Friday Football Roundup: Aaron McAllister shines in second half as Basic defeats Silverado

Basic quarterback Aaron McAllister conceded that he came in too excited for his team’s homecoming game.

For 24 minutes, it showed on the field. The No. 10 Wolves had less than 70 yards of offense in the first half and spotted No. 7 Silverado a 17-7 lead, but once McAllister settled down at halftime everything changed.

The senior threw three second-half touchdown passes, Basic went on a 20-0 scoring run and the Wolves won their first Southeast League game 27-17 on Friday.

“They came in and they stopped us in the first half, but we executed so well in the second half that they couldn’t hold us,” McAllister said. “They got tired in the fourth and we just ran them into the dirt. They couldn’t hold our receivers and we took advantage of it.”

McAllister came into the contest averaging more than 300 passing yards per game, but he threw for only 68 in the first half and was sacked three times.

The break allowed the disjointed passing attack to come together again. McAllister completed all three of his passes for 73 yards and a touchdown when Basic (4-1, 1-0 Southeast) got the ball to start the second half.

On the team’s second possession, he found Jordan Gallegos for a 34-yard touchdown to give his team a 20-17 lead. The 20 points matched Silverado’s season-high for points allowed but McAllister wasn’t done.

He hit newly crowned homecoming king DeShawn Eagles with a screen pass for a 10-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the Wolves’ big scoring run was complete. McAllister ended up completing 12 of 25 passes for 205 yards with four touchdowns and an interception.

“He was under a lot of pressure. The thing I loved about him is he didn’t crack,” Wolves coach Jeff Cahill said. “He got sacked a few times in the first half but he hung in there and threw some beautiful balls.”

Basic also experienced a sharp turnaround on defense in the second half, as its front managed to bottle up Silverado senior Keikiokalani Misipeka. The running back had 115 yards on 16 carries in the first half, and broke off two big scoring runs of 20 and 33 yards.

Misipeka could only muster 21 yards on nine rushes in the second half though, and was stuffed on two fourth down attempts.

“Our defense was just incredible in the second half,” Cahill said. “The kids decided they weren’t going to be pushed around anymore, and that made the difference.”

The victory was the Wolves’ third over Silverado (4-1, 0-1 Southeast) in the last two years, but this one gave the team new reasons to celebrate. The team rallied from a disappointing start to dominate its opponent, which earned a round of fireworks in the sky after the win.

“I told our kids, it’s a little glimpse as to how good we could be,” Cahill said.

Faith Lutheran 26, Palo Verde 21 — At Palo Verde, the Panthers twice had holding infractions kill drives in the second half and the Crusaders capitalized, erasing an an 14 point second-quarter deficit for its first Northwest League win.

Faith Lutheran trailed 21-20 before Sagan Gronauer’s 4-yard TD run with 11:56 to play.

Grounauer passed for 245 yards and three touchdowns to guide the comeback.

Gronauer’s touchdown partner was wide receiver Elijah Kothe, who had TD catches of 41 and 20 yards in the second quarter. His 80-yard TD catch cut the Palo Verde (0-5, 0-2 Northwest League) lead to 21-21 with 6:44 to go in the third quarter.

Kothe had six catches for 162 yards, and Christian Marshall rushed for 75 yards on 19 carries for Faith Lutheran (2-3, 1-1 Northwest).

Palo Verde quarterback Jonathan Schofield rushed for 226 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries.

Canyon Springs 41, Valley 6 — At Canyon Springs, the Pioneers scored three times on defense and special teams en route to the victory over the Vikings.

Desmond Nunnelly started things for 10th-ranked Canyon Springs (5-1, 1-0 Northeast) with a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Lazarus Kyle added a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter, and Lord Oroke blocked a punt and returned it 5 yards for a touchdown to help the Pioneers take a 35-6 halftime lead.

Jayvion Pugh led the Pioneers offense with 89 yards and a touchdown on just four carries.

Diamante Burton scored on runs of 19 and 23 for Canyon Springs, finishing with 64 all-purpose yards while switching between quarterback, running back and wide receiver.

David Smith led Valley (1-5, 0-1) with 72 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Virgin Valley 14, Moapa Valley 7 — At Mesquite, Jayden Perkins blocked a punt and returned it seven yards for a touchdown for the go-ahead score in the third quarter, and the Bulldogs hung on to defeat the Pirates.

Perkins also rushed 22 times for 112 yards for Virgin Valley (5-1, 1-0 Sunrise). Hogan Fowles threw a 24-yard TD pass to Cesar Zarate for the Bulldogs’ other score.

Jacob Leavitt scored on a 25-yard TD run for Moapa Valley (3-3, 1-1 Sunrise).

Desert Pines 20, Mojave 0 — At Mojave, the Jaguars defense registered six sacks and a blocked punt for a touchdown en route to the win over the Rattlers.

Desert Pines (5-1, 2-0 Sunset) forced a three-and-out on the first Rattlers drive, and Philip Tito blocked a punt that was recovered by teammate Gabriel Lopez and returned 30-yards for a touchdown.

