Quinn Richardson leads Basic to victory over Eldorado with two TDs

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009 | 9:58 p.m.

Updated Friday, Sept. 18, 2009 | 10:49 a.m.

Coach Cahill

Basic running back Quinn Richardson only carried the ball three times against Eldorado, but he wound up in the end zone each time to lead the Wolves to a 28-7 victory.

Quarterback Tyler Dobbins scored Basic’s other touchdown on a 30-yard counter. Richardson and Dobbins helped Basic shake off early rust. Eldorado scored on its first drive.

“We were a little flat coming out,” Basic coach Jeff Cahill said. “After that, we settled down.”

The Basic (3-0) defense has allowed only 13 total points in three games this season.

Liberty overcomes penalties to beat Canyon Springs 21-13

Liberty won its second game in a row — barely.

The Patriots edged Canyon Springs 21-13 tonight after leading the whole game.

“It was closer than we wanted,” Liberty coach Rich Muraco said. “We played totally sloppy. It was our worst performance.”

Liberty turned the ball over four times and committed six personal foul penalties, two on the same play that set up Canyon Springs’ touchdown to make the score 21-13.

Canyon Springs drove again to the Liberty 20-yard line, but Liberty’s defense came up big with two sacks to ensure the victory.

For the Patriots, Ty Byrd had 22 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown and Sam Tai had six carries for 33 yards and two touchdowns.

Brandon Lopez explodes for big yards in Spring Valley win

Spring Valley running back Brandon Lopez had so many touchdowns and yards in a 35-6 win against Western that coach Kelly Murphy lost count.

“He had big plays all over the place,” Murphy said.

Murphy estimated that Lopez recorded at least 250 total yards on offense. Lopez set up Spring Valley’s first touchdown when he caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anton Stallworth.

Spring Valley never looked back, and its defense made sure Western never threatened for the rest of the night.

Trailblazers rush past Chargers, 43-26

Durango running backs Julio Mora and Mike Mehling combined for more than 200 yards and five touchdowns as Durango ran past Clark 46-26.

“We played well,” Durango coach Gary Maki said. “There were a lot of penalties on our end, which I was not happy about. But we’re happy overall; we’re 3-1.”

Durango struck fast and early and built an insurmountable lead by halftime. Clark scored the bulk of its points after Durango took its starters out.

Centennial fights off resurgent Shadow Ridge

Centennial quarterback Chris Henderson continued to prove why he might be one of the valley’s best in a 28-19 victory against Shadow Ridge.

Sam Morris

Centennial football player Chris Henderson.

Henderson went 11-for-16 for 206 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

“It was a typical Centennial-Shadow Ridge game,” Centennial coach George Baker said. “Throw the records out, it was a knock-out, drag-it-out type of game.”

Centennial went up 21-7 in the first half, but Shadow Ridge stormed back with a strong second half to make the score 21-19. Henderson calmly drove the Bulldogs down the field late in the game to add another touchdown and secure the win.

Connor Afoa has a night to remember in Foothill victory

Foothill running back Connor Afoa returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and the Falcons never looked back in a 37-0 rout of Rancho.

Afoa scored on another return later in the game and added two rushing touchdowns and an interception.

Foothill quarterback Parker Riggin had two touchdowns through the air.

Foothill coach Marty Redmond said the game was the exact opposite of last week’s 49-0 loss to Palo Verde. “We bounced back nicely after being embarrassed last Thursday,” Redmond said.

Trenton Tipton leads Silverado to comeback win over Desert Pines

Silverado quarterback Trenton Tipton scored four touchdowns — two running and two passing — to lead the Skyhawks to a 29-22 come-from-behind victory over Desert Pines.

“It was all Tipton tonight,” Silverado coach Andy Ostolaza said.

Desert Pines took a 22-21 lead in the fourth quarter, but Tipton drove the Silverado offense down the field and scored on a six-yard touchdown. The game ended when Desert Pines accidentally spiked the ball to stop the clock on fourth down in Silverado territory.

Desert Shields put together complete performance against Crusaders

Cheyenne coach Perryn Hale said it all came together in his team’s 38-21 victory against Faith Lutheran.

Cheyenne won its second straight game behind a strong performance from running back Jordan Butler, who had 203 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.

“The offense moved the ball pretty well,” Hale said “And the defense did pretty well and gave up only two touchdowns.”

