Rattlers snake by Bulldogs

Feast: Mojave had 10 plays of more than 10 yards, with top running back Deandre Taylor gaining 114 yards on 16 carries.

Famine: Mojave had four lost fumbles, almost negating the big gains.

Key word being “almost.”

The Rattlers showed just how far they’ve come as a program, edging the visiting Centennial Bulldogs 14-12 in a sloppy contest.

While coach Tyrone Armstrong wasn’t willing to talk about the playoffs quite yet, he did concede that his team is night and day from five years ago, when he took over.

“When we first got here, it wasn’t the best program,” Armstrong said. “We had some talented kids here, but it took us a little while to turn some heads around. Guys kinda laughed at me in the beginning when I talked about doing it smart and doing it in the classroom before we do it on the field. Once they learned they could do it in the classroom, out here I don’t think was quite as hard.”

“Yeah, we still have our naysayers — everybody’s just waiting for the other shoe to fall.”

At 6-0 (3-0 in the Sunset Region’s Northwest Division) for the first time in school history, it might be awhile.

Though the fumbles rattled the Rattlers a bit, they still basked in the glory of 263 rushing yards against Centennial (3-3, 0-3), which included a 44-yard score by Taylor and a 55-yard Chris McSwain touchdown run.

How do they do it?

“You want me to give away trade secrets? I can’t give away my trade secrets,” Armstrong said with a laugh. “You know, we just run the ball. I don’t think we look to pad anybody’s numbers. If you make the break, you make the break. We’ve been running this offense for two years, and they know that everybody’s gonna get some carries. What they do with those carries is up to them.”

Added McSwain: “You gotta get used to it; do the best with what you get. To me it doesn’t matter. As long as we win, it doesn’t matter how many touches we get. Us wings, we really have to block for our other wings. If we don’t do that, he’s not gonna score. And we all buy into that.”

Contact reporter Jon Gold at jgold@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4587.