Basic moves on from last week’s loss, beats Silverado 24-21

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Sept. 24, 2010 | 11 p.m.

DeVonte Boyd decided it was time for a change.

The sophomore wide receiver/defensive back wanted Basic to forget about last week’s stunning upset at Coronado and start fresh in its homecoming game Friday night against Silverado.

So, Boyd decided to start fresh himself. He made a new addition to his gameday attire — hot pink receiving gloves.

“I just like pink,” Boyd said. “I thought I should do something different.”

The pink gloves didn’t let Boyd down as he made a fourth-quarter interception to set up the go-ahead touchdown in the Wolves' 24-21 victory over the Skyhawks.

With eight minutes remaining and Basic (4-1) trailing Silverado (2-2) 14-10, Boyd stepped in front of a Savon Moniz pass at the 27-yard line for the key pick.

“The quarterback, at the beginning of the game, was running a little hitch to him the whole time,” Boyd said. “I knew it was coming. I read his eyes.”

Basic quarterback Vince Carducci took over from there. Two plays after Boyd’s interception, Carducci rolled out to the left only to find a Silverado linebacker right in his face.

Carducci eluded the defender by turning around and running the other way to prolong the play. After scrambling for a few seconds, he noticed Matt Dembinski open in the corner of the end zone.

Carducci threw a perfect 25-yard strike for a touchdown and Basic never trailed again. Expect to find that play on Basic’s end-of-the-year highlight package.

“A lot of us played a horrible game last week — especially myself. I felt like I played a horrible game and lost it for us,” Carducci said. “We needed to start over.”

Carducci threw for 167 yards on 14-for-25 passing and rushed for two more touchdowns.

The Wolves needed every bit of his production. The Skyhawks were determined to spoil their homecoming.

Silverado struck first when Moniz connected with tight end Josh Curtis for a 25-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Curtis was Silverado’s most productive player, as he went on to catch two touchdowns and seven passes for 85 yards. But Silverado’s most important passes ended up in the hands of Basic defenders.

In addition to Boyd’s big play, Dembinski and Dante Rogers each had their own second-half interception for Basic to cut short Silverado drives.

“All three of our captains are in our secondary, so we expect big plays from them,” Basic coach Jeff Cahill said. “Today, they came through big time.”

Wide receiver Darian Spencer added seven catches for 86 yards for the Wolf Pack. Seven Basic players had at least one carry, with Benny Gutierrez accounting for 41 yards on eight rushes.

“No one wants to start this division 0-2,” Cahill said. “It’s too tough. It’s a big, big win for us.”

Silverado has dropped its first two division games in the stacked Southeast after getting shut out against Liberty last week. The Skyhawks try for their first win again next week at home against Coronado.

Basic travels to Southeast Division-leading Liberty.

“They’re big, physical and tough,” Cahill said. “We think it will be a big battle. We’ll go in there and we have every intention of giving them everything we’ve got.”

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