There are football games that are described as ‘ugly’. The 41-28 game between Virgin Valley High School and Desert Pines High School Friday night could fit that mold as neither team could find there rhythm in their play selection and momentum. Even though the score was 41-28 in favor of the Jaguars, most of the scoring was big plays. The continuity of long drives and execution was not there. The Bulldogs lost star running back Dee Bowler in the first minute of the second period negating most of their running attack.
The Bulldogs received the opening kickoff and began the game on their own 24 yard line. The “Dawgs managed to get two first downs to their 48 yard line but stalled and had to punt. Garrett Leavitt had managed 24 yards passing before a fumble set them back. Leavitt’s punt rolled into the end zone for a touchback. The Jaguars could manage only six yards on three plays and decided to go for it on fourth down from their 26 yard line. The ‘Dawgs held and took over on downs. The Jaguars confidence in their defense worked as they forced the ‘Dawgs into a chance of their own. Leavitt’s fourth down pass was intercepted by the Jaguars and a personal foul penalty moved the ball to the Jaguars 12 yard line. A four yard loss and penalty set up a third and long for the Jaguars from their own 2 yard line. The Jaguars amazed the Bulldog faithful with a short pass over the middle. ‘Dawg middle linebacker Tyson Teerlink intercepted and stepped into the end zone for six points. Bowler ran the two point conversion in giving the ‘Dawgs the lead at 8-0 with 1:35 minutes remaining in the first period. The first period ended with the Jaguars on their own 43 yard line.
Jaguar Q.B. Travis Nofoa was sacked by Christian Aguirre forcing a punt. The punt rolled into the end zone for a touchback. The “Dawgs ran Bowler for one yard before Leavitt’s pass was intercepted by the ‘Jags Malik Davis on the ‘Dawgs 26 yard line. Three plays later the ‘Jags had a first and goal from the ‘Dawgs one yard line. Nofoa took it in from there on a Q.B. sneak. The two point conversion pass attempt failed. The ‘Jags kick was received by Aguirre on his 12 yard line and returned to the ‘Dawgs 32 yard line. The Bulldogs managed a first down before the Jaguar defense held and forced a Leavitt punt to the ‘Jags 10 yard marker. The ‘Dawgs held and forced a punt. Aguirre fumbled the punt but recovered for a Bulldog first and ten from their 46 yard line with a little over three minutes remaining in the first half of play. Bowler’s replacement Dallen Carnesecca went around end to the ‘Jags 42 yard line but was stripped of the ball on a vicious tackle. A personal foul on the ‘Dawgs gave the ‘Jags a first and ten from the ‘Dawgs 34 yard line. Bulldog Dillon Graves dropped Eric Wilkes for a six yard loss back to the forty. Nofoa hit his flanker for a 39 yard gain to the Bulldogs one yard line. The ‘Jags, were called for a delay of game penalty, setting up a Nofoa pass for a six yard touchdown. The two point conversion was good giving the ‘Jags a 14-8 lead going into the intermission. The ‘Dawgs nemesis, turnover’s, reared its ugly head in the first half. The ‘Dawgs, had three in the first 24 minutes of play stalling any offensive drives.
The Bulldogs kicked off to begin the second half of play. A reverse by the ‘Jags after the reception, went know where. A pass completion netted a loss of 15 yards to the ‘Jags 10 yard line. Nofoa gained three back on a keeper setting up third and 22 yards to go. Nofoa surprised the ‘Dawgs with a quick kick to the Bulldogs 35 yard line. Carnesecca picked up a first down on two carries to the Bulldogs 46 yard line. Two incompletions and a sack forced the Bulldogs to punt. The ‘Jags began their second possession of the half on their 33 yard line. The ‘Jags had a second and four from their 48 yard line when Davis fumbled and Graves took it all the way for Bulldog touchdown. The extra point by Teerlink was good and the Bulldogs led 15-14 with 5:31 minutes remaining in the third period. It took the ‘Jags 52 seconds to take back the lead as Davis took the kickoff on his 20 yard and returned it to their 48 yard line. Davis ran through the Bulldogs for 35 more yards to the ‘Dawgs 17 yard line. Nofoa completed a pass for the remaining yards pulling the ‘Jags up 20-15. The two point conversion was no good. The Bulldogs Teerlink fumbled the ensuing kickoff giving the ‘Jags a first down on the Bulldogs 27 yard line. It was all Davis on three carries for a touchdown increasing the ‘Jags lead to 28-15 as the extra-point was good. The Jaguars had two touchdowns in less than two minutes. The Bulldogs could manage only one first down on their next drive and had to punt. Davis took the kick on his 23 yard line and weaved his way through the entire Bulldog defense for 77 yards and another touchdown. The extra point failed keeping the score 34-15 in favor of the ‘Jags with 1:03 remaining in the third period. The Bulldogs received the kickoff on their 25 yard line. Graves caught a pass from Aguirre for a first down on the Bulldogs 38 yard line as the period ended.
The Bulldogs were held to four downs and out and were forced to punt. The ‘Jags began their first drive of the last period on their 45 yard line. Three Davis runs, the last for 33 yards, and the score gave the Jaguars an insurmountable lead of 41-15 with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the game. Both teams exchanged punts until the ‘Dawgs Aguirre hit Leavitt for 50 yards and a Bulldog touchdown cutting the lead to 41-22 as the extra point was good. The ‘Dawgs held the Jaguars on the next possession and took over on their 27 yard line. Five plays later the Graves was standing in the end zone after an eight yard gain with another Bulldog touchdown. The big play was a Teerlink catch and run for 62 yards, to the ‘Jags eight yard line. The score now stood at 41-28 in favor of the Jaguars. The game ended seconds later. Davis had 110 rushing yards for the ‘Jags. His all-purpose yards must have been awesome as he seemed to be running through the ‘Dawgs all night. Aguirre was 7-19 for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Teerlink had five catches for 86 yards. Most of the Bulldog yardage was gained in the last eight minutes of the game. “We played a terrible game. We had very little enthusiasm and it showed. Dee went out with a hip pointer and we didn’t recover. Our kids are resilient and we must stay focused,” said Coach Chris Sawyers. The Bulldogs will travel to Moapa Valley next Friday to face the undefeated Pirates who whipped Boulder City 45-6.