Members of the Silverado High football team pose for a photo at the Las Vegas Sun’s high school football media day July 20, 2016 at the South Point. They include, from left, Ryan Scoggins, Franco Rodriguez, and Cody Marr.
Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016 | 12:12 a.m.
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Liberty For All
Las Vegas Sun sports editors Ray Brewer and Case Keefer discuss Liberty's momentous win over the top-ranked team in Texas, and give an ode to all the other great games high school football has produced so far.
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It was two minutes into the second quarter Friday night and the Silverado High football team had just scored again to extend its lead against host Desert Oasis to 28 points.
Time to board the bus back to Henderson, right? Not so fast.
Instead of relaxing, Silverado’s defensive players challenged each other. Christopher Liana told teammates to imagine the game was scoreless and they needed a stop.
That’s what Nahzi Salih did on Desert Oasis’ ensuing possession. His 64-yard interception return for a touchdown was the second defensive score of the first half for the Skyhawks in a 36-6 victory.
“Coming into this game we wanted to focus on getting things done and finishing every play, and not taking anything for granted,” Liana said.
Silverado took the lead for good 64 seconds into the game when Tyreese Newsome-Johnson returned a Desert Oasis fumble 19 yards for a touchdown. Keikiokalani Misipeka did the rest in rushing 10 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns, giving the Skyhawks a powerful running back to anchor their offense.
“I fixed a couple of things for him with his stance. He went to work tonight,” Silverado coach Randall Cunningham said. “That kid got it done tonight.”
Silverado, which shut out Mojave in the first week of the season, didn’t surrender a touchdown until the fourth quarter against Desert Oasis. Pekelo Solomon and Newsome-Johnson had interceptions, helping the Silverado defense register seven scoreless quarters to open the season.
“We can never be satisfied. We have to keep working play after play,” said Liana, the team captain.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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