Steven hopes to get even with Desert Pines in crucial rematch

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Nov. 10, 2000 | 10:34 a.m.

4A SUNRISE REGION TOURNAMENT

Friday's Games

Valley (5-5) at Las Vegas (6-4), 7 p.m.

Desert Pines (8-2) at Eldorado (8-2), 7 p.m.

4A SUNSET REGION TOURNAMENT

Friday's Games

Palo Verde (7-3) at Bishop Gorman (7-3), 7 p.m.

Cheyenne (7-3) at Cimarron-Memorial (10-0), 7 p.m.

2A STATE TOURNAMENT

Saturday's Games

Carlin at The Meadows, 1 p.m.

Lincoln County at Battle Mountain, 1 p.m.

For most opponents, Eldorado running back Steven Jackson cuts quite an imposing figure. Possessing the rare combination of size, strength and speed, the 6-1, 210-pounder has had his way with defenses throughout 2000.

All except one, that is. Back on Oct. 20, Desert Pines held the area's leading rusher to a season-low 72 yards -- 75 fewer than his next-lowest total, and a far cry from his six games of 200-plus yards -- in a 27-22 upset of the Sundevils.

So how, exactly, did the Jaguars manage to hold down Jackson, a senior who has rushed for 2,069 yards in 2000 and 3,281 yards over the past two seasons?

Well, as Desert Pines coach Gary Findley points out, his defense is used to going against a back with Jackson's abilities. After all, the Jags see sophomore Cornell Johnson -- called the second coming of Steven Jackson by many in town -- each day at practice.

"He doesn't intimidate us at all because we see that every day, but we do respect him," Findley said. "With his speed he can be gone anytime with one long run."

Tonight at 7, Findley's squad will get another look at Jackson, when the 8-2 Sundevils host the 8-2 Jaguars in a game with far more on the line. This time, the winner advances to next week's 4A Sunrise Region championship, one win away from a berth in the state tournament.

For the Sundevils, who saw a six-game winning streak snapped with their loss at Desert Pines in week eight, tonight's matchup offers a chance for revenge, though Eldorado coach Ken Trujillo said he and his staff have not used the previous result as motivation for their players.

"Our kids are well aware we need to win two more games to win the region and go to state," Trujillo said. "I'm sure some of them would rather play Desert Pines than Foothill because there's always that fact that you lost to them before, but that wasn't our focus this week."

Instead, Trujillo said he has stressed avoiding the types of costly penalties that forced him to abandon the ground game in the previous loss to the Jaguars. In that contest, Jackson carried a season-low 16 times, while Eldorado quarterback Michael Edwards put up a season-high 18 attempts for 249 yards, also a season high.

"We had nine holding calls last time we played them, and I don't have too many plays in my playbook for first-and-30," Trujillo said. "We couldn't run, so we were forced to pass."

When Jackson did find room to run, he was often met by four or five tacklers, with the Jaguars' overall team speed and athleticism playing a major role in their efforts to stop the Sundevil back.

"As a team, we're athletic and fast," Findley said. "They might be a bigger, stronger team, but our athleticism helps us from a team defense standpoint. We've got to get to him and get a lot of people around him."

The Sundevils will also need to stay on their toes defensively. As Eldorado learned last time it faced Desert Pines, the Jaguars are multi-faceted offensively, with Johnson rushing for 1,704 yards and 23 touchdowns and quarterback Darrell Byrd throwing for 1,716 yards and 17 touchdowns this season.

"In terms of balance, no one else in the city is even close," Findley said. "Our consistent balance has been the key to our success."

Despite their success last time, the Jaguars -- 0-7 in their inaugural campaign a year ago -- come into tonight's meeting as underdogs again, something their coach, for one, likes.

"We don't have any pressure on us whatsoever," Findley said. "We're way past where anyone expected us to be. We have nothing to lose. We're just out there having fun."

For his part, Trujillo said he hopes his squad will take the Jaguar threat more seriously this time.

"I don't think they knew what they were up against," Trujillo said. "When you're looking at film, you don't really know the challenge you'll face in real life. When we told the kids how fast this team was, they didn't believe it.

"But we learned a lot from that game, and I can assure you our team has played much better since."