Spartans ride Morefield’s arm over Desert Oasis
Derek Morefield wants to clear up a misconception about the Cimarron-Memorial football team.
That three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense the Spartans have been known for recently? It’s a thing of the past.
Morefield completed 11 of 16 passes for 220 yards and five touchdowns, and host Cimarron used a balanced offense to pull out a 34-21 victory over Desert Oasis on Friday.
“We had a chip on our shoulder coming into this game because everyone had us as underdogs,” Morefield said. “We wanted to prove we’re not a one-dimensional team. We can win in all facets of the game.”
The No. 10 Spartans (5-0, 1-0 Southwest League) put away the game with 21 fourth-quarter points. Morefield threw a 25-yard touchdown to Roy Gonzalez early in the fourth to put Cimarron up 20-6, and the left-hander connected with Maurice Bennett for two TDs in the final 4:35.
Bennett finished with four catches for 95 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Michael Barnson added 185 yards on 39 carries. David Cotterell also had an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter for Cimarron, which travels to top-ranked Bishop Gorman next week.
“There was a lot of talk about this being our first real test, and a lot of guys on this team took that personal,” Spartans coach John Parcells said. “Tuesday was the best passing practice we’ve had since I’ve been here, and it finally came together. Now guys are starting to believe. If they give us the pass, we’ll take it.”
Desert Oasis (3-2, 1-1) marched 81 yards in 13 plays on its opening drive as fullback Blake Kutz scored on a 4-yard run, but the Diamondbacks were held scoreless from that point until Jocquez Kalili’s 4-yard touchdown run with 8:39 remaining in the fourth quarter cut Cimarron’s lead to 20-13.
Kalili, who came in averaging 223 yards per game, was limited to 89 yards on 19 carries, while Kutz finished with 70 yards rushing for Desert Oasis.
“We knew going in they were going to try to control the ball with their running game, and we wanted to do the same with ours,” Diamondbacks coach Scott Staudinger said. “It was a matter of third downs and big plays, and they were the team that made big plays and converted on third down over and over again.”
The Diamondbacks fumbled twice in the first half and trailed only 13-6 at halftime before letting two golden opportunities slip away in the third quarter. On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Kalili was stuffed for no gain. Desert Oasis forced a punt and took over at the Spartans’ 27, but Cimarron again held as Richie Stammetti’s fourth-down pass sailed over the head of receiver Joey Poehling.
“We were getting gashed early, and we made adjustments,” Parcells said. “After the shanked punt, I had no worries. When it was fourth-and-goal, I had no worries. I knew they could do it.”
Stammetti threw for 134 yards, including a late 30-yard TD strike to Gary Abdella.
■ Sierra Vista 35, Durango 12 — Maliek Broady ran for 98 yards and a touchdown and provided an interception as the Mountain Lions (2-3, 1-0 Northwest) celebrated Homecoming with an impressive win.
Sierra Vista led 14-0 at halftime with two option pitches: a 1-yarder to Daniel Godfrey to cap a nine-play, 75-yard drive in the first quarter and a 16-yarder to Andrew Peterson in the second quarter. The Mountain Lions capitalized on four interceptions in the first half, including three by Javion Hunt.
Durango (0-5, 0-1) found the end zone with a 3-yard rush by Artie Gallegos, on a drive keyed by a 27-yard scamper by Casey Smith to make it 21-6 at the end of the third quarter.
■ Arbor View 44, Spring Valley 0 — At Arbor View, Devon Turner rushed for 101 yards, caught two passes for 43 yards and ran for three touchdowns to lead the Aggies to a Homecoming win.
All of Turner’s scores came in the first half, including runs of 46 and 32 yards.
No. 4 Arbor View (4-1, 1-0 Northwest) outgained the Grizzlies 372-65.
Spring Valley (1-4, 0-1) was led by quarterback Christian Tasi, who completed three passes for 19 yards and rushed for 14 on 10 attempts.
■ Palo Verde 42, Shadow Ridge 14 — At Shadow Ridge, Parker Rost threw two first-quarter touchdowns, and Graeson Vereen returned two fourth-quarter interceptions for scores to seal the victory for No. 6 Palo Verde (4-1, 1-0 Northwest).
Rost hit Jamell Garcia-Williams for a 27-yard TD on the third play from scrimmage and threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Beaulieu, who also ran for a 2-yard score late in the second quarter.
Melvin Johnson returned a kickoff 75 yards for a score with 45 seconds left in the first half for the Mustangs (2-3, 0-1), and Caio Gadanha kicked his second 36-yard field goal of the game to cut the Panther lead to seven early in the fourth.
■ Canyon Springs 65, Rancho 0 — At Canyon Springs, Bradley Alexander completed 8 of 15 attempts for 124 yards and two touchdowns for the Pioneers in a Homecoming win.
Michael Hicks scored on runs of 24 and 68 yards to lead No. 3 Canyon Springs (6-0, 2-0 Northeast) in rushing. Gregory Banks also scored twice, including a 50-yard run. Casey Allison caught three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Robert Howard compiled 31 yards on 14 carries for Rancho (0-6, 0-2).
