FOOTBALL: Liberty puts clamps on Coronado

Liberty held host Coronado to 56 yards and three first downs in the final 23 minutes, 46 seconds and pulled away in the fourth quarter to earn a 45-27 victory in the Southeast League opener for both teams.

“I thought our defense played great all game except for (Cofer’s long run),” Liberty coach Rich Muraco said. “When you play a zone-read team, it’s about assignments. We had to remind the defensive line, ‘Don’t be a hero, and stay in your gaps.’ ”

The No. 2 Patriots (3-3, 1-0 Southeast) racked up 556 yards in total offense but allowed the Cougars to hang around thanks to four turnovers and a slew of penalties. Cofer’s scoring run 14 seconds into the third quarter brought Coronado within 28-27, but Liberty scored 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Calvin Tubbs rumbled 36 yards for a touchdown with 10:35 remaining in the fourth, and after Austin Fitzgerald booted a 49-yard field goal midway through the quarter, Brenan Adams capped the scoring with a 10-yard run with 3:51 to play.

Liberty quarterback Tyler Newman completed 19 of 30 passes — he had 11 straight completions during the first half — for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Newman added a 1-yard touchdown run late in the first half after a Cofer fumble to put the Patriots up 28-20 at the break.

“Our game plan was to throw the ball, and the receivers made plays and the line blocked well,” Newman said. “Our tempers flared in the first half, but we calmed ourselves down and played a pretty good second half.”

Cofer finished with 163 yards on the ground and two TDs. He outran Liberty defensive back Bryan Roland on the long scoring play but was unable to move the Cougars offense the rest of the way.

Coronado (1-4, 0-1) had a chance to grab the lead late in the third quarter after stuffing the Patriots on a fake punt near midfield, but Spencer Cofer pushed a 23-yard attempt wide right.

“My fumble turned it around for them,” Jackson Cofer said. “Little things like that can turn a game, both positively and negatively.”

Adams led a balanced rushing attack for Liberty with 119 yards on 17 carries. Tubbs added 75 yards and Ethan Tuilagi finished with 69 yards as the Patriots racked up 273 yards on the ground.

The Cougars took the lead 3:15 into the game when a bad snap on a punt sailed over Fitzgerald’s head and Tanner Gorski pounced on it in the end zone for a 6-0 lead. Newman then connected with Noah Jefferson for a 4-yard score to put the Patriots on top 7-6 before the Cougars answered with Cofer’s 1-yard run to make it 13-7 late in the first quarter.

Liberty went up 21-13 as Newman hit Bradley Viloria for an 11-yard score and then hooked up with Deseon McQuaig for a 42-yard touchdown with 9:15 remaining in the second quarter.

Canyon Springs 30, Silverado 22 — At Silverado, Jordan Davis hauled in two second-half touchdown receptions and finished with seven catches for 128 yards to power the third-ranked Pioneers’ come-from-behind victory over the Skyhawks.

Trailing 22-16 in the fourth quarter, Canyon Springs (5-0, 1-0 Northeast) was helped by two fumbles to score two touchdowns in less than a minute to seize control of the game.

Facing fourth-and-12 at the Silverado 39, Bradley Alexander completed a pass to Kajuan Casey on the right sideline. Casey was stripped of the ball at the 3, but the ball bounded into the end zone and Greg Banks fell on it for a touchdown to put the Pioneers ahead 23-22.

Then two plays into the ensuing Silverado drive, Jarrett Alipio fumbled and Joe Jackson recovered for the Pioneers. Alexander lobbed a 20-yard TD pass to Davis on the next play to put the Pioneers up by eight with 7:48 left in the fourth quarter, and Silverado never threatened again.

Alexander threw for 234 yards on 14 of 25 passing for Canyon Springs.

The Pioneers had fumbled on the first offensive play of the second half, setting up a 14-yard TD pass from Armani Jones-Sailor to Rohan Walters that gave Silverado (1-4, 0-1) a 16-3 lead with 7:33 left in the third quarter.

Walters had two catches for 83 yards for the Skyhawks.

Alipio led Silverado’s rushing attack with 33 carries for 168 yards and a touchdown.