Isaiah Morris capped a 6-play, 61-yard drive with a 1-yard TD plunge and the Jaguars led 14-0 at the half. Morris finished with 78 yards on 14 carries.

Desert Pines put the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter when Morris added his second touchdown of the game, a 32-yard reception from Randal Grimes.

Running back Khalid Walker had a game-high 80 yards rushing on 21 carries for Mojave (0-6, 0-2).

Eldorado 27, Rancho 8 — At Eldorado, Anthony Silva had 15 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Sundevils over the Rams.

Both teams would score their first points in the final 25 seconds of the first quarter.

The Sundevils (1-5, 1-0 Northeast) took the lead with 25.4 seconds left in the quarter when Jacob Martin hit Adrian Fernandez with an 11-yard TD pass. Rancho answered on the first play of the ensuing drive when Jonathan Gunter scored on an 80-yard run, and the 2-point conversion gave Rancho an 8-7 lead heading to the second quarter.

The lead didn’t last long, as Eldorado’s Amartae Butler caught a 5-yard scoring pass from Jaime Rangel with 8:40 to go in the half, and Silva added TD runs of 1 and 11 yards in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Butler had six catches for 93 yards, and Rangel completed 9 of 26 passes for 165 yards.

Gunter finished with 10 carries for 127 yards to lead the Rams (0-5, 0-1).

Desert Oasis 28, Clark 14 — At Desert Oasis, junior Jaden Mitchell rushed for 106 yards on 21 carries, including a 42-yard touchdown rush with 4:36 remaining in the fourth quarter to power the Diamondbacks past the Chargers.

Desert Oasis’ defense held Clark to 130 yards of total offense with eight sacks, an interception, a blocked punt, and a 16-yard fumble recovery for a score by Desmond Kerusa.

Rejon Osborne opened the scoring with a 12-yard TD carry on an inside handoff late in the first quarter for the Diamondbacks (1-4, 1-1 Southwest League), and teammate Mitch Moniz added a 3-yard TD run untouched up the middle early in the second quarter to make it 14-0.

Clark’s Semaj Taylor fielded a squib kick on the ensuing kickoff, raced to the middle of the field, and then found daylight down the left sideline for a 71-yard return to make it 14-6.

Kerusa’s touchdown came on a fumbled punt attempt by Clark (1-4, 0-2) to give Desert Oasis a 21-6 advantage at the half.

Chargers’ quarterback Isiah Bigby led an 11-play, 73-yard scoring drive, capped by a 14-yard TD pass to Nick Kennard with 10:11 left in the fourth quarter. Bigby hit Bobby Coffman with a 2-point conversion pass in the back of the end zone to cut the deficit to 21-14.

After the Chargers forced a punt, the Diamondbacks’ defense forced a turnover on downs on Clark’s 44-yard line with 5:44 left in the game.

Bigby led another drive into scoring territory, but was stripped by Desert Oasis’ Dominic White on the Diamondbacks’ 7-yard line with 2:02 to go to seal the victory.

Jason Sanders provided 72 yards rushing on 12 attempts for Desert Oasis, which got four successful point-after kicks from Angelique Gaeta. Jayden Nersinger had four sacks, Tyler Streicher supplied nine tackles, and Kaleb Ramsey had an interception for the Diamondbacks.

Del Sol 39, Boulder City 7 — At Boulder City, the Dragons’ running attack led them to a blowout win over Eagles.

Taariq Flowers had 290 yards on 19 carries and found the end zone three times for Del Sol (4-2, 1-1 Sunrise League), all in the second quarter. Not to be outdone, teammate Titan Williams totaled 154 yards and two scores on only seven carries. Williams opened the games scoring with 5:18 in the first quarter on a 56 yard scamper. He also tacked on a 6- yard TD run with 8:46 left in the fourth.

Late in the fourth quarter, linebacker Darrion Webb got in on the scoring action with a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown. Eman Lawoye and Devonte Villarta also had interceptions.

Boulder City (1-5, 0-2) struggled on offense all night. The Eagles made a concerted effort to throw the ball, with quarterback Michael Martinelli attempting 38asses, but he only completed 10 of them for 144 yards and threw three interceptions.

Boulder’s lone score came with 4:04 left before the half, when Briggs Huxford took a short pass from Martinelli 36 yards to the house. Huxford had six catches for 125 yards.

The Eagles found some success on the ground with Ryan Vanario, who carried the ball nine times for 60 yards. Sean Jones shined on both sides of the ball for the Eagles, throwing a 42-yard wide receiver pass to Huxford and intercepting a pass late in the third quarter.

Cheyenne 42, Pahrump Valley 10 — At Cheyenne, the Desert Shields gave up an early touchdown and never trailed after that, cruising to a victory over the Trojans.

Matthew LaBonte threw for three touchdowns and 222 yards on the day, each to a different receiver, and two other Cheyenne (3-3, 1-1 Sunset League) players scored touchdowns on the ground.

Pahrump (3-3, 1-1) opened the game by scoring on their first drive, as quarterback Parker Hart snuck the ball in from the one yard line on fourth and goal.

