Basic retains jug in 41-7 rout of Boulder City

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 | 11:55 p.m.

Updated Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 | 12:55 a.m.

Forget the Jug Game. A more apt title for the 2010 version of the rivalry between Basic and Boulder City would be The Carducci Game.

Basic senior quarterback Vince Carducci put on a show and threw for 214 yards and four touchdowns on 15-for-24 passing as the Wolves mauled the rival Eagles, 41-7.

“Going from not playing a lot last year to this year, it’s great,” Carducci said. “It was a lot of fun. I had a great time.”

Truth be told, Basic coach Jeff Cahill’s game plan didn’t anticipate this much passing. The Wolves had to improvise after starting running back Lorenzo Sampson went out with a knee injury early in the first quarter.

Sampson’s injury wasn’t serious and he shouldn’t miss extended time, but his absence meant more of the offensive onus fell on Carducci Friday night.

“We thought we were kind of stuck behind the 8-ball for a bit,” Cahill said. “But Vince played a great game. He played absolutely great.”

Carducci's favorite targets were junior Darian Spencer and sophomore DeVonte Boyd, who each had five receptions. Carducci found Boyd for a 27-yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-0 in the first quarter.

Boyd also scored the Wolves first touchdown on a seven-yard reverse play. Boyd finished with five receptions for 72 yards.

Spencer had 80 yards and two touchdown receptions. Carducci said Spencer and Boyd did a great job getting open.

“They’re young and have a lot to work on,” Carducci said. “They have already helped us out a lot though and this is going to be a great year for them.”

Basic led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter after Carducci threw his second touchdown, a 17-yard pass to senior Matt Dembinski.

Boulder City’s only score came on a 70-yard kickoff return by Matt Combs. The Wolves held the Eagles to 74 yards of total offense.

“They just outplayed us,” Boulder City coach Alex Kazel said. “They are a great team who were one point away from state last year and we saw why. This game showed us what we had to work on. We had weaknesses and they were exposed.”

Basic’s defensive dominance started up front. Constant pressure from the likes of senior defensive end Kevin Bayes kept the Boulder City offense in a funk.

The Eagles committed three turnovers and had less than 25 yards of offense at halftime, when the Wolf Pack led 34-7.

“I thought our defense was really physical and stingy,” Cahill said. “That’s what we need.”

The Wolves rushed the field after the game hoisting the Jug, which will stay in Henderson for another year.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.