Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013 | 11:13 p.m.
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Nothing's better than a rivalry game that gets decided in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.
Justin Alpha scored the game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds left to give the Chaparral Cowboys a 20-14 victory over the Eldorado Sundevils in the Cleat Game.
“It was a humdinger,” Chaparral coach Bill Froman said. “That was one of the best bus rides back I’ve had in my three years at Chap.”
The ending was made more dramatic because Alpha’s go-ahead scamper came on 4th-and-8.
The Cowboys opted to run a counter play instead of passing, and thanks to some tremendous blocking led by senior captain Damien Guthrie, Alpha was able to get enough room to reach pay dirt.
“It opened up like the red sea,” Froman said. “Our senior line blew that thing wide open. I could have run that in.”
The Sun Devils made things interesting, however, as they got close enough to throw a few Hail Mary passes into the end zone.
None connected, giving the Cowboys (1-1) another victory in the storied rivalry which was out in full effect Saturday.
“We had just as many people as they did in the stands for a road game,” Froman said. “Our band is battling their band. It was clean and no dirtiness.
“It was quite a good game.”
Seitu Wyche added a 25-yard touchdown run for Chaparral.
Richard Nelson had a good game defensively for the Cowboys. He had four sacks and five tackles for loss. Nelson also returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score.
Richard Hernandez added 15 tackles in the winning effort.
Chaparral High School has seen better days.
Once among the top performing schools in the Clark County School District, Chaparral High is undergoing changes to counter dismal test scores and the lowest graduation rate in the district.
The campus located near East Flamingo Road and U.S. 95 is one of five turnaround schools not meeting the expectations outlined in No Child Left Behind.
Chaparral is now looking to clean up its reputation, touching every aspect of the school from restrooms to test scores.
Changes weren’t received well by students who openly protested the cuts to faculty and the new order that banned the use of cell phones and music players during the school day.
Under stricter rules, tardy students are locked out of classrooms, bathroom breaks during class time aren’t allowed and the lunch hour was pushed back to 1:40 p.m.
Superintendent Dwight Jones told students he’s not settling for half successes.
“Right now, 50 percent of the kids in this school don’t graduate high school. Is that acceptable to you? Think about that. Right now, some of the friends that you’re with aren’t going to graduate. Is that OK? That’s unacceptable to me. I think you guys ought to kick all of us out.”
- Year built:
- 1971
- Mascot:
- Cowboys
- Principal (Year Hired):
- David Wilson (2011)
- Enrollment:
- Approximately 2,250
- School Report Card:
- 2010-2011
Compiled by Gregan Wingert
Paul Delos Santos can be reached at 990-2416 or mail to [email protected]. Follow Paul on Twitter at twitter.com/pauliedelos.
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