But the Desert Shields struck back on their ensuing drive, as William Federson brought in a LaBonte pass for a 21-yard score, followed by a two-point conversion. Cheyenne proceeded to score the next six touchdowns (with a safety squeezed in) and only allowed a field goal the rest of the way.

After the half, the Trojans appeared to be mounting a drive to move the score closer, but Hart, who was often under threat when he tried to pass, was sacked and fumbled, and the ball was recovered by the Desert Shields. Deriontae Green took the ball in from 19 yards to complete the drive for a touchdown.

Sunrise Mountain 48, Western 6 — At Sunrise Mountain, Stephen Wright passed for four Miners touchdowns en route to a blowout victory over Western.

Claude Moore scored on 34-yard rush on the Miners’ (3-3, 2-0 Sunset League) first drive and they never looked back. Within two minutes, Sunrise Mountain scored twice more and was up 18-0. Moore finished with two touchdowns on 92 yards.

By the time halftime rolled around, Sunrise Mountain had a 36-0 lead. The Miners did not stop there, scoring on the second half’s opening drive and rolling to their 48-6 win. Xavier Kyles ran five times for 84 yards and a touchdown for the Miners.

Joseph Medley was 20 of 30 passing for Western (0-6, 0-2) for 204 yards. He threw a touchdown, but also threw four interceptions. His most popular target was Kwan Carter, who caught nine passes for 105 yards. Anthony Shelby caught the touchdown pass.

Agassi Prep 54, Mountain View 0 — At Rancho, running back Steven Burgess rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns, and Zeivaun Ned added 42 yards and two more scores as the Stars shut out the Saints.

The Stars’ (1-2, 1-1) offense rushed for 201 yards and their defense held the Saints to 10 yards of total offense and one first down for the game. Ned scored the first two times he carried the ball to give Agassi Prep a quick 13-0 first quarter lead. Burgess scored on a 7 yard run and Xavier Hewing added a 12 yard touchdown run as Agassi Prep took a 38-0 halftime lead.

Stars quarterbacks Micah Gayman and Kelly Jones each passed for a touchdown as Agassi Prep was successful with all aspects of their offense.

Saints (0-3, 0-2) running back Daniel Reyes led the team with seven yards rushing.

Lake Mead 28, Laughlin 6 — At Lake Mead, the Eagles surrendered a touchdown early, then scored four unanswered touchdowns to take down the Cougars.

Lake Mead got on the board in the second quarter on a 57-yard run by Joshua Thorell after he picked up a fumble and kept running. Along with his touchdown, Thorell rushed for 88 yards in 9 carries. Logan Sullivan scored the other touchdown for Lake Mead in the third quarter, rushing for 59 yards in 12 carries.

Quarterback Marcus Gonzales rushed in a 3-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and finished with 65 yards on 12 attempts. He also completed 2 of 4 passes for 39 yards. Mitch Dolinar capped off the victory with a 91-yard pick-six.

Laughlin running back Coda Abatti started hot with 81 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter. Lake Mead shut him down after that, holding him to 56 yards and no touchdowns the rest of the game, for a total of 137 yards.

Part of Laughlin’s struggles came from interceptions, one in each quarter after the first including Dolinar’s interception for a touchdown. Brenden Foster had one pick in the second and Joseph Johnson had the other in the third.

Lincoln County 52, The Meadows 33 — At Lincoln County, the Lynx scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull away from the Mustangs on Friday night.

The game was close at the half, with Lincoln County (4-0, 3-0 2A Southern League) holding a 23-20 league. After the teams traded touchdowns in the third, before the Lynx ran away from The Meadows (3-2, 2-1).

Landon Smith of Lincoln County accounted for five touchdowns, three rushing and two receiving.

Tonopah 62, Indian Springs 6 — At Indian Springs, Tanner Otteson completed 5 of 6 passes for 132 passing yards and two touchdowns and added 65 yards rushing and a score to lift the Muckers by the Thunderbirds.

The Muckers (5-0, 3-0 1A Southern) got out to an early start and never looked back after scoring 34 points in the first quarter.

Vinny Bagarose, Kade Bunker and Koby Bunker each added a rushing touchdown. Bagarose also had a receiving touchdown for Tonopah.

Indian Springs fell to 0-4.

Pahranagat Valley 62, Beaver Dam 0 — At Beaver Dam, Arizona, Christian Higbee had six carries for 117 yards and a touchdown, and added a 50-yard TD catch as the Panthers routed the Diamondbacks .

Tabor Maxwell, Ike Taylor, David Ingram, Hunter Hollingshead and Tyler Bundy each had a rushing TD for the Panthers, who led 38-0 at halftime.

Beatty 58, Sandy Valley 12 — At Sandy Valley, the Hornets (5-0, 3-0 1A Southern) routed the Sidewinders (1-2, 1-2 1A Southern).

Brandon Eastham ran for a 6-yard touchdown and threw a 12-yard scoring strike to Josh Williams for Sandy Valley.