Cheyenne equal to Clark challenge as it wins 4th

Bob Cloud

Monday, Sept. 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Cheyenne coach George Perry doesn't mind that his team seems to always play tight football games -- as long as the outcome remains the same.

Cheyenne scored two touchdowns in a 15-second span in the fourth quarter en route to a 29-7 victory over host Clark Friday night at Collis Stadium. The victory improved the Desert Shields to 4-1 and left them alone atop the Southern AAAA Sunset Division with a 3-0 record. The Chargers dropped to 1-4 and 1-2.

"We don't expect anything else than a close game," Perry said. "We capitalized on their mistakes. Our defense is pretty good right now. They played hard and forced mistakes. I was happy with our defensive effort."

In other games involving Southern AAAA teams, Valley remained unbeaten with a 27-19 win at Rancho, Western rebounded with a 25-12 defeat of Silverado, Bishop Gorman beat Bonanza 26-25, Cimarron-Memorial outlasted Durango 28-21, Las Vegas thumped Basic 48-8, Eldorado defeated Chaparral 35-28 and Oceanside, Calif., edged Green Valley 30-29.

At Clark, the Chargers led 7-6 at the half, courtesy of a fumble recovery by Hector Larios and a three-yard touchdown run by quarterback Sean Conrad. Cheyenne answered with a 65-yard scoring drive, capped by a five-yard touchdown by Jeremy Rogers. Clark maintained the one-point margin after the extra point was missed.

Cheyenne started to take control in the third quarter, holding the ball for all but 1:36 of the period. But it came away with only a 35-yard field goal from William O'Neal for a 9-7 lead.

The slim margin held until the Desert Shields put together a seven-play, 53-yard touchdown drive, capped when Rogers scored from six yards out.

On the first play following the ensuing kickoff, William Reeves bobbled the ball at the Chargers' 3-yard line, and Cheyenne's Jamone Patterson scooped it up and dove into the end zone. O'Neal hit on both extra points, and in 15 seconds the Desert Shields had the game in hand, 23-7.

O'Neal also had two interceptions, the second setting up a late Cheyenne touchdown which completed the scoring.

Clark coach Todd Cuter was encouraged by his team's effort, but lamented Charger miscues which included two interceptions, two fumbles and a blocked field-goal attempt.

"It wasn't a 29-7 game," Cutler said. "I don't care who we play, a loss is still hard to take. Coach Perry has a great team and you have to play mistake-free football to beat them. You can't turn the ball over like we did and expect to win.

"We were in a position to win this game. If we can do that against Cheyenne, we can play with anybody. That's what we take from this. Hopefully, our kids will understand and believe in themselves."

Perry said his team again proved itself to be battle-tough, but added the Desert Shields still have to improve on offense.

"In the first half we really didn't slow them down, but we came through in the second half," he said. "Clark played well. They did everything they had to do to try to win. People will play us hard. We've come to accept that.

"Our offense just was not in sync tonight. We have to take better advantage of the scoring opportunities. From the places on the field we had the football, we could have scored 60 points."

* THE MEADOWS 69, NEEDLES, CALIF. 0: Victor Wright's 276 yards rushing and six touchdowns led the Mustangs to an easy Class AA home victory. The Meadows, which has allowed just 18 points in four games, jumped to a 42-0 lead at the half and coasted home. Linebacker Morgan Plaster registered 19 tackles and an interception for the Mustangs.

* SPRING MOUNTAIN 14, FAITH LUTHERAN 6: Freshman running back Anthony Thorns scored on a 5-yard run with 2:29 left to lift Spring Mountain past Faith Lutheran (0-4) in the first of two meetings between the teams. The Crusaders had tied the score 6-6 with 1:03 left in the third quarter on a 22-yard pass from Reuben Campbell to Nathan Youmans. The Eagles scored just before halftime on a 63-yard halfback pass from Jerome Lewis to Johnson Porter. Each team suffered five turnovers. The Crusaders played without starting quarterback Darryl Brandt, who is nursing an ankle injury.