By BOB SNELL
The Progress
A week after shuffling players into new positions before facing SLAM – a game Virgin Valley lost 21-14 – the Bulldogs looked more in sync as they throttled visiting Rancho of North Las Vegas, 45-0 on Friday night, Oct. 1, inside Evan Wilson Stadium in the 3-A South Mountain League opener.
Having a full week of practice to acclimate players into their new spots on the field made a huge difference for the Bulldogs.
“Having those extra reps in practice definitely helped,” VVHS head coach Matt Woods said. “I think that was a key in how we played. We came out more disciplined and focused.”
It didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to take control against the Rams.
Virgin Valley went 75 yards in eight plays to open the game, scoring on Kellen Dugan’s 19-yard run putting the Bulldogs up 6-0 after three-and-a-half minutes of play.
A bad snap on a Rancho punt attempt gave the Bulldogs the ball at the Rams’ 27-yard line. Five plays later, Virgin Valley quarterback Gavin Brown connected with Benson Leavitt on an 18-yard touchdown pass. Edgar Perez booted the point after to make it 13-0 Bulldogs.
Virgin Valley’s defense got into the act less than a minute later when freshman lineman Alex Valle scooped up a Rancho fumble and went 17 yards for a score upping the lead to 19-0.
Rancho fumbled again two plays later with the Bulldogs cashing in on the turnover with Brown tossing an 18-yard TD pass to Jimmy Kelly giving Virgin Valley a commanding 25-0 lead after one quarter of play.
Cam Perkins picked off a Rancho pass, one of two he snagged on the evening, to set up another Virgin Valley score late in the second quarter. Dugan did the honors running the final 16 yards for the score. Perez’ PAT gave the Bulldogs a 32-0 advantage at the half.
“Our defense did a great job of getting turnovers,” Woods said. “They were really aggressive.”
One of the players who switched to a new position was Martin Jordan, who went from defensive end to middle linebacker. Jordan led the Bulldogs with 11 tackles.
“Martin does a great job wherever we put him,” Woods said. “He plays hard and goes all out.”
Following Perkins’ second pick of the night at the Virgin Valley 14, the Bulldogs went 86 yards in 13 plays to score. Brown fired a 27-yard strike to Perkins, who made a leaping catch over a Rancho defender for the touchdown to increase the margin to 39-0 with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs closed out the scoring when sophomore Kurt Felix ran two yards for a touchdown with 7:05 to play.
Dugan, who hasn’t played organized football since eighth grade, led the Virgin Valley ground game rushing for 100 yards on 12 carries.
“Kellen is starting to step up at running back,” Woods said. “That’s a big key for us.”
Virgin Valley, which improved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in league play, will travel to Las Vegas on Friday to face Valley High School. Kickoff against the Vikings is scheduled for 6 p.m.
“We need to stay focused against Valley,” Woods said. “We’ve got to be smart and disciplined.”