Faith Lutheran’s third touchdown came on a kickoff return late in the game. The Cheyenne win was never in doubt, as they led 21-0 at halftime.

Big plays from Elijah Mitchell land big win for Desert Oasis

Desert Oasis outlasted Bonanza in a 42-34 shoot-out.

Senior wide receiver Elijah Mitchell led the Diamondbacks with a handful of catches, including a touchdown where he jumped over a defensive back in the first half.

“Elijah Mitchell had a really big game,” Desert Oasis coach Faron Seibel said.

Desert Oasis and Bonanza were tied at 21 at halftime, but the Diamondback defense emerged in the final 24 minutes.

Coronado pulls late-game heroics to beat Valley

Valley coach John Elwell could tell all night that it would come down to the final minutes in his team’s game against Coronado.

That turned out to be the case as Coronado scored a game-winning touchdown with 50 seconds remaining to beat Valley 27-26.

“We made quite a few mistakes,” Elwell said. “We just didn’t do a great job.”

Brandon Wright scores three TDs as Palo Verde knocks off Cimarron-Memorial

Standing out in a crowded and talent-filled Palo Verde backfield is no easy task.

But junior Brandon Wright did just that Thursday night by scoring all three of Palo Verde's touchdowns in the Panthers' 20-7 victory over Northwest division rival Cimarron-Memorial.

Both squads entered Thursday's showdown undefeated, but Wright proved to be the difference maker as he rushed 12 times for 70 yards and two touchdowns while also catching three passes for 50 yards and one touchdown.

Legacy whips Arbor View in Battle of the Bulls game

Two herds of bulls entered the ring Thursday night, and as the first half ended, only one of those herds looked ready to fight.

It was the annual Battle of the Bulls game between the Arbor View Aggies and the Legacy Longhorns, and thanks to a smothering Legacy defense and a standout senior, the Longhorns bull-rushed the Aggies early. A 19-point halftime lead carried them to a 32-7 victory.

Del Sol gets revenge with win at Las Vegas

Members of the Del Sol High football team couldn’t help thinking back to last year.

That’s when they surrendered 21 unanswered points in the final five minutes of the Sunrise Regional championship game against Las Vegas High to squander what appeared to be a safe 14-point lead and lose in the game’s final minute.

When the two schools met again Thursday night, some nine months after Las Vegas’ memorable rally, the devastation of the previous year was nearly relived.

The Dragons were playing the same opponent, on the same field and had a similar secure advantage.

Then again, as they learned last year, no lead is safe against Las Vegas.

Del Sol led by 27 points with nine minutes to play before Las Vegas rallied for three touchdowns in seven minutes and had the ball inside Del Sol’s 20-yard line with under a minute to play.

This time, however, Del Sol survived the last-quarter rally.

Two-way standout Dezerick Reed, who finished with two touchdowns, intercepted a pass as time expired and Del Sol held on for a 33-28 victory.

Green Valley starts slow, beats Chap

Green Valley High trailed 14-0 after the first quarter Thursday night against visiting Chaparral, but got a combined three touchdowns from sophomores Aaron Love and Rakeen Griffin in a 45-20 victory.

Green Valley (2-1) scored 45 unanswered points to erase its deficit, using its three-back rushing attack to wear down a short-handed Chaparral squad.

“We knew (Chaparral) would come out fighting,” Green Valley coach Matt Gerber said. “We gave up a couple of cheap touchdowns right off the bat.”

Griffin rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns on six carries and Love had 71 yards and one touchdown on nine carries. Senior Treveece Jackson added four carries for 54 yards.

“They all did a good job running the ball,” Gerber said. “We wanted to make sure to have a stable of backs and to keep them fresh.”

Green Valley opens Southeast Division play next week against Liberty (2-1).

“It should be a competitive game, just like every game in our division should be,” Gerber said.

Bishop Gorman continues to roll

Another week meant another Bishop Gorman romp as the Gaels pounded Sierra Vista, 62-6.

Bishop Gorman running back Victor Belen scored four touchdowns and had 91 yards on only six carries.

"He's had good performances in every game so far," Bishop Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. "He broke a couple early and the guys opened some big holes for him."

Tight end Xavier Grimble had a touchdown and 106 yards on two catches.

But believe it or not, Sierra Vista actually scored first. The Gaels blocked a field goal attempt, but the Mountain Lions were able to pick the ball up and advance it to the end zone to go ahead 6-0.

The score only slightly delayed Bishop Gorman’s eventual dominance.