Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Basic QB, receiving duo connect for all-star win
McAllister, Eagles, Harris fuel Sunrise in Lions Club game
Developing chemistry in an allstar football game can be a problem, especially for quarterbacks and receivers.
Sunrise Region quarterback Aaron McAllister didn’t have that problem Saturday.
McAllister threw four touchdown passes — three to Basic teammates De’Shawn Eagles and Frank Harris — to lead the Sunrise to a 35-24 win over the Sunset Region in the 45th West Charleston Lions Club Charity All-Star game at Bishop Gorman.
“It’s amazing,” McAllister said of having his teammates to throw to. “I’ve got De’Shawn and Frank, and now you have the rest of everybody else. They’re quick, fast, and now we went to work. We showed them why we’re the best.”
Basic’s trio had a hand in all five Sunrise Region touchdowns. Eagles had touchdown catches of 42 and 18 yards. Harris hauled in a 74-yard scoring pass and scored on a 9-yard run.
“Playing with our quarterback, it helps because we don’t have to adjust anything,” said Eagles, who made 10 catches for 160 yards and was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player.
“We’ve been doing this for years now.”
McAllister completed 20 of 29 passes for 309 yards and was named the game’s MVP.
“It feels great,” McAllister said. “Honestly, we have a great group of kids here. They’re easy, they learn quick. I don’t know, we just came in here and wanted to show we’re the best side of town, I guess.”
The Sunset took a 24-21 lead with 10:00 to play on a 32-yard field goal by Arbor View’s Carter Andrade.
The Sunrise responded with a fourplay scoring drive that was helped by a key pass interference penalty.
Harris took a handoff on second down, then pulled the ball down and threw a wobbly pass that was picked off by Sunset defensive back Bryce Hampton of Centennial. But Hampton was called for pass interference, and McAllister hooked up with Valley’s Iyen Medlock for a 24-yard TD on the next play to make it 28-24 with 8:37 to go.
Harris finished with three catches for 96 yards for the Sunrise.
Savon Scarver of Centennial caught touchdown passes from both Sunset quarterbacks. He had a 25-yard TD catch from Centennial teammate Jamaal Evans, then a 75-yarder from Arbor View’s Hayden Bollinger.
Scarver had three catches for 101 yards. Legacy’s Samuel Turner rushed for 81 yards on 17 carries, and Evans passed for 65 yards and rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown for the Sunset. Arbor View linebacker Nick Stevenson was named the Defensive MVP.
“We have a lot of athletes on our side of town, and I feel like we don’t get recognized for it,” Eagles said. “But now, I feel like we’ve actually put ourselves on the map.”
If Saturday is any indication, the undersized Gaels will be just fine.
Gorman’s small-ball tactics pressured Castle View (Colorado) into 24 turnovers, and the host Gaels ran away with a 52-35 victory in the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational.
“That’s the biggest team we’ve played this year, so that was good for us to see how would we respond, especially with rebounds and just playing bigger teams,” Nixon said. “I thought we handled it very well. I thought we used our speed to the advantage.”
Skylar Jackson had 12 points and seven rebounds, Shaira Young finished with 12 points and four rebounds, and Caira Young added 12 points for the Gaels (6-0).
Castle View’s starting post players stand 6 feet, 3 inches and 6-1 but were rendered ineffective by the Gaels’ active defense. Gorman held the Sabercats to 31 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the visitors 33-27.
India Cole, a 5-11 reserve, led Castle View with 10 points, all in the first quarter.
“We wanted to work on their best ball-handler,” Nixon said. “We kind of disrupted their offense by taking it out of her hands, and I think that really helped us get the momentum in the game, especially on the defensive end.”
Gorman led 26-17 at halftime and withstood a burst by the Sabercats early in the third quarter before pulling away. Caira and Shaira Young combined for 14 of the Gaels’ 26 second-half points.
“We got them free on some stuff and they hit some great shots,” Nixon said. “They got to the free-throw line. They did a great job on the offensive end in the second half of extending our lead.”
Quinece Hatcher’s basket gave the Gaels a 38-29 lead at the end of the third quarter, and Jackson’s baseline jumper put Gorman ahead 44-29 with 5:43 remaining.
“We’re learning. We’re starting to build better chemistry right now,” Nixon said. “They’re starting to know what I want as a coach, so I’m starting to see it come together. We still have a lot of things to work on, but just getting games under our belt, as a coach, is really what I wanted to see.”