Las Vegas High dominated by Colorado school in season opener

Las Vegas coach Erick Capetillo scheduled Friday’s night’s game against Colorado powerhouse Pine Creek hoping his team would learn a thing or two.

They absolutely did, but in a losing effort.

Running back Mason Miller was dominant for Pine Creek, rushing 11 times for 81 yards and a touchdown and caught a 77-yard touchdown pass, and Jonathan Coar caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown to lead Pine Creek to a 43-3 victory.

Pine Creek (1-0) wasted no time in establishing its dominance, capping its opening drive with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Cooper to Elijah Roy.

After an interception, Las Vegas attempted to keep the score close with a 42-yard Raul Alfaro field goal early in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 7-3.

Pine Creek hurt itself with numerous first-half mistakes, including three fumbles and untimely penalties, but got back on the board with Coar’s 64-yard sprint down the right sideline to make it 14-3 with 9:09 left in the half.

But Las Vegas (0-1) also committed its share of mistakes, including its first of three fumbles later in the quarter. That led to Mason Miller’s 7-yard touchdown run up the middle to give Pine Creek a 21-3 lead with 2:57 left in the half.

“To have a successful season, you’ve got to limit mistakes,” said Capetillo, whose team committed five turnovers. “And that’s against any team we play.”

Pine Creek struck again two minutes later on a 78-yard pass from Cooper to Coar and led 29-3 at halftime.

The Las Vegas offense, which was held to 13 rushing yards, was unable to answer with the exception of a few isolated plays.

Pine Creek appeared unstoppable from there and put the score out of reach with a 77-yard pass from Cooper to Miller and a Cooper 56-yard run down the left sideline in the third quarter. Cooper completed seven of nine passes for 261 yards and three TDs.

Despite his team’s many mishaps, Capetillo also felt his players gained valuable lessons.

“The kids competed great against a very good Colorado team,” Capetillo said. “It’s just that when you play a team of that caliber, you can’t make those mistakes.”

Andrew Bowen led Las Vegas with 109 yards on five receptions, and teammate Elijah Espinoza completed 13 of 26 passes for 196 yards.