Spartans hold off Cheyenne upset try

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Sept. 29, 2000 | 11:48 a.m.

Cimarron 28, Cheyenne 21

Eldorado 46, Las Vegas 29

Desert Pines 34, Rancho 0

Silverado 26, Valley 23

Palo Verde 28, Western 14

Bishop Gorman 49, Durango 33

Basic 28, Green Valley 16

Foothill 27, Chaparral 24

Centennial 24, Mojave 6

Clark 16, Bonanza 14

When Cheyenne's Jim Carhee picked off a Danny Phee pass late in the fourth quarter Thursday night, top-ranked Cimarron-Memorial found itself in danger of doing something it had done just once in its last 22 football games: losing.

With the game tied and less than three minutes remaining, the host Desert Shields held the ball in Spartan territory and appeared headed for the winning score and an upset in the annual "Duel in the Desert."

No sooner did the two-time defending 4A state champs give the ball up, however, than they took it right back, stripping the ball free from Cheyenne running back Kevin Thomas and recovering the fumble.

The Spartans then put together the type of efficient drive they are famous for, marching 67 yards for a touchdown with 1:33 remaining to pull out a thrilling 28-21 victory and improve to 5-0 (1-0 Northwest Division).

"It was a great Duel in the Desert," Cimarron coach Greg Spencer said. "(Cheyenne coach) George Perry and his staff and his team did a great job. They rose to the occasion. But a win is a win, and we'll take it any way we can."

The Spartans managed to overcome an atypical sloppy performance in which they turned the ball over twice, dropped several passes and committed countless penalties.

The Desert Shields (3-2) aided the visitors' cause with more than a few miscues of their own, most notably five lost fumbles -- two inside their own 15-yard line, setting up two easy Cimarron touchdowns.

"It was a wild game," Spencer said. "Our kids respond in certain situations, but it gives you a lot of gray hairs."

The Spartans got their first break midway through the first quarter, when Carhee muffed a punt return and Cimarron's DeMarcus King pounced on the ball at Cheyenne's 13-yard line. That set up a one-yard touchdown plunge by Phee, and the Spartans had a quick 7-0 lead.

The Shields wrested control of the game from their rivals early in the second quarter, with Thomas charging into the Cimarron backfield and ripping the ball from Phee as the Spartan signal caller tried to hand off. Cheyenne took over at the Cimarron 4-yard line, and tied the game moments later when Kevin Richardson rolled right and found Wayne Mertens for a touchdown.

The hosts kept momentum on their side in the third quarter, becoming the first team this season to take a lead on Cimarron after halftime. Calvin Dumas capped a 54-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown dash, barely getting inside the pylon before Spartan defensive back Kyler Rushton knocked him out of bounds.

Down 14-7 but far from out, Cimarron came up with the equalizer with 10 minutes remaining, knotting the score on Kellen Marshall's 8-yard romp through the heart of the Cheyenne defense. Marshall racked up 31 of his game-high 152 yards on the drive.

"We made all those mistakes, so we had to pick it up in the second half," Marshall said. "I just wanted to run hard for my team, and I got some key blocks by my line."

Another muffed Shields punt return -- this one by Edward Beard -- gave Cimarron the ball at the Cheyenne 9-yard line. Marshall punched the ball in from the 1-yard line for what looked like the game-winning touchdown.

But Cheyenne showed it's a far cry from the team that went 2-7 and lost to Cimarron 22-0 a year ago. The Shields drove 62 yards in 3:09, with Richardson finishing things up with a 27-yard option scamper, knotting the score at 21.

After the teams exchanged turnovers, Cimarron began its game-winning drive with Marshall ripping off 47 yards down the right sideline. Two plays later, Phee found Alex Gonzales on a screen play that went 27 yards for the game's final TD.

"We had poise (at the end), but we should have done better than we did tonight," Marshall said. "We're a better team than that."

Cimarron-Mem. 28, Cheyenne 21

First Quarter

CM--Phee 1 run (Rhodes kick), 4:38

Second Quarter

CHEY--Mertens 5 pass from Richardson (Leal kick), 7:57

Third Quarter

CHEY--Dumas 3 run (Leal kick), 2:38

Fourth Quarter

CM--Marshall 8 run (Rhodes kick), 10:14

CM--Marshall 1 run (Rhodes kick), 6:14

CHEY--Richardson 27 run (Leal kick), 2:59

CM--Gonzales 27 pass from Phee (Rhodes kick), 1:33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Cimarron, Marshall 26-152, Gonzales 23-5, Phee 2-5, Rhodes 1-9, Bass 1-3. Cheyenne, Hill 14-76, Richardson 9-61, Beard 9-33, Dumas 9-22, Thomas 3-30, Allen 3-7, Carr 2-1.

PASSING--Cimarron, Phee 4-12-1-73, Marshall 0-1-0-0. Cheyenne, Richardson 5-10-0-31.

RECEIVING--Cimarron, Harris 3-96, Gonzales 1-27. Cheyenne, Beard 3-14, Hill 1-13, Mertens 1-4.