4, 3-1) squad. Cunningham also completed 14 of 24 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown. The win clinched the Southwest Division title for Bishop Gorman (8-2, 4-0).

The Gaels took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards on 10 plays, taking a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Russell Booze. It was the first points allowed by Centennial’s defense in more than six quarters.

The Bulldogs answered immediately against top-ranked Gorman, driving 80 yards on nine plays to tie the score on Coll Thompson’s 1-yard quarterback sneak.

From that point on, the Gaels overwhelmed the Bulldogs.

Gorman regained the lead on a 6-yard scoring run by Booze on its next possession. After an interception by Gorman’s Armand Perry, Cunningham connected with Alize Jones on a 23-yard strike to push the Gaels’ lead to 21-7. Gorman scored again before the half on a 5-yard run by Jonathan Shumaker.

The Bulldogs closed the gap to 28-14 at halftime on a 40-yard scoring strike from Thompson to Lantz Worthington.

In the second half, Cunningham scored on touchdown runs of 86 and 24 yards to put away the game.

Thompson threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns for Centennial.

— Robert Horne

Desert Oasis 42, Bonanza 35 — At Bonanza, Jocquez Kalili scored the game-winner from 13 yards out with 21 seconds left to lift the Diamondbacks (4-4, 1-3 Southwest) over the Bengals (3-5, 0-4).

Richie Stammetti set up the winning score, finding Shawn Sanchez deep down the sideline for a 58-yard completion on third down from the Desert Oasis 22-yard line with less than a minute to play. Three plays later, Kalili bounced outside to the left with blockers ahead of him for the winning score.

Kalili was the star of the show for Desert Oasis, rushing for 264 yards on 38 carries and four touchdowns, including a 60-yard run on the third play of the second half. Kalili also returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Bonanza’s Carlos Soto put up 169 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns. Soto also had an 80-yard run on a reverse which set up his 4-yard TD run at the end of the first half that gave Bonanza a 28-21 lead. Soto also returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and caught a 47-yard touchdown from Tyler Penkalski during the third quarter.

— Jesse Vineyard

Liberty 34, Foothill 12 — At Foothill, Tyler Newman threw for 249 yards and a touchdown and also had a touchdown run as the Patriots clinched first place in the Southeast Division.

Newman broke off a 70-yard touchdown run to give No. 2 Liberty (7-3, 5-0 Southeast) a 7-6 lead in the first quarter, and he connected with Bryan Roland on a 40-yard pass for a score to put his team up 27-12 in the third quarter.

Foothill (5-4, 3-2) had cut the lead to 20-12 on Justice Jackson’s 25-yard touchdown run with 1:58 left in the third. But Liberty’s Deseon McQuaig returned the ensuing kickoff 56 yards to set up the Newman-to-Roland TD pass on the next play, and Foothill never threatened again.

Drew Doxtator was 37-for-65 passing for 312 yards and a touchdown for Foothill, but he was sacked three times and intercepted twice. Bradley Viloria, Jarvis Polu and Noah Jefferson eash had sacks for Liberty.

— Tim Guesman

Green Valley 28, Silverado 6 — At Green Valley, Christian Lopez completed 15 of 21 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown to lead the Gators.

After a scoreless first quarter, the No. 5 Gators (7-2, 5-0 Northeast) jumped ahead on TD runs by Albert Lake and Larry Norman to take a 14-0 lead into halftime.

Lopez connected with Kyler Chavez for a 5-yard TD pass in the third, and Norman found the end zone again on an 11-yard run to put Green Valley ahead 28-0 in the fourth.

Jarrett Alipio connected with Austin Hunt for a 45-yard TD on a trick play to give Silverado (3-6, 2-3) its lone score late in the game, but five turnovers hurt the Skyhawks.

Lake carried nine times for 86 yards for the Gators. Jujuan Bell rushed 16 times for 82 yards to lead Silverado.

— Jeff Wollard

Palo Verde 77, Durango 6 — At Palo Verde, Darrion Finn scored three touchdowns to lead No. 7 Palo Verde (7-1, 5-0 Northwest) to an easy win over Durango (0-9, 0-5).

The Trailblazers led 6-0 with 5:49 left in the first quarter after a 14-play opening drive, capped by a 20-yard slant pass to Caleb Booze from quarterback Ben Hayden.

The Panthers took control after that, scoring on their next eight possessions and adding three scores on defense and special teams.

Palo Verde scored with an 11-yard TD run by Jaren Campbell and a 1-yard TD carry by Calvin Beaulieu before Finn supplied a 40-yard interception return for a score to make it 22-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Finn then added a 19-yard TD run early in the second quarter, which was followed by teammate Dallas White’s 12-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Panthers quarterback Parker Rost contributed a 1-yard TD plunge and a 31-yard TD strike to tight end Jake Ortale before Finn found the end zone again with a 55-yard punt return that made it 56-6 at the break.

Palo Verde scored twice in the third quarter: a 20-yard pass from backup QB Graeson Vereen to Jordan Bruner and a 24-yard scamper by Ty Fuller.

Fuller broke free for a 90-yard TD run on the game’s final play to cap the scoring.

Kicker Bradley Matsukawa went 9-for-10 on extra points, and Griffin Kemp notched three sacks for Palo Verde, which had a blocked extra point from White and interceptions from Vereen and River Raygosa.

