Del Sol survives late Basic rally to remain undefeated

Sam Morris / Sam Morris

Del Sol’s Curt Pfeiffer celebrates stopping a Basic drive late in the fourth quarter Friday at Del Sol High School. Del Sol won the game 21-19.

By Steve Silver

Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 | 12:35 a.m.

Del Sol fights off Basic

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The battle for Henderson supremacy certainly lived up to its billing Friday night.

Del Sol and Basic, both previously undefeated, clashed in a classic see-saw game that ultimately came down to a last-second field goal to determine who would retain the top spot in the Southeast Division.

After blocking a punt and recovering the ball on Del Sol's 11-yard line with only four seconds remaining, Basic lined up for a short field goal to win the game.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, an unlikely hero stepped up for the Dragons as junior Jason Meuir launched himself at kicker Kevin Aviles to block the field goal and seal a 21-19 victory for Del Sol at home.

"I knew it was the game," said Meuir, who had previously blocked a Basic extra point attempt in the first quarter. "It was a victory or a loss. I just shot off the end as hard as I could. Sometimes you have to man up and know that if I don't do my job we are going to lose."

Thanks to Meuir's kick-blocking prowess, the Dragons once again escaped a late-game collapse to maintain a perfect 5-0 overall record a 2-0 mark in the division.

Del Sol and Silverado (5-0, 1-0) are now the only undefeated teams in the Southeast Division.

"This is great for our confidence and great for our school, but the reality is that we have been getting by a lot of these games by the skin of our teeth," said Del Sol head coach Preston Goroff. "So there is a lot of room for improvement, but I'll take a win any day."

Although the game tightened in the fourth quarter, Del Sol seemed poised for a blowout victory after amassing a 21-6 lead in the second quarter.

The Dragons' defense started the early scoring binge when Evan Weinstock intercepted a Tyler Dobbins pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown and the 7-0 lead.

Basic answered on the ensuing drive as Quinn Richardson punched in a seven-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. But Meuir's extra point block kept Del Sol on top 7-6.

After Del Scored on the final play of the opening quarter to take a 14-6 lead, Basic committed another costly error to begin the second quarter.

Dobbins threw another interception, this time to Byron Stewart. Four plays later, Troy Miller connected with Weinstock for a 12-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-6 lead.

"We basically gave them those two touchdowns," Basic coach Jeff Cahill said. "That hurt."

Despite the large deficit, Basic managed to regroup and capitalize on a Del Sol turnover before halftime.

A host of Wolves sacked Miller, forcing him to fumble late in the second quarter.

With the ball at midfield, Basic drove to the end zone on the heels of a 36-yard touchdown run by Dobbins with 1:03 remaining in the half to move within eight points, 21-13.

"We played with heart and we played with guts," Cahill said. "We went 100 percent, but we didn't execute when we need to execute. That was the difference."

Both defenses tightened up in the second half as neither team could muster much offensive production in the third quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Miller threw an interception that Kelly Armistead returned to the one-yard line. Richardson pounded into the end zone on the next play, but a botched 2-point conversion attempt left the Wolves trailing 21-19.

Basic had several chances to take the lead later fourth quarter, though.

With 2:42 remaining in the game, the referees reversed a fumble call due to a mysterious inadvertent whistle, which set up Basic for a 25-yard field goal attempt. Aviles missed that try wide right.

Following a solid defensive stance that forced Del Sol into a three-and-out, the Wolves took over at midfield with 1:49 remaining.

This time, Del Sol's defense proved too tough as the Wolves failed to gain a single yard in four plays.

"(Defense) has been saving us all year," Goroff said. "We've been mediocre at best offensively and our defense has just been stepping up and saving our you-know-what all season long."

Even without any offensive production, Basic still managed to have one more kick at victory prior to Meuir's game-saving block.

The Wolves will now try to recover as they host Liberty (3-2) next week.

"This is a learning experience," Cahill said. "I believe we should have won. We had many chances to win. It comes down to execution and that comes down to paying attention in practice and getting things done like you're supposed to."

Del Sol will have to put its perfect record on the line against also undefeated Silverado on the road.

"We have to keep fighting all the way to the end," said Del Sol running back Dezerick Reed. "We have a target on our backs now, so we have to keep fighting."

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or steve.silver@lasvegassun.com.