Arbor View’s JJ Tuinei (35) upends Desert Pines’ Jyden King (12) with help from teammate Arbor View’s Rodney Pitts (24) during their high school football game on Friday, September 1, 2017.
Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017 | 12:20 a.m.
Prep Sports Now
Show up, ball out
Las Vegas Sun's Ray Brewer and Case Keefer toast all the area teams who defeated out of state competition in week 1, and look forward to an almost-as-loaded week 2 schedule.
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The Arbor View Aggies sent the city a message last week with an opening-night blowout win over Las Vegas High.
For those who weren’t listening, the Aggies cleared their collective throats and repeated themselves Friday night, destroying the defending 3A state champion Desert Pines 51-0.
Arbor View had seven different players cross the goal line in the win.
“We’ve got quite a few kids who can carry the ball,” Aggies coach Dan Barnson said. “It starts with those guys up front, and with us playing double-wing, those tight ends are offensive linemen too. Those seven guys are pretty good. It’s a special group. I don’t know how many of them are going to go on to the next level and play college, but as high school football players they are really, really good.”
The offensive line, led by senior guard Cristian Taylor, paved the way for 277 rushing yards — 224 of which came in the first half alone.
“It was just smash-mouth football,” Taylor said. “It’s the best knowing you can hit linebackers all day.”
And while Arbor View is without a singular star player on offense, as a collective group the Aggies have produced back-to-back 50-point performances.
Jaquarie Hannie led the way with 97 rushing yards and a score, and Kyle Graham wasn’t far behind with 80 yards and a touchdown.
As the final minute of the first half neared, Arbor View led Desert Pines only 7-0. But Hannie found the end zone to make it 14-0, and the Jaguars couldn’t handle the snap on a punt resulting in a safety and Rodney Pitts ran the following kickoff 70 yards for another touchdown.
“That’s a tough thing as a coach to walk into that locker room thinking, ‘Oh my god, what just happened?’” Barnson said.
And despite the revenge-factor storyline heading into the game, Barnson insists there was no motivation for the 50-14 loss to Desert Pines in 2015.
“Nope. Absolutely not,” Barnson said. “This is 2017 and that was a long time ago. This is a different team. That’s a different team.”
The 2017 Aggies have now outscored their opponents 110-7.
On the other side, Desert Pines was one of the highest-scoring teams in the state last season but has been shut out in both of its games this year. Friday night, Arbor View’s defensive line thrashed the Jaguars' front five and pressured quarterback Tyler Williamson on nearly every dropback.
“(Our defense is) playing fast,” Barnson said. “The plan was to keep it simple and don’t let the kids think. The less they think the faster they can play and just react.”
One reason the Aggies have started the season so sharp is because many players have been with each other since elementary school. Of the 46 varsity players, Barnson said 36 of them have played together since they were Junior Aggies.
“That is a band of brothers,” Barnson said. “It’s a special group.”
Arbor View hosts Silverado next week in its final nonleague game.
“We are all brothers on and off the field working together,” Taylor said. “It feels phenomenal.”
Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.
