Defense leads Boulder City football to homecoming win

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, Oct. 5, 2009 | 11:43 p.m.

The Boulder City High football team put an exclamation point on the homecoming celebration.

The Eagles surrendered less than 50 yards for the second consecutive week on Oct. 2 and running back Devin Combs rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown in a 15-10 victory against visiting Faith Lutheran.

The week included a parade, bonfire and dance, but it was a victory by the Eagles that highlighted the festivities.

The community’s support for the school and football program is always turned up a notch for homecoming.

The players raced over to the bleachers following the game to sing the school’s fight song, and several residents joined in on the cheering.

“That was a great atmosphere for high school football,” Boulder City coach Alex Kazel said. “Those fans were going to stay to celebrate the win with you or go through the loss with you. You don’t see that too much with the big schools.”

Boulder City (4-2) wasn’t as sharp as its 67-0 victory against Sunrise Mountain on Sept. 25, but its defense was again up to the challenge. The Eagles ran 30 more plays than Faith Lutheran and gained three times more yardage, but a few fumbles and a blocked punt kept the visitors in the game.

“Every time we made a mistake, they capitalized on it,” Kazel said. “But our kids stepped up and found a way to win the game. They made plays when they had to.”

Boulder City trailed 10-8 in the third quarter before quarterback Ryan Washburn scored the winning touchdown on a 15-yard run. Combs scored on an 8-yard run in the second quarter.

Washburn saw his first significant action of the season after being limited during the first month with an ankle injury. He was rusty at first but made the plays with the game on the line.

“It took me a quarter or so to get back into the flow of things,” Washburn said. “But once we got rolling, it came back to me just like last year.”

The defense did the rest.

Jake Thurmodsgaard led the effort with two sacks and three tackles, while Tate Boyster also had two sacks.

Boulder City will host Eldorado at 7 p.m. on Oct. 9 before entering its 3A Southern League schedule against Mesquite’s Virgin Valley High. Eldorado, a 4A classification school, hasn’t won a game this year, but will present matchup problems for Boulder City because of the speed of its athletes.

That’s fine with Kazel. He looks at each game as a different experience to prepare for league.

“We’ve tried to impress on the kids that everyone will give us their best game,” Kazel said. “No 4A school wants to lose to a 3A school. ...I don’t think we have played anyone with as much speed as Eldorado.”

Regardless of who the opponent is, Washburn said the Eagles are up for the challenge. The solid defense has given the team confidence.

“Our defense has really stepped up and made plays,” Washburn said. “They are really getting after it.”

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com.