Mojave preps for postseason with shutout at Western

By Jesse Granger

Friday, Oct. 23, 2015 | 11:37 p.m.

Mojave rode a second-half offensive explosion to close out the regular season in style, with a 42-0 win over Western.

The Rattlers led only 6-0 at halftime, but 36 second-half points allowed coach Joe Delgado to play some second- and third-string players to evaluate them heading into the playoffs.

“Once again we started the game off very slow,” Delgado said. “Our defense held strong and our offense came to life in the second half.”

Junior running back Khalid Walker carried the load for Mojave with 15 carries for 128 yards.

Quarterback Taiwan Braden completed 2 of 8 passes for 39 yards, but did most of his damage with his feet — running for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Kyle McMillan also completed 2 of 6 passes for 58 yards, and ran for 26 yards and a touchdown.

Not only did the defense record Mojave’s first shutout since the opening week at Chaparral, but also scored some points of its own with a 33-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

Next up for the Rattlers will be the very same Chaparral team that they beat 25-0 on Aug. 28, but Delgado expects a different game.

“We are two completely different teams this time around, but having played them and getting the win gives us the mental advantage ... going into the game,” Delgado said. “We have a couple things up our sleeves and prepared for them, so let’s just hope things go to plan.”

Mojave finishes third in the Sunset League and will play Chaparral in the first round of the Division I-A Southern Region playoffs.

“The postseason is a completely different beast, so it’s all or nothing,” Delgado said.

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.