■ Silverado 57, Valley 20 — At Silverado, Jarrett Alipio rushed for 122 yards and four touchdowns – all during the first half – as the Skyhawks built a 50-8 lead and cruised.
After his 2-yard TD run with 10:05 left in the quarter, Silverado (2-4, 1-1 Northeast) recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Alipio completed his first pass of the year for 14 yards on the next play and followed that up by scurrying on a 19-yard touchdown run to put the Skyhawks up 36-8 with 9:40 left in the half.
Tyrone Prewitt scored two touchdowns for the Vikings (1-5, 0-2).
■ Liberty 62, Del Sol 12 — At Liberty, Tyler Newman tied a state record with nine touchdown passes for the Patriots (4-3, 2-0 Southeast).
Newman finished 18-0f-21 passing for 477 yards, with the nine touchdown going to six receivers.
Chandler Ivester grabbed three touchdowns among his four catches for 165 yards for No. 2 Liberty, which exploded for 41 points in the first half.
Austin Higgens was the bell cow for Del Sol (0-6, 0-2), recording 31 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown.
■ Coronado 62, Eldorado 7 — At Coronado, the Cougars (2-4, 1-1 Southeast) gashed the Sundevils for 412 total yards.
Coronado’s high-tempo spread offense was led by Jackson Cofer, who only threw two passes. Both went for touchdowns, covering 49 and 37 yards. Cofer also hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from John Farella. Tanner Bellamy recorded scoring catches of 49 and 47 yards.
Coronado’s defense limited Eldorado (1-5, 0-2) to 16 yards of offense.
■ Clark 54, Western 0 — At Clark, Milan Dixon had two first-half touchdowns to lead the Chargers over the Warriors.
Dixon rushed for 146 yards on four carries, including touchdowns of 41 and 48 yards. Ty’Rek Wells rushed for 59 yards on four carries, including touchdown runs of 1, 27 and 23 yards for the Chargers (3-4, 1-2 Division I-A Sunset).
Qwayjon Walker had six receptions for 70 yards to lead the Warriors (0-7, 0-3).
■ Mojave 22, Cheyenne 8 — At Mojave, in order to snap its 0-9 record against rival Cheyenne, Mojave (4-3, 2-1 Division I-A Sunset) decided to feed “The Beast.”
Ty “The Beast” Flanagan ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries to rally the Rattlers past the Desert Shields. He also caught a pass for 25 yards. The junior running back, who sat out the first half with a leg injury, did all his damage in the second half.
After a scoreless first half, Cheyenne (2-5, 2-1) took the lead midway through the third quarter on a 10-yard run by Jordan Johnson. Zavieh Harrell ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Desert Shields an 8-0 lead. Johnson led the Desert Shields with 92 yards on 18 carries.
■ Chaparral 34, Sunrise Mountain 13 — At Sunrise Mountain, Richard Hernandez ran for 144 yards and two scores, and James Dukes added two TDs for the Cowboys (3-4, 1-2 Division I-A Sunrise).
After Dukes scored on runs of 1 and 2 yards to stake the Cowboys to a 12-0 lead, Sunrise Mountain added touchdowns from Romello Tatum and Sherman Nash to take a 13-12 halftime lead.
Sunrise Mountain (1-6, 0-3) was led by Tatum’s 116 yards and a score. Wanya Calahan also ran for 106 yards, while Nash ran for 86.
■ Agassi Prep 59, Lutheran (Calif.) 0 — At Rancho, junior running back Kobe Williams scored five touchdowns to lead Agassi Prep (5-2) to an easy victory.
Williams scored four times during the first quarter on runs of 46, 54, 10 and 68 yards, and his fifth touchdown of the night came on an 85-yard punt return just before halftime.
The Stars held the Knights to minus-1 yard rushing, while the Stars amassed 302 rushing yards.
■ Faith Lutheran 38, Pahrump Valley 20 — At Pahrump, Jacob Deaville completed 12 of 18 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns while adding 37 rushing yards to give the Crusaders (6-2, 3-0 Division I-A Sunset) a victory over the Trojans (2-5, 1-2).
■ Mountain View 52, White Pine 0 — At White Pine, Jacob Duldulao rushed 12 times for 170 yards and a touchdown, and Matthew Larson added 76 yards rushing, 33 yards receiving and two touchdowns to lead the Saints (5-1, 5-0 Division III Southern) past the Bobcats (0-7, 0-5).
■ Spring Mountain 68, Indian Springs 20 — At Spring Mountain, Josh Banasiak tossed four TD passes to lead the Golden Eagles (2-2, 1-2 Division IV Southern) past the Thunderbirds (3-3, 1-2).
■ Pahranagat Valley 58, Sandy Valley 14 — At Sandy Valley, Caleb Hansen rushed for three scores, and Jordyn Crytes added three TDs as the Panthers (7-0, 4-0 Division IV Southern) routed the Sidewinders (3-3, 0-3).
