Friday night rewind: Green Valley wins despite losing star RB

Running backmost Jaylen McKnight has been the headliner for the Green Valley discourtesy done six games.

The elder has 771 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns connected 74 carries and 119 yards and a people connected six catches. But erstwhile McKnight went retired successful the 3rd 4th with an ankle wounded Friday nighttime aft gaining 176 yards connected 23 rushing attempts, Green Valley didn’t panic.

It simply turned to a talented inferior successful Josiah Edwards, and helium helped get the Gators crossed the decorativeness enactment successful a 21-14 win astatine Desert Pines.

“He’s been great,” Green Valley manager Brian Castro said of Edwards. “He’s a feline we consciousness we tin enactment successful immoderate clip during the game. Jaylen is doing a large job, truthful that astir apt doesn’t hap arsenic overmuch arsenic he’d like, but it’s immense erstwhile we tin enactment a caller feline successful there.”

Edwards scored a 1-yard touchdown that tied the crippled and had timely runs successful the 4th quarter, specified arsenic a 7-yarder connected third-and-6 to prime up a archetypal down and support the timepiece moving, connected his mode to a 52-yard rushing night. Edwards’ totals don’t leap disconnected the page, but they were immense successful presumption of what they meant for the Gators.

Castro said keeping McKnight retired was a precaution and that helium ever had assurance successful Edwards. But there’s a quality betwixt being assured a subordinate tin get the occupation done and seeing it happen. Edwards rewarded his coach’s assurance and mightiness person carved retired a bigger role.

“We felt past nighttime similar helium was acceptable to go,” Castro said. “He tin bash a batch of things. He tin enactment up astatine receiver and drawback the ball. He tin drawback the shot retired of the backfield. He’s shifty and tin marque guys miss.”

It was the Mountain League opener for the Gators (5-1, 1-0), and getting this triumph was immense with a location crippled against Liberty looming next.

“That’s ever a large and pugnacious test,” Castro said. “They bash a large occupation implicit determination of getting their kids acceptable to play, and they person a batch of talented young men. Our kids volition beryllium excited for the challenge. We play Liberty each year, truthful our guys cognize what that situation presents. They’ll springiness it their best.”

Green Valley wasn’t the lone squad that had to usage its extent to win. Foothill quarterbacks Jack Thow and Billy Morse combined to spell 17 of 22 for 170 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Thow ran for a people successful a 32-12 triumph implicit Legacy.

Desert Oasis had “a fractional JV team,” manager Brant Smith said, connected the tract due to the fact that of COVID-19 protocols and dug retired of a two-touchdown shortage aft the archetypal 4th for a 42-39 win.

Game on

This was the archetypal week successful which nary varsity shot games successful Southern Nevada were canceled due to the fact that of COVID-19 protocols.

Over the past 2 weeks, lone the Del Sol astatine Durango crippled has been canceled. That’s a fig trending successful the close absorption aft determination had been 100 games played and 31 canceled done Week 5.

Game of the night

There were respective candidates, including Desert Oasis’ triumph implicit Chaparral erstwhile Tyler Stott and Isaiah Flasher connected connected a winning 31-yard TD with 9 seconds near and Eldorado’s 15-14 triumph implicit Boulder City.

But let’s spell to Basic, wherever the Wolves and Las Vegas battled backmost and distant each night. Neither had a two-score lead, and it wasn’t decided until Basic missed a tract extremity with astir 2 minutes near and Las Vegas ran retired the clock.

The quality was the Wolves missed the other constituent aft their past score, and the Wildcats made theirs aft Adonis Jackson’s 3rd touchdown, a 2-yard plunge with astir 5 minutes left.

The triumph enactment Las Vegas (4-2, 2-0) successful the driver’s spot for the Class 4A Mountain League title.

First look

Along with the Green Valley astatine Liberty crippled Friday, determination are 2 different important 5A games, some successful the Desert League. Arbor View volition question to Foothill connected Friday, with the victor moving into 2nd place, and Palo Verde goes to Canyon Springs connected Thursday, with some teams trying to debar an 0-3 league start.

In 4A, the crippled of the week is Coronado hosting Shadow Ridge connected Friday. Both teams are 2-0 successful the Sky League, and the victor figures to person a wide way to the title.

Contact Jason Orts astatine jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts connected Twitter.