Desert Pines recorded its first shutout of the season while Boulder City dropped its third straight game as the Jaguars roared past the Eagles 64-0.
Desert Pines is the fourth-ranked team in Southern Nevada, according to Nevada Preps, despite playing at the lower-tier Division I-A level.
“We couldn’t match up with what they’re bringing,” said head coach Chris Morelli. “The whole goal was to establish the run and keep this game somewhat close.”
The game plan failed, as Desert Pines scored early and often. After BCHS punted on its opening series, Jaguars’ junior running back Isaiah Morris took his first carry 57 yards for a touchdown and 6-0 lead.
The Eagles again would punt after only three plays on their next drive, and Morris again would make them pay on the ensuing drive, scoring his second touchdown of the night from 14 yards out.
Morris had five carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter. He would finish with six carries for 140 yards and three touchdowns.
The Boulder City defense wasn’t only mistake-filled, like its previous three showings, but also, as Morelli says, a little scared.
“There’s no doubt (we were intimidated),” he said. “We just have to regroup and come back next week. We’ve got to be mentally tougher. Just coming into this game you could tell they didn’t want to be here.”
The defense registered 21 tackles in the game against Desert Pines.
To put that into perspective, Moapa Valley’s Dalyn Leavitt, who leads Division I-A in tackles this season, has 18 in his past two games — by himself.
On offense, a week after the game against Del Sol in which quarterback Austin Wishard and the team looked much sharper, the team struggled.
The Eagles recorded their initial first down of the game with 48 seconds left in the first half, but ended that drive — and the half — with an interception. They would finish the game with three first downs.
Wishard finished 2-for-10 for 15 yards and two interceptions.
The officials and coaches deemed at halftime that the second half would see a running clock with the game out of hand. Desert Pines would score three times in third quarter en route to its 64-0 win.
Next up for Boulder City is upstart Sunrise Mountain, which, despite being only four games in, has already clinched its best season in school history.
The Miners had never won more than three games in the school’s history. This year, however, has seen Sunrise Mountain open up its season with two straight victories, including handing Pahrump Valley its first home loss since Oct. 24, 2013.
The Miners have wins over Western, Pahrump Valley and Virgin Valley.
It’ll be homecoming for BCHS on Friday night.
Injuries have played a role in the Eagles’ losing streak this year, and they will be without starting running back Logan Branscrum for the second straight game when they face the Miners. Branscrum suffered a concussion against Del Sol and sat out of the Desert Pines game.
Matching up with elite teams has been and will continue to be a problem for the small program that is Boulder City, but one thing that won’t be a problem for this week, according to Morelli, is being prepared to win a football game.
“We’ve got to move forward,” he said. “We’ve still got a chance to win a couple games in our division and make the playoffs, and that’s the ultimate goal. We’ve just got to go out and do it.”
– Contact Randy Faehnrich at BCRsports@gmail.com.