LaShawn Young helps Spring Mountain roll Tonopah

LaShawn Young’s younger siblings made the trek up Mt. Charleston to Spring Mountain on Friday afternoon to watch their older brother play football.

He made sure it was well worth their trip.

Young, a freshman cornerback and receiver, scored four touchdowns — two on offense, one on defense and one on special teams — in Spring Mountain’s 61-6 home victory over Tonopah on Friday afternoon.

All four of his touchdowns covered at least 37 yards, and Golden Eagles coach Aaron Masden sang his praises after the game as Young posed for pictures on the sideline with his little brother and sister.

“He works hard. He’s got good instincts. He’s fearless for his size,”Masden said about Young, who checks in at about 5-foot-8, 140 pounds. “We rely on him. … He’s a ball player.”

Like Young, Spring Mountain dominated all three phases of the game and triggered running time by building a 35-point lead midway through the second quarter.

Golden Eagles quarterback Eric Brooks completed all six of his passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Young, who also had a 55-yard punt-return touchdown.

Running back Tyriq McKinney carried the ball four times for 74 yards and two long touchdowns and nearly housed a kickoff return.

Almost half of Tonopah’s plays from scrimmage went for no gain or negative yardage, and Muckers quarterback Tanner Otteson completed 1 of 11 passes for 6 yards.

“They’re faster than us. They’re bigger than us,” coach Duffy Otteson said. “When the Xs are bigger than the Os, what do you do?”

Spring Mountain held a 28-6 lead after the first quarter and led 42-6 at halftime. Young scored his special-teams touchdown in the third quarter and capped his big day in the fourth quarter with his favorite play of the game.

Otteson lofted a bomb down the left sideline on fourth-and-long. Young, running step for step with his receiver, high-pointed the ball at the goal line and weaved his way past the entire Muckers offense for a length-of-the-field interception return score.

“I was at the end zone, and I ran to the other zone,” said Young, who leads the team in touchdowns, receiving yards and interceptions, and is second on the team in tackling. “It just felt great.

“This is like my first (year) playing football … I like football more than I did at first. It’s more fun now.”

Masden was pleased with the entire game, but gave a little extra nod to his special teams unit on Friday.

“We stressed that,” he said. “Our special teams plays were huge.”

Sam Gordon can be reached at sgordon@reviewjournal.com.