Spiller’s five first-half TD passes lead Golden Eagles by Muckers

Diquan Spiller tossed five first-half touchdown passes, four to D'Quan Porchia, as Spring Mountain's football team raced past visiting Tonopah, 72-14 in a Division IV state quartefinal on Friday.

Spring Mountain's Guy Whitley returned the opening kickoff 54 yards for a touchdown, but the Muckers (7-3) rallied to tie the game at 8-8 on Jamaree Earl's 37-yard run with 5 minutes, 43 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Golden Eagles (8-2) rattled off the next 64 points of the game, scoring four consecutive touchdowns on passes from Spiller to Porchia of 1, 24, 43 and 4 yards to take a 36-8 lead with 8:19 left in the second quarter.

"We always talk about we want to hit the trail running," Spring Mountain coach Aaron Masden said. "Speed and tenacity is our strength. We have to get up right away on people and smother them, take their will out of it."

Deonze Paster added a 42-yard scoring run, and Spiller hit Devan Taylor on a 45-yard TD pass to up the lead to 50-8 with 3:08 left in the first half.

After a botched snap forced Tonopah to take a safety, Kevion Berry ran 38 yards for a score, and Taylor returned an interception 77 yards on the final play of the half to make it 66-8.

Whitley tacked on a 25-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the third quarter.

Tonopah's Tanner Otteson threw a 65-yard TD pass to Tristan Otteson on the first play of the fourth quarter to close the scoring.

Spiller completed 8 of 13 passes for 145 yards, and the Golden Eagles ran 12 times for 190 yards in the first half.

The Muckers used fake handoffs and counter running plays to gain 89 yards on its first two offensive drives, but had only 29 total yards in the remainder of the first half.

"That style of offense we always struggle with a little bit, that misdirection stuff, but we woke up to it," Masden said.