Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Ball bounces away from Mustangs

When Shadow Ridge brought in defending Colorado champion J.K. Mullen last Friday, Nevada's top-ranked team was looking for an early-season gauge against championship-caliber competition.

But it was a what-if kind of night at Ray DePalma Field as Shadow Ridge lost to Mullen 14-7.

What if Shadow Ridge's top receiver, Troy Cummings, had been playing instead of sitting on the sidelines after being ejected in Week 2 against Eldorado?

What if two key miscues by the local officiating crew hadn't cost Shadow Ridge position and momentum?

And what if Shadow Ridge had just a little more size up front to help Eric Jordan make some of the breaks and cuts that have made him the state's leading 4A rusher?

Jordan had 23 yards, his lowest single-game total in recent memory. He wasn't helped by a general inability by the Shadow Ridge receiving corps of George Ortiz, Brandon Pappillion and William Pope to catch a football.

"They handled our offensive line real well tonight," Shadow Ridge coach J.D. Johnson said. "Jordan just couldn't get the motors running. In that situation, Troy would be our go-to guy. That young man has gotten to learn the hardest lesson tonight."

Pappillion was a bright spot for Shadow Ridge's offense, making four catches for 50 yards.

But Pappillion and the rest of the offense couldn't get on the board until nine minutes remained in the game.

"It just does not make sense to me right now," Johnson said. "We're going to have to show up. We have a very good team coming in next week, there's going to be a lot of hype on it, we're going to try to keep that down but still - the offense is going to have to start giving the defense some help."

As much as the offense struggled, Johnson's defense did an impressive job against Mullen, making many key stops, giving up only one touchdown and generally not missing a beat despite the problems on the other side of the ball.

Then there were special teams problems. Shadow Ridge dug its own hole on one play in the third quarter, leavinga Mullen kicker with a clear path to the first down marker about 20 yards ahead of him.

But twice, the Shadow Ridge special teams crew had plenty of reason to be frustrated with the game's officials.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Mullen's returner clearly waved for a fair catch, then returned the ball around 20 yards.

Later in the half, after the Shadow Ridge defense stopped Mullen at the 15-yard line, Mullen's punter bobbled the snap, picking it up at the goal line and barely getting off the kick as a Shadow Ridge defender dove in to get a hand on it.

He landed on the punter, prompting the official to pull out a flag on the play. Expecting a roughing the kicker penalty, a justifiably upset Johnson argued with an official and received a personal foul. Coupled with what eventually was called a 5-yard penalty for running into the kicker, Mullen got the ball back near midfield with first down.

Neither of the calls resulted in scores, but they cost Shadow Ridge momentum and field position.

Johnson downplayed the effect of the penalties after the game.

"It's not so much a momentum call but a change of possession that was huge for our kids," Johnson said. "I felt the kid was leaving his feet - I thought it was a bad call. That's the way football goes. I'm proud of the way our kids battled."

Once Around Town

Jordan spent the last three years at Vegas, before he and his sophomore brother Josh moved to the Northwest side of town and eventually opted for Shadow Ridge for this season.

"I think we're going to approach it like any other week," Vegas coach Chris Faircloth said. "Their offensive skill kids are very good football players. They do a good job spreading the ball around."

The Wildcats, meanwhile, have been one of the biggest surprises of 2005, with the new Utah spread offense clicking early and playing a big role in Vegas' 2-1 record.

Las Vegas avenged its ugliest loss from last season on Friday, winning at Cheyenne 29-12.

"We can definitely execute better than what we've done," Faircloth said. "I think we're still inching closer to where we want to be."

The Skyhawks were 0-2 and had scored 19 points so far, unable to find any semblance of an offense.

But a trip to winless Sierra Vista on Friday righted the ship to a degree as Silverado soared past the Mountain Lions 42-0.

"Things just started clicking for us a little bit," Silverado coach Doug Thornhill said. "We didn't have any turnovers and it was a real good outing for our kids."

Particularly for quarterback Tyyler McNeace and sophomore fullback Colton Villa. Thornhill also said that Thomas Foley, making his first start on defense, performed very well.

The Skyhawks couldn't have found a better time to get some rhythm. League play starts this week, and Silverado will host Basic.

"The kids definitely needed this to boost their confidence a little bit," Thornhill said. "The defense played real well, the special teams played real well. It was a good game to have right before we start conference."

This year, coach Brian Murray, with the help of a cadre of new assistants, had instituted the wing-T offense, and the Western attack has gone from being wimps to true Warriors.

Western beat Basic 37-20 last week.

Murray said one of the keys has been the improvement of quarterback Julian Sample.

"He never really seemed to take off as decisively as he has this year," Murray said. "We can put in a lot more designed plays."

He also said that sophomore receiver Phillip Payne, listed at 6-foot-2 and a wispy 150 pounds, has provided a spark.

"He's unbelievable," Murray said. "He jumps up and comes down with it. He's not super fast but he's fast enough."

The Warriors open up league play Friday against Durango.

A crucial onside kick recovery gave the Bulldogs possession and led to the game-winning touchdown pass from Jared Noa to Zack McCoy. Caught up in the moment, coach Joel Bertsch didn't even know who came up with the football.

But as with so many mysteries, the answer was on the tape.

"Alex Josephs recovered it," Bertsch said. "If we don't get that, we probably don't win."

The win couldn't have been any more significant for the Bulldogs. Not only did Centennial struggle mightily last year, going 1-9 and losing all their Northwest League games, but this year's non-league schedule was peppered with this year's Southern 4A equivalent of Division II programs - Liberty, Arbor View and Bonanza.

A loss at Coronado last week dampened spirits. But Green Valley was having a quality year, and the Gators beat Centennial 14-9 in Henderson last September.

Plus, Green Valley coach Greg Murphy was Centennial's first coach, leaving the program after 2002 to spare himself a 70-mile daily commute from Henderson.

"We hate to play each other because we have so much respect for each other," Bertsch said. "It's always fun to come out on top of that game. It really is."

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