Fast start has Chaparral ‘cautious’

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Sept. 17, 2001 | 9:40 a.m.

Durango 28, Eldorado 14

Chaparral 27, Centennial 20

Valley 22, Bonanza 5

Palo Verde 28, Green Valley 14

Mojave 27, Western 8

Rancho 14, Bishop Gorman 7

Clark 28, Basic 6

Las Vegas 39, Cimarron-Memorial 32

Desert Pines 19, Cheyenne 14

Foothill 30, Notre Dame (Calif.) 20

Bonita Vista (Calif.) 42, Silverado 14

The Meadows 36, Coronado 0

Faith Lutheran 28, Sierra Vista 6

Boulder City 34, Needles (Calif.) 14

For most football coaches, a 3-0 start to the season would be reason to rejoice, particularly when the most recent victory came after a wild rally in the game's final minutes.

You won't find Chaparral's Ben Johnson celebrating too loudly, however. After beginning last year 4-0, only to miss the playoffs altogether, the Cowboys' coach knows the 2001 campaign's critical portion still lies ahead.

"We're very cautious," said Johnson, whose Cowboys pulled out a thrilling 27-20 win at Centennial Friday. "We learned a lot from last year. I think we peaked too early last year, in the third or fourth week.

"Our players learned from last year how important the league games are. We just wanted to make sure we're one of those playoff teams this time."

With victories over Bonanza and Cheyenne already under their belt, the Cowboys trailed the Bulldogs 20-14 with under two minutes to play. But after quarterback Justin Arnold found Grady Thomas for a 54-yard touchdown to knot things up, Chaparral stopped Centennial on downs and called timeout before the ensuing punt with 27 seconds remaining.

"During the timeout, we talked to the kids on the sideline," Johnson said. "We said if they could get Grady some room, he could make something happen. He's a spectacular kid to watch in the open field."

Thomas received the ball near midfield and was promptly met by several would-be tacklers. He managed to twist out of their grasp, however, and bolted 55 yards for the winning score with 15 seconds to play.

"Everyone was in the pile and as soon as he sprang out, there was no one left. He was gone," Johnson said.

No. 2 Desert Pines, the top-ranked local team in the Sun's statewide poll, also needed some late heroics to stay unbeaten. The Jaguars got a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from halfback Derek Brown to Kawon Walker and held on for a 19-14 win over Cheyenne.

"Defensively we were about three plays from a shutout, but offensively we played horribly," Desert Pines coach Gary Findley said. "We haven't put a game together on both sides of the ball yet, but we're just a third of the way through the season."

Also improving to 3-0 was No. 4 Palo Verde, which downed Green Valley 28-14 on an emotional night in which the Panthers honored teacher Barbara Edwards, a victim in last Tuesday's World Trade Center bombing.

No. 6 Durango also won its third game of the season, rallying from 14 points down to defeat Eldorado 28-14.

In one of the season's most exciting battles thus far, No. 5 Las Vegas outlasted No. 9 Cimarron-Memorial 39-32 in a game that featured far more offense than expected in a matchup of two of the area's most physical and defensive-oriented squads.

"It was a scrap all the way," Wildcats coach Kris Cinkovich said. "We stopped the run pretty well, but they did a great job passing the ball."

Las Vegas running back Antione White rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries, while the Spartans' Kellen Marshall -- the area's leading rusher coming in with more than 500 yards -- was held to 51 yards on 24 carries.

"This is the game we've been waiting for," Wildcats quarterback Steve Creech said. "We dedicated this game to all the guys that lost (to Cimarron) in '99 and 2000. We had a bunch of them here, cheering us on. We knew what we had to to do and we did it."

First-year Rancho coach Roger Whalen knocked his former squad from the ranks of the unbeaten, as the Rams got two first-quarter rushing touchdowns from quarterback D.J. Porter in a 14-7 win over Bishop Gorman.

Also on Friday, The Meadows blanked Coronado 36-0 to extend its winning streak to 32 straight games -- second all-time in Nevada history behind Wooster's string of 36 in a row from 1985-87.

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