Gorman rolls to Southwest title

Palo Verde’s football team was fired up as it took the field Thursday night to face top-ranked Bishop Gorman.

The visiting Gaels needed a few minutes to extinguish that fire but ultimately did so in convincing fashion with a 49-0 victory over the sixth-ranked Panthers.

Russell Booze rushed 13 times for 187 yards and three touchdowns to lead Gorman (10-0, 4-0 Southwest), which will host Desert Oasis in a first-round playoff game Nov. 7. Palo Verde (6-3, 3-1) will open the playoffs at home against Cimarron-Memorial.

Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said Booze has been an underrated team leader throughout the season.

“It’s unbelievable what he’s accomplished this year,” Sanchez said. “No matter who we play.”

The Panthers defense started strong, sacking Gaels quarterback Tate Martell and forcing a fumble at the Gorman 25 on the game’s second play.

“I’m proud of our guys,” Sanchez said. “It’s the first time all year where we’ve come out and sputtered, but they overcame that.”

Palo Verde failed to capitalize on its field position, and the Gaels took control late in the quarter with a nine-play, 60-yard drive that resulted in a 9-yard TD pass from Martell to Alize Jones.

Things got out of hand in the second quarter, as Gorman needed just nine plays to put its next 21 points on the board. Tyjon Lindsey started the scoring flurry with an 81-yard TD reception from Martell, who completed 9 of 13 passes for 190 yards. Lindsey caught three of those passes for 105 yards.

Booze’s 53-yard sprint on the Gaels’ next possession made it 21-0, and Jonathan Shumaker made it 28-0 with a 1-yard scoring plunge just before halftime.

Sanchez said the score did not matter.

“Nothing changed at that point,” he said. “I hardly looked at the scoreboard. We’re just trying to get execution.”

Booze added two touchdowns in the second half on runs of 10 and 21 yards, and Biaggio Walsh punctuated the rout with a 1-yard TD run up the middle midway through the fourth quarter.

The Panthers, who were held to 58 yards of offense in the first half, got their best look at the end zone with a 13-play, 58-yard drive in the third quarter. But Gorman’s defense squelched the drive at its own 22, and Palo Verde never got another good look.

Aaron Chisholm carried 14 times for 67 yards for the Panthers.

■ Sierra Vista 30, Chaparral 7 — At Sierra Vista, the Mountain Lions defense intercepted three passes, forced a safety and recorded two sacks while holding the Cowboys to 60 yards of offense in the first round of the Division 1-A playoffs.

The victory was the first playoff win in school history for the Mountain Lions, who got untracked early in the second quarter when Maliek Broady broke free on a 60-yard run for a 7-0 lead. Broady finished with 105 yards on 17 carries.

Sierra Vista scored again midway through the third quarter when Oscar Aliago connected with Andrew Peterson on a 54-yard TD pass. Peterson then scored on a 15-yard run.

The Cowboys took advantage of two personal fouls on the Lions’ defense and scored on a 19-yard run by Jerome Williamson to cut the deficit to 21-7.

— Robert Horne

■ Faith Lutheran 40, Boulder City 11 — At Faith Lutheran, Boulder City forced turnovers on Faith Lutheran’s first two drives scored first with a field goal, but the Crusaders scored the next 40 points in the first round of the playoffs.

Christian Marhsall carried 13 times for 106 yards, including touchdown runs of 17 and 11 yards, for the Crusaders (7-3). Greg Benson completed 10 of 14 passes for 185 yards, throwing for one touchdown and running for another.

Austin Wishard finished 8-of-19 passing for 100 yards for the Eagles (4-6), who scored on a 1-yard run by Brooks Roe and a 23-yard field goal by Patrick Hood.

— Neil Grepke

■ Moapa Valley 41, Spring Valley 15 — At Overton, Zach Hymas passed for 174 yards and three touchdowns as the Pirates (10-0) defeated the Grizzlies (5-5) in a Division I-A playoff game.

Moapa Valley will host Sierra Vista next Friday.

Hymas completed 9 of 14 passes with TD passes of 47 and 7 yards to R.J. Hubert and 47 yards to Caleb Bodily, who caught four passes for 118 yards. Hubert had four catches for 70 yards and returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown.

Spring Valley got an 8-yard TD pass from Christian Tasi to Anthony Vasquez and a 24-yard scoring strike from Vasquez to Branden Peterson.

■ Canyon Springs 56, Silverado 17 — At Canyon Springs, Bradley Alexander threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Zavionte Stevenson on the first offensive play of the game to start the Pioneers.

Alexander’s first two passes both found the end zone, and he finished 9 of 11 for 283 yards and four touchdowns. He also took a lateral from reciever Tre’von Dean and ran 53 yards for a touchdown with three seconds left in the first half to give the Pioneers (6-3, 3-1 Northeast) a 35-14 lead.

