Highlights from Week 4 of high school football

WHAT WE LEARNED

1. Foothill looks like one of the area’s top defensive teams.

The Falcons limited Durango to 184 yards in a 20-7 home win. Foothill now has allowed only 13 points in quietly moving to 3-0.

Middle linebacker Mateo Monterde intercepted a pass with 10:34 left to help seal the win for the seventh-ranked Falcons, who take on No. 9 Canyon Springs next week.

2. Liberty’s offense is not quite ready for prime time.

The Patriots managed only 107 yards of offense in a 35-0 loss to IMG Academy (Florida), which is ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today.

To be fair, the Patriots were without starting quarterback Lonenoa Faoa, who was out with a concussion. But with running back Zyrus Fiaseu limited on offense because of a cast on his broken right hand, Liberty never got anything going offensively.

The Patriots were at their best when they inserted linebacker Kyle Beaudry to take snaps out of the Wildcat formation. He finished with 49 yards on 12 carries. Faoa should be back, and Liberty will need him against fourth-ranked Desert Pines on Sept. 21.

3. Mojave’s passing game has some serious big-play ability, but consistency is a problem for the Rattlers.

DeSaun Smith hauled in seven passes for a Class 4A state record 244 yards and three touchdowns, including an 86-yarder and a 90-yarder.

Quarterback K’maurian Philogene ended up with 384 passing yards, but completed only 11 of 24 passes (45.8 percent) in a 41-38 overtime loss to Cimarron-Memorial.

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UPSET OF THE WEEK

Canyon Springs 24, Green Valley 22 — The only game of the week featuring two teams ranked locally came down to the wire with the ninth-ranked Pioneers holding off the No. 6 Gators.

Defense was key, and Canyon Springs was able to stop a 2-point conversion attempt with 43 seconds left to secure the win. The Pioneers had five takeaways, three sacks and scored a pair of defensive touchdowns in handing Green Valley its first loss.

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STANDOUT PERFORMANCES

Passing

K’maurian Philogene, Mojave — 11-24 passing, 384 yards, 4 TDs

Andre Nevarez, Del Sol — 16-31 passing, 275 yards, 2 TDs

Micah Bowens, Bishop Gorman — 19-29 passing, 223 yards, 1 TD

Garrett Castro, Green Valley — 23-34 passing, 213 yards, 1 TD

Micah Gayman, Democracy Prep — 13-24 passing, 212 yards, 2 TDs

Jordan Solmon, Sierra Vista — 14-33 passing, 204 yards, 1 TD

Rushing

Jordan Norwood, Cimarron-Memorial — 30 carries, 242 yards, 2 TDs

Thorston Balmer, Boulder City — 29 carries, 211 yards, 1 TD

Isaiah Golden, SLAM Academy — 24 carries, 200 yards, 2 TDs

Marcus Turner, Needles — 12 carries, 195 yards, 3 TDs

Breven Palpallatoc, Silverado — 31 carries, 176 yards, 2 TDs

Trey Alexander, Del Sol — 18 carries, 163 yards

Charron Thomas, Palo Verde — 20 carries, 157 yards, 3 TDs

Receiving

DeSaun Smith, Mojave — 7 catches, 244 yards, 3 TDs

Cameron Murray, Sierra Vista — 8 catches, 163 yards, 2 TDs

Markell Turner, Del Sol — 6 catches, 160 yards, 2 TDs

Kalyja Waialae, Green Valley — 9 catches, 132 yards, 1 TD

Joey Koenig, Pahrump Valley — 2 catches, 116 yards, 1 TD

Link Rhodes, Sunrise Mountain — 5 catches, 111 yards, 2 TDs

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QUOTABLE

“Our special teams, which has been really the strength for us the first two weeks, were just absolutely atrocious. I’ll take full blame for that, because I’m the special teams coach.”

— Liberty coach Rich Muraco after three punting miscues led to 21 first-half points in a 35-0 loss to IMG Academy (Florida)

“We’re nothing more than a glorified JV team at times. Valley came here, they were 0-3, they were frustrated, they saw an opening here, and they took advantage of it.”

— Rancho coach Gary Maki after his team lost 53-0 to Valley.

“Our backs (were) against the wall. We had to get it done.”

— Bishop Gorman running back Amod Cianelli after the Gaels beat Orem (Utah) 31-21 for their first win.

“Points are bad to us. Even seven is bad. We want shutouts. In the second half, our defensive coaches got us together and got us hyped up and ready to play.”

— Foothill middle linebacker Mateo Monterde after the team’s 20-7 win over Durango.

“For this offense, I’m the focal point of it. I have to be that guy. I have to make a play and I have to do my job.”

— Bonanza quarterback Kyle Allison after his he passed for 117 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 110 yards in a 20-13 win over Spring Valley.

“It’s tough when the starting fullback goes down. But it’s fun smacking the defensive end and then hearing (Thomas’) footsteps behind me and knowing I did my job well.”

— Palo Verde fullback Dacen Phister who rushed for 103 yards and helped the Panthers rack up 468 rushing yards in a 34-14 win over Las Vegas.

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HOW THEY FARED

A look at how the teams in the Review-Journal rankings fared in Week 4.

Class 4A

1. Bishop Gorman (1-2) beat Orem (Utah), 31-21. Next: at De La Salle (California), Friday.

2. Liberty (1-2) lost to IMG Academy (Florida), 31-21. Next: at No. 4 Desert Pines, Friday, Sept. 21.

3. Arbor View (3-1) beat Legacy, 35-6. Next: at No. 8 Centennial, Friday.

4. Desert Pines (2-0) beat Bishop Manogue 33, 20. Next: vs. No. 2 Liberty, Friday.

5. Faith Lutheran (1-1) vs. Chandler (Arizon) at Liberty, Saturday. Next: at JSerra Catholic (California), Friday.

6. Green Valley (3-1) lost to No. 9 Canyon Springs, 24-22. Next: at Legacy, Friday.

7. Foothill (3-0) beat Durango, 20-7. Next: at No. 9 Canyon Springs, Friday.

8. Cenennial (2-1) was idle. Next: vs. No. 3 Arbor View, Friday.

9. Canyon Springs (1-1) beat No. 6 Green Valley, 24-22. Next: vs. No. 7 Foothill, Friday.

10. Shadow Ridge (3-1) beat Basic by forfeit. Next: vs. Cimarron-Memorial, Friday.

Class 3A

1. Virgin Valley (4-0) beat Western, 60-6. Next: vs. Democracy Prep, Friday.

2. Moapa Valley (3-1) beat Eldorado, 48-12. Next: vs. No. 3 Cheyenne, Friday.

3. Cheyenne (4-0) beat Clark by forfeit. Next: at No. 2 Moapa Valley, Friday

4. Del Sol (2-2) beat Chaparral, 40-21. Next: at Rancho, Thursday.

5. Pahrump Valley (1-3) lost to Boulder City, 32-28 Next: vs. Democracy Prep at Rancho, Friday, Sept. 21.

More preps: Follow all of our Nevada Preps coverage online at nevadapreps.com and @NevadaPreps on Twitter.

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.comor 702-380-4587. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.