Hayden finished with 107 yards passing, including 98 yards to Booze to lead Durango, which got 90 yards in kickoff returns from Artie Gallegos.

— Brennan Karle

Arbor View 54, Sierra Vista 0 — At Sierra Vista, Anthony Smith rushed for 135 yards and three scores, and the Aggies defense limited the Lions to 59 total yards.

Mitchell Durkee recovered a punt blocked by Bishop Jones, and Herman Gray scored from 4 yards out on the next play to put the Aggies (7-1, 4-0 Northwest) on the board. Smith ran for all three of his scores in the first half, and Salah Boyce added a 24-yard fumble return for a touchdown to give Arbor View a 33-0 lead at the intermission.

Boyce scored on a 17-yard TD pass from Andrew Cornwell, and Denajiou McZeal and Style McDaniel each had a rushing touchdown for the Aggies. The Lions fell to 2-6, 1-3 in division play.

— Adam Berchin

Shadow Ridge 32, Spring Valley 7 — At Shadow Ridge, senior running back Cody Alfar rushed 22 times for 190 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Mustangs to a playoff-clinching victory over the Grizzlies.

Shadow Ridge (4-4, 2-2 Northwest), which earned the No. 3 seed in the Northwest League, outgained the Grizzlies 460-184.

Senior quarterback Dustin Puia completed 15 of 22 passes for 193 yards, while senior J Henderson caught six passes for 78 yards and intercepted Spring Valley senior quarterback James Donnelly twice.

Shadow Ridge’s defense allowed the Grizzlies to get past midfield just twice over 11 possessions. The Mustangs forced four turnovers overall and recorded a safety in the first half.

Donnelly completed 5 of 16 passes for 58 yards and threw one touchdown, a 42-yard strike to senior Logan Cruz for Spring Valley (2-6, 1-3).

— W.G. Ramirez

Del Sol 28, Eldorado 20 — At Del Sol, Austin Higgins pounded his way to two touchdowns as the Dragons finished with their first win of the season.

Higgins totaled 158 yards on 16 carries to lead a rushing attack that gained 255 yards.

The Dragons (1-8, 1-4 Southeast) held Eldorado to 67 yards of offense in the second half, most on a 40-yard touchdown pass that pulled the Sundevils within eight points with 43 seconds left. Del Sol recovered the onside kick and took a knee to run out the clock.

Special teams mistakes hurt Eldorado, as a fumbled kickoff and a bad snap on a punt that put the Dragons inside the 10-yard line during the fourth quarter led to Dragons scores.

Joshua Brown totaled 215 yards of offense with two touchdowns, including a 53-yard run, to lead Eldorado (1-8, 0-5). Tyler Spivey caught five passes for 73 yards and one touchdown.

— Zac Alexander

Valley 74, Rancho 15 — At Rancho, Ray Taylor scored four touchdowns and accumulated 140 yards on just six carries for the Vikings.

Amari Calvillo-Tatum carried four times for 97 yards and a touchdown and scored on an 80-yard kickoff return for Valley (2-7, 1-4 Northeast).

Charlie Winters accounted for 93 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries for the Vikings.

Shawn Spencer led the Rams (0-9, 0-5), going 8-for-25 for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

— Ian Scott

The Meadows 23, Needles 7 — At The Meadows, junior quarterback Jacob Gleason passed for 128 yards and two touchdowns to lead The Meadows.

The Meadows (7-2, 6-1 Division III Southern) drove 46 yards in seven plays on their first possession, scoring on a 13-yard pass from Gleason to Thayne Carlson. Gleason then hit senior R.J. Haskins with a 7-yard strike to take an early 13-0 lead.

Just before halftime, sophomore Max Hisatake broke open the game by returning a blocked punt 33 yards for a touchdown, giving The Meadows a 20-0 halftime lead.

Needles (5-4, 4-3) only managed to run six plays from scrimmage in the third quarter, and its only score came on a 67-yard fumble return by senior defensive lineman J.D. Lucas late in the fourth quarter.

— Ron Harris

Indian Springs 32, Beaver Dam (Ariz.) 16 — At Indian Springs, Troy Heath tossed three touchdown passes to lead the Thunderbirds (6-3).

Heath connected with Mason Hamlin on scoring passes of 32 and 30 yards and hit Ryan Frank for a 40-yard TD pass. Heath was 6 of 10 for 187 yards.

Hamlin also returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score, and Craig Heeren added a 1-yard touchdown run for Indian Springs.

Spring Mountain 54, Beatty 0 — At Spring Mountain, David Otuafi scored three touchdowns, and the Golden Eagles (5-2, 4-2 Division IV Southern) bolted to a 32-0 first-quarter lead on their way to a rout of the Hornets (2-5, 1-5).

Otuafi scored on a 2-yard run 34 seconds into the game. He caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Joshua Banasiak four minutes later and finished the scoring on a 55-yard run early in the third quarter.

Banasiak also tossed a 32-yard scoring pass to Isaiah Saromines and a 31-yard TD pass to Valmir Bokju. Saromines returned an interception for a touchdown, and Dashon Blanche added a TD run for Spring Mountain.

Sandy Valley 56, Round Mountain 22 — At Sandy Valley, James Rau ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns, and Lane Eastham added two scores as the Sidewinders (5-4, 2-4 Division IV Southern) topped the Knights (1-8, 0-6) to clinch the first winning season in school history.

Garrett Sellers and Alexis Fajardo also had touchdowns for Sandy Valley.