Aaron Holloway’s dazzling night sets tone in Legacy’s 27-9 win
Had it not been for a holding call in the third quarter, Legacy sophomore receiver Aaron Holloway would have picked up his fourth play of at least 67 yards.
He’ll settle for three such plays, two for scores.
Holloway’s big-play threat blended with a methodical second half as Legacy captured a 27-9 road victory against Las Vegas on Friday.
“I just did what my coach told me to do, and it came out right,” Holloway said. “It’s fun. I love to play the game.”
Holloway set the tone early, taking Legacy’s first kickoff return back for 77 yards. He didn’t score, but he did on the Longhorns’ next drive, slithering behind the defense, catching a floater and darting 67 yards into the end zone.
With time winding down in the second quarter, Holloway deflated the Wildcats further with an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown, putting the Longhorns ahead 14-3 at halftime.
“Aaron Holloway has been Aaron Holloway,” Legacy coach John Isola said. “It is what it is.”
It’s a good thing Holloway was electrifying in the first half, because that was about all Legacy could do. Minus Holloway’s touchdown catch, the Longhorns totaled minus 4 yards from scrimmage in the first half and did not convert on four third-down attempts.
But Las Vegas (2-4, 0-1 Northeast League) couldn’t take advantage, then watched helplessly as Legacy pulled away in the second half, when the Wildcats had the ball for only 1:08 of the third quarter.
The Longhorns (2-4, 1-0 Northeast) opened the third quarter with a 13-play drive that took 7:26 and ended on a 7-yard touchdown run from quarterback Evan Olaes, the first of the sophomore’s career.
After a three-and-out, Legacy marched down the field again, this time on seven plays, with Jerry Martin’s 27-yard touchdown run putting the game out of reach. Martin finished with 77 yards rushing on 18 carries.
“I turned around and said, ‘Wow, we just took like seven minutes to that drive,’” Isola said. “I said that’s a pretty good drive.”
Isola said seven starters returned after missing games this season, including Olaes, Martin and three offensive linemen. He conceded that might have led to the sluggish start, but was pleased with the rebound of his team, which started 10 sophomores.
He chuckled thinking about that youth and said the team has to grow up fast with league play underway.
“Is that a beautiful thing? Yeah. You know when it’s beautiful? It’s beautiful for 2019,” Isola said. “We’re submerged in 2018 right now, and we need to be a playoff team, and we need to win every week.”
Ja’Shawn Scroggins was 18 of 35 passing for 220 yards and one interception for Las Vegas, and Miles Davis caught eight passes for 102 yards. Scroggins ran in the Wildcats’ touchdown from 3 yards with 8:52 to play.
More preps: Follow all of our Nevada Preps coverage online at nevadapreps.com and @NevadaPreps on Twitter.
Contact Justin Emerson at jeme
Box score:
