SMALL SCHOOLS: The Meadows sluggish after quick start against Calvary Chapel
His team never trailed on its way to winning its Class 2A Southern League opener Friday.
But The Meadows football coach Frank DeSantis wasn’t pleased with his team’s 24-6 victory over visiting Calvary Chapel.
After jumping to a 17-0 first-quarter lead, the Mustangs failed to score again until the fourth. They committed three turnovers and had a punt blocked, enabling the Lions to pull within 17-6 late in the third quarter.
“We didn’t play with any emotion,” DeSantis said. “There was nothing great about our game tonight.”
Except for running back Pat Kenny. The senior carried 22 times for 183 yards and two touchdowns, scoring on runs of 1 and 2 yards in the first quarter.
“We got the win; that’s all that matters,” Kenny said. “It was mostly coming together and knowing we had to step up in the end.”
The teams combined for seven turnovers and neither surpassed 60 yards passing.
The Meadows (3-1, 1-0) had 239 yards of offense to 130 for Calvary Chapel (1-2, 0-1).
“We’ve got to learn how to convert turnovers,” said Calvary Chapel coach Cliff Frazier, whose team is playing its first season at the 11-man level. “We haven’t done that well.”
The lone score for the Lions came when Cody Taylor scrambled for a 6-yard touchdown run with 2:39 left in the third quarter.
Taylor, a sophomore quarterback, carried 12 times for 43 yards and completed 6 of 15 passes for 55 yards with one interception.
After throwing for five touchdowns in a 46-26 win over Chadwick School on Sept. 12, The Meadows freshman quarterback Gerard Martinez struggled Friday. He was 6 of 26 for 60 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. His 8-yard scoring strike to Archie Rufty with 10:02 remaining gave the Mustangs a 24-6 lead.
In the end, play at the line of scrimmage meant all the difference for Kenny and The Meadows, DeSantis said.
“It all starts with the line,” DeSantis said. “When the line does well, he does well.”
Francis Parker (Calif.) 46, Faith Lutheran 14 — At Faith Lutheran, quarterback Deon Randell had a hand in five touchdowns to lead the Lancers (4-0) past the Crusaders.
Randell scored on runs of 19, 6, and 18 yards. He also passed for scores of 35 and 39 yards. Randell finished the game with 140 yards rushing on 12 carries and completed 4 of 9 passes for 95 yards.
Faith Lutheran tied the game in the second quarter, but Francis Parker went on to score 22 unanswered points before halftime.
The Crusaders were led by quarterback Joe Portaro, who had 245 passing yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
David Sperry had 115 yards on nine catches for Faith Lutheran.
— Jonathan Reese
Virgin Valley 36, Desert Oasis 6 — At Mesquite, Terran Leavitt threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs (3-1) past the Diamondbacks (2-2).
Leavitt completed 14 of 20 passes. Jonathan Gleave caught five passes for 116 yards, including touchdowns of 6 and 49 yards.
Anthony Morris and Zach Horlacher each caught a touchdown pass for the Bulldogs.
Colton Teerlink had 20 carries for 138 yards as the Bulldogs racked up 449 yards of offense.
Desert Oasis’ Brennan Stott threw for 172 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Hunt.
Boulder City 35, Silver Valley (Calif.) 7 — At Silver Valley, Calif., quarterback Ryan Washburn ran for third-quarter touchdowns of 7 and 24 yards as Boulder City (3-1) scored the final 35 points.
Washburn also had 100 yards passing, and Spencer Sarasita rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown for Boulder City.
Jeremy Smith and Steven Kaposta added touchdown runs for the Eagles, who held Silver Valley to 100 total yards.
Lincoln County 20, Mountain View 18 — At Panaca, Trent Tibbitts’ 2-yard run and 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter carried the Lynx (2-2, 1-0 2A Southern League) past Mountain View.
Tibbits, who rushed for 139 yards, broke a 12-12 tie with his score early in the fourth. Mountain View (0-4, 0-1) responded with a 16-yard TD run by Alex Watson with 2:05 left, but the 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete. Lincoln County recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
The Lynx’s Eric Rippetoe completed 7 of 15 passes for 104 yards, including touchdowns of 60 yards to Bruce Condie and 15 to Logan Reifsnyder.
Watson finished with 113 rushing yards, including a 36-yard touchdown. Cortland LeBoeuf had a 79-yard touchdown run in the first half.
Needles (Calif.) 53, White Pine 6 — At Needles, Calif., the Mustangs rolled to a 46-0 halftime lead and routed the Bobcats in a Class 2A Southern League opener.
Needles (2-1) returned two interceptions and one kickoff for scores. White Pine fell to 0-3.
Pahranagat Valley 46, Indian Springs 0 — At Indian Springs, Taylor Poulsen completed 14 of 19 passes for 141 yards and two TDs to help the Panthers (4-0, 1-0 1A Southern League) rout the Thunderbirds (1-1, 0-1).
Poulsen also rushed for 77 yards and two TDs. Brady Whipple added a touchdown run and returned a punt 80 yards for a score.
Tonopah 66, Round Mountain 24 — At Tonopah, Scott Thibodeaux scored six touchdowns to lead the Muckers over the Knights.
Thiobodeaux had 28 carries for 257 yards and five touchdowns, and also returned a kickoff for a score.
He also had 35 yards passing, intercepted a two passes and passed for a pair of two-point conversions.
Denver Otteson led the defense with 14 tackles, including nine solos, and two fumble recoveries. Mike Dolfin rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown for the Muckers, and also had 10 tackles and a sack. Otteson also had a rushing TD for the Muckers (1-2, 1-0 1A Southern League).
Round Mountain dropped to 1-2, 0-1.
