Las Vegas High dominates ‘Bone Game’ with Rancho — PHOTOS
On a night that started out with a torrential downpour and ended under clear skies, one thing was consistent: Las Vegas High’s continued dominance of the annual “Bone Game” rivalry against Rancho.
Senior running back Torrell Harley rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries to help the Wildcats to a 44-0 win over the visiting Rams for their 26th consecutive win in the state’s longest standing rivalry.
“I grew up my whole life watching this game,” said Harley, still clutching the “Bone Game” trophy after the team celebrated the win. “I played for the youth Wildcats, and I used to come to these games all the time and watch the older guys do it. Now it’s kind of a surreal feeling to know that it’s me and that I’m the one holding the bone.”
Pouring rain in the first half meant cleanly handling a snap was difficult and completing a pass was nearly impossible. So Las Vegas turned to Harley and the ground game. Harley rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries in the first half.
“Torrell had a great summer, and I think he was on a mission to really set the tone for the year,” Las Vegas coach Erick Capetillo said. “I’m just proud of that kid. He works really hard. In three years, he’s never missed a practice. That dude deserves it.”
Once the rain stopped and the field stopped looking like a Slip ’N Slide, the Wildcats (1-0) were able to show more offensive diversity in the second half against the Rams (0-1). Sophomore quarterback Tanner Vibabul, making just his second varsity start, tossed three second-half TD passes as the Wildcats pulled away.
His first second-half TD pass came to older brother, Tommy, on a 73-yard play that helped the Wildcats take a 28-0 lead with 11:01 to go in the third quarter. On that play, Tanner Vibabul avoided the rush, then tossed a ball over the defender to his brother, who was wide open and able to outrun the defense for the final 50 yards to score.
Tanner Vibabul added TD passes of 43 to Mychael Walker and 3 yards to Julian Torres to close out the scoring.
“Tanner’s a great talent,” Capetillo said. “With him, he has some great leaders in front of him and a receiving corps that puts him in good position. Any time you get a fresh quarterback, you want to see what he can do, and he showed us a lot today.”
Tanner Vibabul completed 7 of 16 passes for 191 yards and four TDs. He had an 8-yard scoring pass to Treshawn Bush in the first half and also had an 8-yard TD run before halftime.
Tommy Vibabul had three catches for 117 yards.
“I think a lot of people thought that we would be a little lackluster in certain areas, but I think we showed them tonight that’s definitely not the case,” Harley said.
Keisean Ellzy intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter to end the best offensive drive for the Rams.
“I think it’s just huge, not only for us, but our alumni base, our community, the east side of as Vegas and everybody that loves Las Vegas High School like we do,” Capetillo said of winning the rivalry game. “Regardless of the year, regardless of the record, you get Rancho’s best effort and you get our best effort as well.”