Strategy pays off for Green Valley in win

If football is indeed a chess match between opposing coaches, Green Valley's Larry Thomas did his best Bobby Fischer imitation on Friday night.

With the Gators trailing 18-7 against visiting Las Vegas at halftime of the teams' Sunrise Division opener, Thomas made two strategical moves to turn the tide in a 35-25 Green Valley victory.

The first came on the defensive end, where Thomas and his coaching staff knew they had to put more pressure on Wildcats quarterback Anthony Marini.

In the first half, Marini had picked apart the Gators' secondary, completing 7-of-11 passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns.

"We changed our blitz package and put a little extra pressure on the kid," Thomas said. "They probably weren't ready for that."

Throughout the second half, Gators' middle linebacker Herman Farahi lined up on the outside and broke into the Wildcats' backfield, making life miserable for Marini.

The Las Vegas quarterback tossed three second half interceptions, including one which Gator cornerback Cornell Williams returned 99 yards for a third-quarter touchdown.

"No one ever picked (Farahi) up," Thomas said. "(Marini) got a little rattled and a little nervous."

Thomas' other key move came on the offensive side of the ball, where the Gators had managed just 85 yards in the first half.

After coaching under Thomas for three years at Green Valley, Las Vegas coach Kris Cinkovich knew the Gators would run to the strong side and prepared his defense accordingly.

"They took away some of the stuff we thought we'd have against them," Thomas said. "Kris knows I hate to run the weak-side trap. I always run to the tight end's side."

So Thomas decided to mix things up down the stretch, and it worked. The weak-side trap took the Wildcats by surprise throughout the second half, freeing Gator backs Danny Tanner and Ruie Fernando for critical touchdowns.

After avenging two straight losses to Las Vegas, the Gators sit atop the the Sunrise Division, tied with Eldorado, Basic and Chaparral.

One-man gang

You could say Cheyenne fullback Deon Ned had quite a season Friday night.

The 5-7 junior terrorized Durango's defense, carrying 30 times for a school-record 324 yards and all five of his team's touchdowns in a 41-34 win.

Time and again, Ned thwarted the Trailblazers' comeback efforts, breaking tackles and dragging defenders downfield to help No. 3 Cheyenne improve to 3-0 and win its league opener.

"He's a hard worker and if you don't wrap him up, he'll get away from you," Cheyenne coach George Perry said.

In three games, Ned already has 685 yards and nine touchdowns. He's averaging over 10 yards per carry.

Overtime affair

It took a little longer than they would have liked, but the Basic Wolves opened their conference season in style Friday night, with a 17-14 overtime win over crosstown foe Silverado.

"We knew we had to get a conference win if we have any aspirations of doing anything this year," Basic coach Cliff Fraizer said. "And when we look at the other schools in this area, being able to beat the other two (Silverado, Green Valley) is important."

The Wolves trailed host Silverado 14-7 going into the second half before tying the score on a touchdown run by tailback Andy Grasso. Then, after holding the Skyhawks without a point for the final three quarters, Basic won on Mike Rose's 30-yard field goal.

"The biggest thing for us is that we have that stigma that if we get down, we quit," Frazier said. "So this was a big win for us psychologically."

* ELSEWHERE: In other action, Eldorado got its league season off on the right foot with a 21-6 win at Valley. The Vikings fell to 0-3 overall. ... Chaparral picked up its first victory of the season, 40-20, over visiting Rancho. The Rams still are looking for their first win. ... Cimarron-Memorial rebounded from last week's loss to University (Calif.) in a big way, pounding visiting Bonanza 49-0. ... Clark rallied for a 34-29 win over visiting Bishop Gorman to snap the Gaels' two-game win streak. ... Western handled Palo Verde 48-20 in a game moved to the Panthers' home field late Friday. ... Mojave improved to 3-0 in its first varsity season with a 39-13 win over Canadian school Delta. ... Victor Wright rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns to power the Meadows over visiting White Pine. ... Boulder City suffered a 51-30 loss at River Valley (Ariz.) to fall to 1-1.

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