Winner of rematch gets tournament prize

Adam Candee

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002 | 9:17 a.m.

Cornell Johnson busting a field-length touchdown run, Corey Williams catching a long scoring pass to answer, Marcel Johnson dancing out of trouble and firing strong passes, Chad Pool scrambling all over to make tackles, and, finally, Stanley Copeland picking off a pass to seal a Wildcats win.

So after Desert Pines and Las Vegas already put on the season's best game three weeks ago, how could they possibly do anything more for an encore in Friday night's Sunrise Region championship at the Wildcats' Frank Nails Field?

Tell them this: The winner goes to state and the loser goes home.

That should do the trick.

"It's been fun to coach this week," Desert Pines coach Leon Evans said. "The intensity level is going up."

Both the Jaguars and the Wildcats feel they emerged from their regular season finale contest reborn, with Desert Pines (NE-2, 10-1) gaining confidence from a huge second-half revival and Las Vegas (NE-1, 11-0) discovering that it can mount an effective ground game.

With a 24-game winning streak, defending state champion Las Vegas is not exactly hurting for confidence. The newfound running of junior tailback Ryan Meuir (more than 400 yards in the playoffs) and an improved effort from the offensive line gives the Wildcats the only dimension they previously lacked.

"I think the kids are playing better," Las Vegas coach Kris Cinkovich said of his rushing attack. "The front is playing better."

Seeing a Las Vegas team with running troubles, after tailback Antione White led the Wildcats to the state championship last season, was strange. With top wideout Corey Williams and solid quarterback play from Aaron Jenkins, though, no one could blame Las Vegas for relying on the passing game for most of the year. That passing brilliance showed against the Jaguars, with Jenkins throwing for 369 yards and Williams making eight catches for 211 yards.

In the fourth quarter of that 43-34 win over Desert Pines, the Wildcats needed to control the clock. Las Vegas began its rebirth as a balanced offense by jamming the ball at the Jaguars and finding success. Two more strong rushing efforts against Silverado and Basic solidified the Wildcats' confidence in the ground game.

Desert Pines needed both its ground game and its passing attack to pull out a 35-28 victory over Foothill in last week's region semifinals. While Cornell Johnson put in yet another sterling effort running the ball, quarterback Marcel Johnson threw for a touchdown and ran for another to show he could make the rest of the big plays that Desert Pines needs.

"The thing about Marcel is his durability," Evans said. "He's a little guy, he's been pounded on this year, but gets up and keeps on banging."

The maturation of Marcel Johnson took a big step in the loss to Las Vegas, as did the development of the fourth-year Jaguars' program as a whole. Facing a 30-13 halftime deficit, Desert Pines scratched back to a 36-34 deficit, thanks in large part to Marcel Johnson's passing.

"We came out that second half, and it just showed a whole different side of us," Desert Pines strong safety Lee Dorsey said.

Both coaches know their squads made mistakes in their first game that almost changed the outcome. Las Vegas struggled to defend the deep pass, while Desert Pines' tightness in the first half resulted in a number of miscues.

"You can't make that many mistakes against Vegas," Evans said. "They'll kill you. They capitalize on turnovers."

The Wildcats scored a defensive touchdown and used a turnover to set up another score against Desert Pines, but Cinkovich said even that will not matter if Las Vegas again gives up three scoring plays of 70 or more yards.

"We've got to limit the big plays," Cinkovich said. "That almost cost us last time."

The winner hosts the loser of Friday's Sunset Region title game in next week's state semifinals.