Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

prep football:

Spring Valley wins wild affair with Bonanza

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When the Spring Valley High football team jumped out to a 14-0 lead five minutes into their game Thursday against visiting Bonanza , coach Marcus Teal still wasn’t satisfied.

He knew Bonanza has a dynamic offense and figured it would take more than 14 points to win the game.

He was right.

Bonanza rallied to lead 28-23 at halftime, but Spring Valley opened the second half with 27 unanswered points to secure a wild 57-44 victory.

“We kind of started getting the feeling that the team with the last possession was going to win,” Teal said.

Spring Valley (3-3, 2-2) senior quarterback Jordan Cox, who accounted for six touchdowns, opened the second-half onslaught by going untouched for a 28-yard touchdown run.

He threw a scoring strike of roughly 30-yards to Nick Santos during the third quarter and capped the outburst with a 28-yard run to open the fourth quarter.

It was a break through performance for Cox, who has gradually showed signs of improvements the last few weeks in Teal’s pistol offense.

“He’s finally putting it all together,” Teal said. “He showed how (dangerous) that offense could be if it’s ran correctly.”

The game’s back-and-forth nature changed midway through the third quarter when Angel Foschi-Gioeli recovered an onside kick for Spring Valley. Three plays later, Cox and Santos hooked up for a 43-28 advantage.

Foschi-Gioeli also had a pair of interceptions — two of the lone defensive highlights in a game that produced nearly 1,000 yards of offense.

“That onside kick recovery gave us the advantage we were looking for,” Teal said.

Santos had two touchdowns for Spring Valley, while Cox and Austyn Wallace each rushed for more than150 yards. Wallace had an 80-yard touchdown run negated by a penalty, but found the endzone on a 35-yard run late in the game.

Spring Valley retained possession of “The Banner,” a banner with both programs’ logos on it that is awarded annually to the winner of the Southwest Division rivalry game.

When Spring Valley opened in 2004, it took several students from Bonanza. Also, former Bonanza coach Johnny Macon became Spring Valley’s first coach.

“That banner is something we cherish over here,” Teal said. “It’s one of those things that gets the juices flowing during the Bonanza week.”

Bonanza quarterback Sterling Sprau matched Cox touchdown for touchdown. Sprau rushed and passed for a pair of scores.

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