— Tim Guesman

Cheyenne 58, Pahrump Valley 52 — At Cheyenne, Zavieh Harrell took a pitch to the left, cut back inside, and scampered 3 yards for the winning touchdown in the third overtime.

Pahrump Valley (2-4, 1-1 I-A Sunset) had the ball first in the third overtime, but T.J. Milk’s pass on fourth down fell short of Deon Estes at the goal-line, giving the Desert Shields (2-4, 2-0) a chance.

Cheyenne found itself facing first-and-goal from the 20 to begin the drive, thanks to back-to-back illegal procedure penalties. Pahrump stopped Jordan Johnson for no gain on first down, but backup quarterback Darrion Hammond connected with Deonte Perkins on a screen pass for a 17-yard gain. On fourth-and-3, the Trojans thought they had Harrell contained, but he was was able to find a lane around his blockade for the winning score.

The teams traded touchdowns and two-point conversions in the first and second overtimes.

Pahrump had a shot to win the game with less than two minutes to go in regulation. Facing third down at their own 8, Milk found A.J. Segura wide open over the middle for a 69-yard catch and run down to the Desert Shields’ 26. Cheyenne, though, stood strong and kept the Trojans from advancing any further, ultimately sacking Milk on fourth down.

Perkins had 11 catches for 168 yarsds and a touchdown for the Desert Shields. Starting quarterback Anthony McConnico completed 15 of 18 passes for 216 yards and two TDs before leaving with an injury leat in the fourth quarter.

The Trojans held a 36-24 advantage at the half, due in large part to Scott Maughan, who rushed for 118 of his 127 yards in the first half. Maughan also had three touchdowns on the night, all in the first quarter.

Pahrump had 176 total yards in the first half, all on the ground, but was held to only 97 yards in the second half, 69 of which came on the Milk to Segura pass.

— Jesse Vineyard

Green Valley 47, Valley 13 — At Valley, Albert Lake scored three first-half touchdowns for the fourth-ranked Gators, who took over early and rolled past the host Vikings.

Green Valley (3-2, 1-0 Northeast) scored two TDs in the game’s first two minutes, the first coming on a 43-yard pass from Christian Lopez to Markus Varner and the second on a 12-yard run by Lake that followed a Valley fumble.

Though the Vikings (1-4, 0-1) capped a 16-play drive with a 1-yard TD plunge by Malik Batiste late in the first quarter, the Gators dominated the rest of the way.

Lake finished with 75 yards on nine carries to lead Green Valley, and Lopez completed 10 of 15 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

Batiste was responsible for both Valley scores, as he also had a 30-yard TD reception in the third quarter.

— Jeff Wollard

Cimarron-Memorial 34, Durango 7 — At Durango, Cimarron’s senior tailback Michael Barnson scored four touchdowns and rushed for 218 yards on 25 carries in an easy victory over the Trailblazers (0-5).

Barnson had a 6-yard scoring run in the first quarter to cap an eight-play, 65-yard opening drive for the No. 10 Spartans (5-0).

Durango led 7-6 after a 5-yard TD run by Leontre Austin with 38 seconds left in the first quarter on a drive keyed by a 35-yard run by Austin.

The Trailblazers’ lead only lasted for 16 seconds as Cimarron’s Maurice Bennett returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a TD to regain the lead, 12-7.

Barnson added a 3-yard TD carry six seconds before the half after Spartans quarterback Derek Morefield connected on passes of 23 yards to David Cotterell and 32 yards to Djon Watson during the half’s final minute.

The Spartans’ defense held Durango scoreless in the second half, and Barnson added a 1-yard TD plunge and a 2-yard TD rush up the middle in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

Austin finished with 87 yards on 18 carries, and Artie Gallegos supplied 50 yards on 17 carries for Durango, which got a sack and 10 tackles from Ivan Garcia and a sack from Useff Wilson.

— Brennan Karle

Basic 53, Eldorado 28 — At Eldorado, Antraye Johnson returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, rushed for three scores and added a touchdown pass to lead the Wolves.

Johnson tossed a 45-yard TD pass to David Garza and scored on runs of 5, 1 and 35 yards. Elijah Sharif returned an interception 46-yards for a score in the first quarter as the Wolves (2-3, 1-0 Southeast) led 41-15 at the half.

