Green Valley rallies past Desert Pines with 2nd-half surge

Trailing by 2 touchdowns astatine halftime, Green Valley needed idiosyncratic to get the Gators started and past idiosyncratic to decorativeness the job.

Running backmost Jaylen McKnight carried the discourtesy to unfastened the 2nd fractional Friday nighttime earlier going retired with an injured ankle and giving mode to Josiah Edwards, who had immoderate important carries arsenic the Gators near Desert Pines with a 21-14 victory.

When Desert Pines (3-2, 1-1 Class 5A Mountain League) led 14-0 astatine halftime, lone McKnight had done overmuch offensively for Green Valley (5-1, 1-0), rushing for 102 yards connected 11 carries. He was fixed the shot 12 times successful the archetypal 3 drives of the 2nd half, picking up 74 much yards.

“We came retired a small slow, but aft halftime it got successful our caput that we request to triumph this game,” McKnight said. “And that’s what we did.”

His moving acceptable up a 39-yard play-action touchdown walk from Josiah Kiaaina to Alfredo Rodriguez aboriginal successful the 2nd half, and Edwards tied the crippled with a 1-yard tally with 2:25 near successful the 3rd quarter.

But conscionable arsenic Green Valley was driving to instrumentality the lead, McKnight rolled his near ankle aboriginal successful the 4th fourth and didn’t return. Coach Brian Castro said sidelining McKnight was a precaution.

“We wanted a feline with immoderate caller legs determination astatine the end, but without (McKnight) carrying the load for the bulk of that game, we mightiness beryllium successful trouble,” Castro said.

Shortly aft McKnight left, Kiaaina connected with Rodriguez again, this clip for a 48-yard touchdown with 9:41 near for a 21-14 lead.

Without McKnight, the Gators had to mostly trust connected their defence and Edwards to clasp on.

First, the defence came up with a fourth-and-1 halt with 5:25 near erstwhile linebackers Mathius Aleaga and Sonny Vitale tackled Desert Pines moving backmost Jovantae Barnes for a 2-yard loss. It was the past of 17 carries for Barnes, who rushed for 103 yards, due to the fact that Green Valley past drained each but 4 seconds disconnected the clock.

That was mostly due to the fact that of Edwards, who aboriginal successful the thrust took a transportation connected third-and-6 and ran for 7 yards. He and Kiaaina kept the bid live with timely runs, and Edwards finished with 52 yards rushing and Kiaaina with 41.

“When I saw (McKnight) spell out, I felt nary fear,” Edwards said. “I had to prime up wherever helium near disconnected and support doing what helium was doing.”

Green Valley recovered a way, which near the Jaguars trying to find answers.

“We’re conscionable truthful young connected the D-line, and we’ve got 2 freshmen starting,” Desert Pines manager Tico Rodriguez said. “We got pushed around, and we didn’t marque the adjustments speedy enough. We couldn’t get thing going connected offense, and we struggled stopping the run.”

Contact newsman Mark Anderson astatine manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 connected Twitter.