Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

high school football:

Mojave backups step up in win over Clark

high school football media day 2015

Christopher DeVargas

Mojave football players Tariq Banks, Daijon Payno, and Kyle Reynolds before the 2015 Season.

The Mojave Rattlers guaranteed themselves a seat at the playoff table with a dominating 32-6 win over the Clark Chargers Friday night.

With both starting quarterback Lamaja Cunningham and running back Elijah Smoot lost for the season with injuries, Mojave was forced to play fresh faces in the backfield, and the youngsters stepped up big.

Junior Taiwan Braden, who was a wide receiver until last week, started the game at quarterback and completed 6-of-10 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

“We started the game off very strong and aggressive and it worked in our favor,” Mojave coach Joe Delgado said. “We came out throwing the ball, something we have not done in the past and it really helped us.”

Braden’s favorite target was Jesse James, who caught two passes for 106 yards and a score.

The Rattlers’ suffocating defense forced eight total turnovers and completely locked Clark down.

“Our defense did the normal, holding strong and not allowing our opponent much breathing room,” Delgado said. “The majority of the game was played in the first half, because the second half was a mess due to the weather.”

Alex Carvalho had the biggest night of all Mojave's defenders, notching four sacks and two fumble recoveries — one of which he returned 65 yards for a touchdown.

The win clinches the third seed in the Sunset Division for Mojave, and more importantly — allows them to avoid a first-round matchup with Division 1-A power Faith Lutheran.

“We will not look past our game next week, but we know we have the opportunity to make some noise in the playoffs,” Delgado said.

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.

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