Jonathan Scoffield rushed for 106 yards and a score, and Garza tossed a 69-yard TD to Aaron Bashaw for Basic.

Eldorado (1-4, 0-1) was led by Tichaud Simmons, who rushed for 159 including touchdown runs of 81 and 74 yards, and Jason Henderson who had an 85-yard touchdown run and finished with 161 yards on eight carries.

— Adam Berchin

Desert Oasis 49, Sierra Vista 12 — At Desert Oasis, Jocquez Kalili rushed for 178 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries to lead Desert Oasis (3-1) past Sierra Vista in the annual Railroad Rivalry game.

Sierra Vista (1-3) took a 6-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by freshman quarterback Randal Grimes early in the second quarter.

The Mountain Lions’ scoring drive seemed to ignite the Diamondbacks as they struck for 21 points in the second quarter. The Diamondbacks got started on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Richie Stammetti to Joey Poehling and rushing scores from Kalili of 52 and 4 yards.

Kalili scored on a 39-yard run late in the third quarter to push the lead to 28-6.

After a botched shotgun snap turned into a 17-yard touchdown run by Sierra Vista’s Matthew Malta, the Diamondbacks scored three touchdowns in the final quarter to put away the game.

The Mountain Lions were led by Maliek Broady, who ran for 52 yards on 11 carries.

— Robert Horne

Desert Pines 57, Sunrise Mountain 19 — At Desert Pines, Eric Wilkes rushed for more than 200 yards for the second straight game as the Jaguars celebrated Homecoming with an impressive victory.

Wilkes rushed for a game-high 213 yards on 12 carries, 207 of those in the first half with touchdown runs of 1, 5, 59 and 73 yards as Desert Pines rolled to 50 points by halftime. By then, the Jaguars had compiled 407 total yards, 322 on the ground.

Quarterback Iquan Corsey added 94 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns and scoring passes of 70 yards to Andre Watts and 38 yards to Tim Hough.

Desert Pines (6-0, 2-0 Sunrise), which surpassed the 40-point mark for the sixth straight week, finished with 519 yards.

The Miners got a solid game from quarterback Wanya Calahan, who rushed for 115 yards with two scores and added a 20-yard touchdown pass to Daquwan Doyle. Sunrise Mountain (1-5, 0-2) managed 328 yards, 218 of those rushing.

— Sam Leeper

Faith Lutheran 35, Clark 20 — At Faith Lutheran, the Crusaders scored 21 points during the second quarter and sailed to their fifth consecutive win.

A week after beating Mojave with 250 yards through the air, Faith Lutheran gained 225 of its 283 yards on the ground, including 164 yards on 18 carries from Keenan Smith.

The Clark offense initially seemed poised to go toe to toe with the Crusaders, answering Smith’s 34-yard scoring run with an 81-yard TD pass from Kareem Warren to Marquice Stuart.

Faith Lutheran capped the frantic one-minute span with a four-play drive and a score by Fabian Lagudi.

Warren finished with 179 yards passing and 77 yards rushing for Clark (2-4, 0-2 Sunset). Stuart recorded 105 yards on three catches, and Clifton Smith added 74 yards on five catches.

A week after scoring four touchdowns at Mojave, Faith Lutheran senior Vinny DeGeorge made his main contribution as a punter, three times pinning the Chargers inside their 6-yard line.

Ben Flandermeyer made 15 tackles for the Crusaders (5-2, 2-0).

— Neil Grepke

Moapa Valley 38, Chaparral 6 — At Chaparral, the visiting Pirates kept their unbeaten record intact by pummeling the Cowboys.

No. 9 Moapa Valley’s Zach Hymas utilized a precise aerial assault as he threw for four touchdowns and 109 yards in the wind. Hymas connected on scoring passes to Jeremy Waite of 19 and 39 yards to help put away Chaparral (2-4). Hymas also threw touchdown passes to Chad Jones (3 yards) and Lance Hilton (5 yards).

The Pirates controlled the ball with a punishing rushing attack anchored by running back Jared Repp’s 91 yards. Repp also ran one in from a yard out late in the second quarter. That score was set up when Moapa Valley (6-0) pounced on a Cowboys’ fumbled punt return and took over on Chaparral’s 7-yard line.

