PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Bulldogs quickly bounce back

Allowing a flea-flicker touchdown pass isn’t ideal to start the postseason.

Thankfully for Centennial coach Leon Evans, his Bulldogs stayed poised after Durango scored on a 62-yard flea-flicker pass from Armani Jones Sailor to Anthony Collins on the first play from scrimmage Friday night.

“The kids didn’t bat an eye,” Evans said.

Centennial responded with an 11-play, 73-yard scoring drive to tie the game, and the Bulldogs rolled from there to a 59-21 home victory over the Trailblazers in the quarterfinals of the Division I Sunset Region playoffs.

The fourth-ranked Bulldogs (8-2) will play at No. 2 Arbor View (10-0) in a region semifinal next Friday.

“It’s huge. We set a goal to be in the finals this year, and this was a steppingstone for us,” Evans said. “So we had to come out and get this game.

“The kids had a great week of practice. I thought our Wednesday night practice was the best practice that we had all season, and it carried over to tonight.”

It must have carried over for Centennial’s Coby Newton, who rushed for 179 yards and five touchdowns on 18 carries. The senior scored on runs of 9, 25, 2, 26 and 9 yards.

Newton’s 9-yarder capped an opening scoring drive for Centennial that spanned 5 minutes, 28 seconds.

Austin Turley threw a 52-yard TD pass over the middle to running back Lantz Worthington to help the Bulldogs take a 14-7 lead 7:27 before halftime, and Centennial led the rest of the way.

Newton ran for three touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 2-yarder to cap a seven-play, 58-yard drive to begin the second half.

Worthington rushed for 87 yards on 10 carries, and teammate Andrew Romoff added 60 yards and a TD on six rushes.

“I thought we did a good job of mixing the run and pass tonight,” Evans said. “Both (Newton and Worthington) were a great 1-2 punch tonight. We were very efficient offensively.”

Also efficient was Turley, who completed 14 of 20 passes for 223 yards, and scored on a 1-yard run.

“He’s getting better and better,” Evans said. “As more of our weapons become healthy, he has more options.”

Centennial’s Christopher Rodriguez had four catches for 69 yards, and Trajan Pili caught three passes for 47 yards.

Durango running back Marcus Sanders-Williams, a senior who has committed to Utah, rushed for 113 yards on 12 carries, including an 80-yard TD down the left sideline to pull the Trailblazers (5-5) within 21-14 with 2:02 left before halftime.

But Centennial’s Blake Frischknecht made a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the half, making it 24-14.

Jones Sailor went 2-for-12 for 102 yards, with both completions going for touchdowns to Collins. The latter was a 40-yarder with 1:11 remaining.

Bishop Gorman 78, Shadow Ridge 13 — At Gorman, Nathan Starks rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns as the No. 1-ranked Gaels (9-1) breezed past the Mustangs (2-8).

Bishop Gorman will host sixth-ranked Palo Verde on Friday.

Starks scored on runs of 12, 68, 71 and 41 yards. Jarrett Solomon threw four TD passes in the first half, two to Ryan Smith.

Shadow Ridge quarterback Bakari Smith rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

— Brian Danise

Arbor View 57, Desert Oasis 0 — At Arbor View, the second-ranked Aggies’ double-wing offense racked up eight rushing touchdowns, powering a shutout of the Diamondbacks.

Arbor View (10-0) will host Centennial (8-2) next Friday.

Jimmie Finister rushed for 116 yards and two TDs on six carries, and Salah Boyce ran for 86 yards and two scores.

Anthony Smith, Rasheem Parks, Herman Grey, and Weston Gardner also scored, and Zach Boyd was 7-for-7 on conversion kicks.

Arbor View led 43-0 at halftime, having allowed only 55 yards.

For Desert Oasis (2-8), Jordyn Compehos caught three passes for 101 yards, and Austin Exendine recovered a fumble.

— Brennan Karle

DIVISION I-A SOUTHERN REGION

Cheyenne 30, Boulder City 23 — At Cheyenne, Myloe Lewis rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns, including a decisive 55-yard score with 1:46 remaining, and the Desert Shields (9-2) held off the Eagles (9-2) in a Division I-A state quarterfinal.

Lewis also scored on a 7-yard run, and his late TD gave Cheyenne a 30-16 lead.

Boulder City quickly answered on Trenton Carmel’s 20-yard TD pass to Kaleb Bailey with 1:16 left, but Cheyenne recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

Demetrius Jones scored on a 2-yard run, and Devin Tatum hauled in Darrion Hammond’s 51-yard TD pass in the first half for the Desert Shields, who will visit Truckee or Lowry in next week’s state semifinal.

Carmel also threw a 20-yard TD pass to D.J. Koopman in the third quarter, and Joe Miller had a 7-yard TD pass to Sam Woodbury for the Eagles.

— Sam Leeper

Moapa Valley 36, Mojave 32 — At Overton, Kasen Hughes rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries, and the Pirates (11-1) edged the Rattlers (6-5) in a Division I-A state quarterfinal.

Moapa Valley secured a spot in the state semifinals at 1 p.m. Nov. 10.

Hughes scored on runs of 2, 43 and 47 yards. Conner Mortensen added two rushing scores, including a 15-yarder in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

Mojave sophomore Zack Arave completed 11 of 20 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He threw an 84-yard TD pass to Marcus Hines in the first quarter.

Hines made three catches for 109 yards, and returned a kickoff 78 yards.

DIVISION IV

Spring Mountain 64, Round Mountain 0 — At Spring Mountain, Marcus Thomas rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns to carry the Golden Eagles (8-1) to a shutout over the Knights (6-4) in a Division IV state quarterfinal.

Bruce Travis-Collins ran for three touchdowns and 43 yards, helping Spring Mountain compile 311 yards on the ground. Thomas also threw for a touchdown.

The Golden Eagles, who led 40-0 at halftime, held the Knights to only 102 total yards. Spring Mountain also recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass, all leading to quick touchdowns.

— Jesse Vineyard

Pahranagat Valley 54, Tonopah 6 — At Alamo, Austin Poulsen threw for three TDs and ran for one as the Panthers (9-0) eliminated the Muckers (6-4) in a Division IV state quarterfinal.

Poulsen completed 12 of 18 passes for 262 yards, while rushing for 61 yards on eight carries.

Pahranagat Valley's Tyson Sparrow had five receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns, and Mason Stirling caught four passes for 106 yards and a TD.