Dean took over at quarterback in the third quarter and went 4 of 5 for 87 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown to Kasey Allison in the fourth quarter. Allison led all receivers with three catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

Dre Fletcher ran 18 times for 67 yards, and quarterback Mitchell Ballard scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak in the first half for Silverado (3-6, 1-3).

The win, coupled with Liberty’s win over Las Vegas, gives Canyon Springs the No. 1 seed in the Northeast Divison.

— Jesse Granger

■ Coronado 30, Basic 0 — At Coronado, the Cougars used a smothering defense to lock up the top seed in the Southeast League, limiting Basic to 56 yards rushing and forcing three second-half turnovers.

Spencer Cofer threw two touchdown passes and kicked a 42-yard field goal. Jordan Patterson scored the final touchdown for Coronado (6-3, 3-1 Southeast) and paced a balanced rushing attack with 44 yards. Travis Boman caught six passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Aeneas McAllister threw for 130 yards for the Wolves (4-5, 1-3), whose closest foray into Coronado territory ended in a missed 36-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

— Mike James

■ Cimarron-Memorial 47, Bonanza 0 — At Cimarron-Memorial, quarterback Derek Morefield ran for two touchdowns and threw for two scores to power the Spartans (4-5, 2-2 Northwest).

Cimarron clinched the No. 3 spot in the Sunset region playoffs and will play 7 p.m. next Friday at Centennial.

Morefield provided first-half TD runs of 3 and 9 yards and hit Channing Reagan for a 33-yard strike for the Spartans, who got a 6-yard TD scamper from Armond Whitney to make it 27-0 at half.

Whitney finished with 111 yards on nine carries for the Spartans, who got two interceptions and a blocked field goal from Joe Tito.

Wyatt Allison completed 14 passes for 89 yards for Bonanza (0-9, 0-4), which got two sacks from Ammon Montenegro.

— Brennan Karle

■ Legacy 14, Shadow Ridge 6 — At Shadow Ridge, the Longhorns prevailed after three scoreless quarters.

Legacy broke the tie with 7:55 left as Tanoa Alapati found D’Angelo Lindsey from 20 yards out to cap a 16-play, 77-yard drive that ate up more than eight minutes.

DeMichael Walker gave the Longhorns insurance as he burst untouched up the middle for a 37-yard score on Legacy’s next offensive play.

Shadow Ridge scored when Elijah Quintoa found a wide-open De-Zhon Rogers for a 35-yard score, but Legacy ran out the remaining 4:37 to end the game.

Walker rushed for 119 yards on 25 carries for Legacy (3-6, 2-2 Southwest). Dominick Wilson paced Shadow Ridge (3-6, 1-3) with 63 yards on 15 carries.

— Jesse Vineyard

■ Eldorado 55, Valley 18 — At Valley, Deven Dabbs completed all 10 of his passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns to lead Eldorado (4-5).

Dabbs threw touchdown passes of 75 yards to Joshua Brown, 23 yards to Tyler Spivey and 18 yards to Shane Barnes.

Iyen Medlock scored for Valley (0-9) on a 39-yard run just after halftime and an 18-yard run that closed the scoring. Kyler Jackson scored on a 52-yard run for the Vikings.

— Ron Harris

■ Desert Oasis 35, Durango 13 — At Durango, the Diamonbacks (2-7, 1-3 Northwest) rushed for 237 yards and five scores in a win over the Trailblazers.

Durango opened the scoring on a 2-yard run by Leontre Austin, but Brannon Flowers returned the ensuing kickoff 52 yards. Six plays later Angelo Craig scored n a 15-yard run. Qwade Huff and Franco Rocco each rushed for a second-quarter score to give Desert Oasis a 21-6 lead at the half.

Devin Ford and Landon Vizcarro scored fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns to secure the victory.

— Adam Berchin

■ Tonopah 1, Indian Springs 0 — At Tonopah, the Muckers (4-5, 2-5 Division IV Southern) were winners by forfeit over the Thunderbirds (0-8, 0-6).

Indian Springs had just 15 eligible players on its roster, seven of whom were ill or injured.

■ The Meadows 41, Needles 28 — At Needles, Calif., Jack Berkley had 34 carries for 210 yards and four touchdowns to lead The Meadows (8-2, 7-0 Division III Southern) past Needles (6-3, 4-3).

Kobee McCorkle had nine rushes for 93 yards and a touchdown for Needles.

■ Spring Mountain 68, Round Mountain 0 — At Round Mountain, Norman Crawford ran for two touchdowns and returned the second half kickoff 91 yards for a score to lead the Golden Eagles (7-2, 6-1 Division IV Southern).

Round Mountain finished 5-4, 3-4.

■ Lincoln County 51, Mountain View 20 — At Panaca, Preston Robbins rushed 24 times for 242 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Lynx (6-3, 5-2 Division III Southern).

McClain O’Connor completed 9 of 14 passes for 152 yards and a TD and rushed 13 times for 142 yards for Lincoln County.

Ian Locke had 127 yards passing, 121 yards rushing, 9 yards receiving and two TDs for the Saints (4-5, 3-4).