Kaleb Bodily recovered a fumble late in the opening quarter and ran it back 66 yards for the Pirates.

James Dukes was able to plow through the line and score on a 5-yard run early in the second quarter for the Cowboys.

— Mike Sloan

Foothill 62, Del Sol 0 — At Del Sol, Drew Doxtator threw three touchdown passes for the Falcons in a rout of the Dragons.

Doxtator completed his first eight passes and finished 10 of 12 for 190 yards during the first half for Foothill (3-2, 1-0 Southeast League). Nick Gardner relieved him in the second half and threw for 85 yards and one touchdown.

Ian Ellis caught four passes for 46 yards and two touchdowns. David Persi had five receptions for 116 yards with a touchdown and returned a punt 50 yards for another score. Kyle Lindley led all rushers with 92 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Foothill’s defense gave up just 3 yards of offense to Del Sol and picked off Dragons quarterback Aaron Williamson three times. Aedan Bartolowitz caught two of those interceptions and returned one 42 yards for a touchdown.

Austin Higgins led Del Sol (0-5, 0-1) with 85 yards rushing.

— Zac Alexander

Mojave 61, Western 0 — At Western, Ty Flanagan ran for 165 yards and three scores, and Elijah Smoot added 90 yards and a score as the Rattlers defeated the Warriors.

Mojave’s offense totaled 372 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Flanagan ran for touchdowns of 5, 58 and 69 yards, the 58-yarder coming on the first play of the second half. DeAndre Armstrong ran for an 18-yard touchdown to begin the scoring with 9:24 to go in the first quarter and later returned an interception 85 yards for a score.

Mojave quarterback Zack Arave tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jaylon Delgado during second quarter. Kharye Shine scored on a 28-yard run, and Davion Fletcher added a 4-yard score for the Rattlers (3-3, 1-1 Sunset).

The Mojave defense held Western (0-6, 0-2) to 54 yards of total offense, including only 13 rushing yards.

— Carlo Lamarca

The Meadows 14 Agassi Prep 13 — At Rancho, the Mustangs (4-2 3-1 Division III Southern) were able to come from behind and defeat the Stars in overtime.

Mustangs quarterback Jacob Gleason connected with running back Bryson Navallo on an 8-yard touchdown pass to tie the game in the first overtime period, and kicker Tommy Halkyard’s extra point sealed the victory. On their first overtime possession the Stars scored on a 2-yard run by quarterback Stephan Laushaul, but the extra point attempt was unsuccessful.

Junior running back Kobe Williams scored on a 16-yard run midway through the second quarter to give the Stars (4-2, 3-2) a lead they took into halftime.

Navallo, who led the Mustangs with 122 yards on 28 carries, scored on a 7-yard run in the third quarter to tie the score at 7-7. Junior running back Nathan DeVera contributed 66 yards to the Mustangs’ 201-yard ground attack.

Williams led the Stars with 51 yards rushing on 15 carries.

— Ron Harris

Virgin Valley 34, Boulder City 3 — At Boulder City, Garrett Leavitt completed 14 of 20 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs (6-0, 2-0 I-A Sunrise) over the Eagles.

Leavitt also rushed for 60 yards and two scores.

Dillon Prach recorded 11 tackles for Boulder City (2-4, 0-2).

Pahranagat Valley 40, Indian Springs 7 — At Alamo, freshman Tabor Maxwell tossed four touchdown passes to help the Panthers (6-0, 3-0 Division IV Southern) down the Thunderbirds (3-2, 1-1).

Maxwell was 15 of 24 for 157 yards and tossed two TD passes to Sean Wadsworth. Wade Leavitt and Jeremy Minick each hauled in a touchdown pass for the Panthers, who won their 63rd consecutive game.

Sandy Valley 40, Beaver Dam (Ariz.) 0 — At Beaver Dam, quarterback Lane Eastham rushed for four scores as the Sidewinders downed Beaver Dam.

He finished with 108 yards on 15 carries for the Sidewinders, who defeated Beaver Dam for the second time this season.

James Rau and Garrett Sellers each added 91 rushing yards, and Zhane Burkhart rushed for 74 yards for Sandy Valley, which had 415 yards on the ground.

Burkhart had two rushing TDs, and Rau scored one.