DeSantis steps down

Nick Christensen

Monday, Aug. 22, 2005 | 9:54 a.m.

SUN RANKINGS

1. Eldorado

2. Las Vegas

3. Canyon Springs

4. Valley

5. Rancho

6. Desert Pines

7. Chaparral

2004 RECAP

Las Vegas (8-2, 4-1) Lost in state championship to Palo Verde

Valley (7-2, 4-1) Lost in Sunrise championship to Las Vegas

Eldorado (7-3, 4-1) Lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Silverado

Desert Pines (4-5, 2-3) Lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Foothill

Chaparral (2-8, 1-4)

Rancho (1-9, 0-4)

Canyon Springs (5-4, independent)

PAST STATE CHAMPIONS

Canyon Springs -- None

Chaparral -- 1; 1977

Desert Pines -- None

Eldorado -- 1; 1991

Las Vegas -- 14; 2001, 1959, 1957, 1954, 1953, 1951*, 1947, 1945* , 1944, 1938* , 1934, 1933, 1932, 1931

Rancho -- 5; 1988, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1958

Valley -- 2; 1978, 1969

* - shared championship

RETURNING ALL-STATE PLAYERS

Davell Jackson, first team, wide receiver, senior, Eldorado

Xavier Cleveland, first team, defensive line, senior, Las Vegas

With the state's top receiver and a promising new quarterback, Eldorado seemed primed to make a run at the Sunrise Region championship this year.

But the Sundevils' season was thrown into a tumble this weekend, when coach Frank DeSantis unexpectedly resigned, citing unspecified health concerns.

"Now would be better than if it were something through the course of the season," DeSantis said. "I'm going to take care of that and spend some more time with my family."

He said he will remain a teacher at Eldorado.

DeSantis established a solid reputation at 2A The Meadows, which he took to five state championships. The Mustangs won 41 consecutive games to establish a state record from 1998 to 2001, and DeSantis has 73 wins overall in eight seasons as a head coach. In his first year at Eldorado, the Sundevils went 3-6, but they improved to 7-4 last year, with all four losses coming to ranked teams and all four coming in the closing minutes of games.

Athletic administrator Pat Macke could not be reached for comment over the weekend, but Eldorado athletic director Bill Love said Saturday that junior varsity coach Frank Tousa would take over as the Sundevils' interim head coach.

The transition did not appear to be well-orchestrated. DeSantis did not know who his replacement would be, and said he resigned Saturday. Tousa said Saturday that he and other coaches heard of DeSantis' resignation on Friday night, and Davell Jackson, the team's all-state wide receiver, said players found out when they arrived for a scrimmage Saturday morning and DeSantis was absent.

"I'm disappointed because I've been here and I still don't know what the reason is, but I'm like lost," Jackson said.

According to Jackson, Tousa plans on scrapping new offensive plans implemented during this summer's camp, deferring to last year's playbook.

Tousa said he's hopeful his team will be able to adjust to the abrupt change by the time league play starts for the Sundevils. Their first Northeast Division game is on Sept. 16, when they host Rancho. But Eldorado's non-league schedule includes powerhouses Foothill, Shadow Ridge and Palo Verde as well as much-improved Western.

"They're in shock today," Tousa said a few hours after Eldorado's scrimmage. "It's tough for them. He was a good coach, they knew his system. We'll try to keep things the same as much as possible and try to make the transition as easy as we can."

DeSantis said Sunday he didn't think the team would have much of a problem, no matter who was coaching. He also did not rule out a return to coaching next season, possibly at Eldorado.

"Coaches can think what they want, but good players make good coaches," he said. "They've still got the same players. I hope they - they'll do fine. I've got no worries about them."

It was to be a year of transition anyway at Eldorado, albeit not this dramatic. Quarterback Brandon Godfrey, who led Southern Nevada with 1,656 passing yards in 2004, is now showcasing his skills at Southern Utah University. All but 601 of those aerial yards were to Jackson, who had caught 55 of Godfrey's 220 passing attempts.

The Sun was not able to acquire complete stats from Jackson's sophomore season, but analysis of last season and available information from 2003 indicate that Jackson needs just six touchdown catches to tie the state 4A record of 18. The overall state record is 24.

Jackson's 1,055 receiving yards last year were the third most for a single season in Nevada, and the most in a season by any 4A receiver.

In this year to fill Godfrey's shoes is senior quarterback Josh Creveling, who played tight end last year but got some time at quarterback in Eldorado's less competitive contests.

"I always had a good relationship with Jackson," Creveling said at a practice last Thursday. "Our sophomore year (on junior varsity) before he got moved up it was always me and him. He's a good receiver, he can go out and get anything."

Jackson says Creveling is a more patient quarterback and is satisfied to stay back a little longer. For that, Creveling has a simple explanation.

"I'm more of a Donovan McNabb type quarterback because I'm hard to bring down. It's always taken a couple of hits to bring me down," he said.

But he was unabashed about his arm strength.

"A couple times we'd see who could throw the hardest and I always got him (Godfrey) by five or 10 yards every time," Creveling said. "Brandon was a real good quarterback and it's going to be hard to live up to the expectations of him leaving. With Davell Jackson, anything's possible."

Jackson, who said he's being recruited by Pac-10 schools as a receiver but is still undecided on whether to pursue football or basketball at the next level, is still thinking about the end of last season.

The Sundevils were on the back end of a three-way tie for first in the Northeast Division, and had to go to Silverado for their playoff opener. They lost to the Skyhawks 21-14 after a last-minute drive came up short.

"State," Jackson said of his goals. "Going past the first round, where we got knocked off last year."