Arbor View dominant in season-opener, drops Desert Oasis 46-0

By Ed Hauth

Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 | 10:51 p.m.

The Arbor View High football team opened its 2012 season with a 46-0 victory against Desert Oasis, dominating the action from the first kickoff to the last whistle.

“We worked hard all offseason,” Arbor View coach Dan Barnson said. “It’s a compliment to our weight-training program. We demand a lot from our players. The offseason preparation showed up for us tonight.”

After forcing the Diamondbacks to go three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, the Aggies began the scoring onslaught with a 12-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Larry Norman. Arbor View converted the 2-point conversion to take an early 8-0 lead.

After preventing Desert Oasis from picking up a first down on a second consecutive series, the Aggies added to their lead with Norman’s second touchdown of the opening quarter, this one on a 16-yard catch from senior quarterback Rasheem Parks on a corner post route.

“I pride myself in being a dual-threat running back,” Norman said. “I like being able to make plays in the passing game as well as the running game.”

Norman added his third touchdown of the half on a 35-yard dive up the middle with 7:52 remaining in the second quarter to give Arbor View a 22-0 halftime lead.

Barnson credited the offensive line for opening up large running lanes for Norman and the other running backs.

“Norman played great, but those touchdowns wouldn’t be possible without those seven guys up front blowing guys off the ball,” he said.

The Aggies controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in the first half to open up the commanding advantage. Arbor View held Desert Oasis to one first down in the opening 24 minutes of play, which was awarded on a pass interference penalty early in the second quarter.

Things went from bad to worse for coach Scott Staudinger’s Diamondbacks in the second half.

The Aggies received the opening kickoff of the second half and picked up where they left off in the opening half. On Arbor View’s third snap of the quarter, running back Herman Grey burst free on a sweep off right-tackle for a 66-yard score to extend the lead to 29-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Diamondbacks failed to scoop up a live ball on a squib kick, allowing Arbor View’s Salah Boyce to pounce on the pigskin, giving the Aggies a short field to work with.

The Aggies quickly took advantage of the Desert Oasis special teams miscue as Parks scored on a quarterback keeper from a yard out to open up a 36-0 lead with 7:53 remaining in the third quarter.

Arbor View added a short touchdown run from Boyce late in the third quarter and a short field goal from Zach Boyd in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring at 46 points for the Aggies.

After dismantling the Diamondbacks in their season-opener, the Aggies will look to improve to 2-0 next Friday night as they host Green Valley in the Gators' first game of the year.