Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Freshman steps up for Foothill in opener

1. McQuuen 0-0

The champs until proven otherwise

2. Las Vegas 1-0

Wildcats shaky in opener vs. Cimarron

3. Douglas 0-0

North's best bet to unseat Queen

4. Foothill 1-0

Solid performance to control Durango

5. Palo Verde 1-0

Jarrell Harrison just learning what he can do

6. Elko 0-0

Must replace graduated Cavender brothers

7. Reno 0-0

Huskies always produce a top player or two

8. Cheyenne 1-0

David Peeples is the city's best RB

9. Basic 1-0

This offense will be fun to watch all season

10. Centennial 1-0

OT win vs. Eldorado after blowing big lead

Living up to high expectations is the common thread that ran through the opening weekend of the 2003 prep football season.

Such strong teams as Las Vegas, Foothill and Palo Verde put together performances equal to their advance billing. Standout players such as Basic quarterback Chris Montano, Cheyenne running back David Peeples and Palo Verde quarterback Jarrell Harrison led their teams to easy victories.

Even two unrecognized players -- Coronado QB Andrew Hatch and Foothill RB DeAngelo Jones -- made immediate impacts for their squads.

Each week, in tandem with the release of the weekly Sun Statewide Top 10 Rankings, we will take a look back at the prep gridiron happenings from the previous weekend. Here's a recap of some of the interesting stories from Week 1.

There is little surprise in the Falcons' convincing victory against the injured and battered Blazers. Foothill's defense, bolstered by a standout line, swarmed around Durango's offense all night. Only a miracle fourth-down completion allowed Durango to sustain its only touchdown drive.

Jones, however, was the game's revelation. Foothill coach Ray Fenton hesitated to hype Jones too much before the season, mentioning only that he would try to work his talented freshman in on special teams and in select situations.

Fenton's reward was a long Jones kick return for a touchdown and an equally impressive fourth-quarter scoring run that salted away the game for Foothill. The rushing touchdown featured Jones taking a handoff up the middle, breaking two tackles, dancing away from another, and finally breaking into the end zone from 10 yards out.

Such a run would make the highlight reel for any running back. For Jones, it appeared to be just the beginning of four years of excitement. Even this season, a Falcons' team sorely in need of a gamebreaking presence could benefit greatly from Jones' skills.

The Desert Shields' speedy senior standout, Peeples rushed for 177 yards and three scores to pace the Cheyenne victory. Already drawing attention from a number of colleges, Peeples will be a name to watch throughout the season with his lightning-fast moves and breakaway ability.

Peeples might not be the most noticeable name in town this year because of his relative anonymity as a junior. While Peeples enjoyed plenty of carries in Cheyenne's backfield, he also split the headlines with Travonte Darby and a number of other stud Desert Shields.

As a senior, it's Peeples' show. He showed he can handle the responsibility against the Skyhawks.

In defense of both programs and their prospect quarterbacks -- Green Valley's Lance Patonai and Gorman's Steve Harris -- the passing game is notoriously difficult to execute early in the season when teams have not had enough practice time to perfect their timing.

But these teams had trouble both with their basic sets and with penalties, the latter being the bigger problem. Both the Gators and Gaels had either scoring plays or plays deep in opponents' territory called back on holding or illegal block calls.

Green Valley looked good in spots, though, showing that new coach Greg Murphy might have the undermanned Gators ready to contend in the Southeast Division sooner than expected. After Murphy rebuilt Valley and established Centennial, such success is almost expected.

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