Cimarron Memorial running back Justin Davis breaks free from the Del Sol defense for a touchdown during their game Friday, Sept. 7, 2012 at Del Sol. Cimarron Memorial won 27-7.
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012 | 2:05 a.m.
Prep Sports Now
Are Centennial, Canyon Springs in the elite?
There are topics aplenty on this week's episode after an eventful slate of games. Centennial and Canyon Springs, most notably, presented arguments for being included with the best teams in town. Are Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Ray Brewer and Case Keefer buying the Bulldogs and Pioneers? Listen in on the debate, a discussion on touchdown celebrations and a breakdown of this week's games.
Justin Davis was primarily a wide receiver for the Cimarron-Memorial High football team before coaches switched him to running back this summer.
It looks like he’s fitting in just fine in the Spartans’ backfield.
Davis rushed for 243 yards and two first-half touchdowns Friday night to lead the Spartans to an impressive 27-7 victory against host Del Sol.
The 5-foot-5, 155-pound Davis surely didn’t perform like someone relatively new to his position. Or someone who could be considered too undersized for the position. He didn’t shy away from contact and had excellent speed in the open field.
“It was the summer. Practicing every day this summer got me better and ready for this year,” Davis said.
Cimarron controlled the line of scrimmage most of the night, including Davis breaking free for a 54-yard touchdown run at the 4:51 mark of the first quarter to give the Spartans an early 6-0 advantage. In the second quarter, Davis scored his second touchdown on a 26-yard run.
“He really hit the hole,” Cimarron coach John Parcells said. “He is starting to get it. He is starting to get the nuances of (the position). He’s got good vision. He is learning to trust his lineman and hit the hole. It paid off tonight.”
After losing to Cheyenne last week in their season opener, the Spartans were able to correct several mistakes in game they were hardly challenged in. It didn’t hurt that Del Sol was playing its opener.
“Having a game under our belts was a big advantage we had over Del Sol,” Parcells said. “We had a lot of things we had to work on (after the first game). We did a better job all-around tonight.”
Del Sol had a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize. Cimarron’s defense had several tackles behind the line of scrimmage, limited Del Sol to about 150 yards of offense and didn’t surrender any points until late in the fourth quarter.
“Our guys are always high effort. They always are running to the ball,” Parcells said.
Davis wasn’t the lone Cimarron player to enjoy success in the running game.
The Spartans drained the clock most of the second half by moving the chains with the ground game and scored a pair of touchdowns to put the contest out of reach. Quarterback Derek Morefield had a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and Desean Lewis scored on a 6-yard run with 9:15 to play.
“It’s our line. They are really good,” Davis said. “They just opened up the holes for us.”
Parcells stressed to the players after the game to keep improving. While the performance resulted in a victory, there was still signs of poor play in the form of turnovers and a few missed tackles.
“We want to get better every week,” Parcells said. “We had a rough one last week and gave it away a little. This week, we played a much better game. And, we’ll play better next week against Rancho.”
Del Sol’s lone points came late when quarterback Micah Hare connected with Dominic Cochrane for a 33-yard scoring strike.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.
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