Del Sol aims to prove it belongs
Though others might think differently, Del Sol’s football players and coaches believe they belong in tonight’s Sunrise Region championship game.
Now they’re out to erase any doubt.
The Dragons (10-1) host two-time defending state champion Las Vegas (8-4) at 6 tonight for the title.
Del Sol advanced to the Sunrise title game with a 28-24 win over Canyon Springs. In that game, Pioneers star quarterback Devonte Christopher missed much of the second half after taking a hard hit early in the third quarter.
Officials, following a national federation rule, wouldn’t allow Christopher to return until a doctor cleared him, and Del Sol rallied for the win.
“From a coaching standpoint, I want our guys to go out and do well, just so we can kind of squash all the deals about (how) maybe we’re not supposed to be here,” Del Sol coach Preston Goroff said. “We’re confident. We feel like we belong here. And obviously, we’ve got unfinished business.”
Las Vegas has played in every Sunrise title game since the state went to three regions in 2000, winning the last four. The Wildcats beat Del Sol 38-8 in last year’s Sunrise final.
“We’ve got kind of a little chip on our shoulder from last year, so we’re excited,” Del Sol quarterback Matt Burge said. “We know we can win. It’s just a matter of us going out and playing on Friday night.”
Del Sol’s running game has continued to flourish, even without leading rusher Bryan Grenier, who has missed most of the last five games with injuries. Grenier is out with a knee injury, but running backs Ernest Hall and Jordan Molina and fullback Jon Kirschbaum have picked up the slack.
Hall, a sophomore, had his biggest game last week, rushing for 167 yards on 27 carries.
“He’s really been coming on,” Goroff said. “We like to run in between the tackles, and he’s the bigger back. He’s a little bit more durable.”
Molina had topped 100 yards in the previous three games, and Kirschbaum has run for more than 100 yards in each of the team’s two playoff games.
“They make it difficult because they get positive yards on every play,” Las Vegas coach Chris Faircloth said. “It makes it hard to get them off the field. They’re very good at controlling the football. You’re only going to get so many chances, so you have to be effective on offense whenever you get the chance.”
After scoring 43 points in each of its two previous games, Las Vegas was ineffective on offense last week in a 12-7 win over Silverado.
“Our offense has been really up and down,” Faircloth said. “It’s kind of hard to know which one we’re going to see. But we’re going to have to be better than we were last week, or there won’t be a next week.”
Receiver Michael Alexander echoed his coach’s thoughts.
‘The offense will have to put some points on the board and not rely on the defense so much,” Alexander said.
Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4587.
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