Three turnovers doom Boulder City

By Brent Hinckley

Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 | 12:15 a.m.

Virgin Valley capitalized on three Boulder City turnovers to come away with a 42-16 victory Friday night.

“We gave up four turnovers and got none back. You don’t win too many games doing that,” Boulder City Eagles coach Alex Kazel said.

Two interceptions helped Virgin Valley outscore the Eagles 28-7 in the second half and pull away for the 3A Southern League win.

One set up a short field for the Bulldogs, while the other was returned 28 yards for a touchdown.

Virgin Valley (7-1, 2-0) senior receiver Jonathan Gleave scored three times ­— a 29-yard touchdown reception, a 10-yard run and the interception for a touchdown.

Gleave finished with 59 yards receiving and 86 yards rushing. Senior running back Colton Teerlink rushed for 100 yards on 25 carries and had one touchdown.

One highlight of the second half for Boulder City was an 82-yard kickoff returned for a touchdown by senior running back Jeremy Smith.

“I just caught the ball and started running and the hole opened up. It was exciting,” Smith said. “But it didn’t really matter. We still lost.”

The score cut Virgin Valley’s lead to 35-19 with 10 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the game. Boulder City then recovered an onside kick, taking possession on its own 48-yard line.

“We play to the last second. We’re not going to stop,” Kazel said. “That’s what that was. We play until the end.”

The Eagles drove to the 28-yard line, but the drive stalled out and Boulder City would not threaten to score again.

Boulder City scored the first points of the game on a 25-yard field goal by senior kicker Jake Phillips to take an early 3-0 lead.

Virgin Valley answered with a 10-play, 57-yard drive capped by a 13-yard pass from senior quarterback Terran Leavitt to senior receiver Shandon Miera.

Boulder City (4-3, 0-2 3A Southern League) got its first touchdown when junior quarterback Ryan Washburn kept the ball on a 1-yard quarterback keep and the Eagles went into the half trailing 14-9.

Washburn passed for 71 yards on five completions, the longest a 48-yard pass to Smith, that set up Washburn’s score. Smith had two receptions for 58 yards.

Brent Hinckley can be reached at 990-7822 or [email protected].