Nevada Union's JV football team evened its season record at 2-2 with a 34-0 win over Natomas last Friday. Here, NU's Conner Keith (44) brings down a Nighthawks runner.

Oct. 5, 2009

Nevada Union Blanks Nighthawks, 34-0

Nevada Union's junior varsity football team squared its season record at 2-2 with a 34-0 shutout of visiting Natomas last Friday night.

 Miners coach Mitch Giles noted that a “tough defensive effort” helped pave the way for the NU win following a tough loss last week at Roseville.

Leb by quarterback Josiah Paye, who had touchdown runs of 34 yards and 44 yards in the first quarter, the Miners piled up 418 yards of total offense.

Paye also fired a 41-yard touchdown pass to Conner Fuller in the second quarter.

Fullback Brad Spangler added touchdown runs of 26 and 53 yards, while Conner Keith scored from 20 yards out before the halftime break. Kyler Malarae intercepted a pass and returned it seven yards for a score.

Malarae and Dyllin Reynolds both had nine tackles on the night, while Keith had eight stops and Gabe Humphers totaled seven tackles.

Del Oro 34 Merced 15 – Austin Howerton’s 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown gave Del Oro a second quarter lead that it never looked back on in posting the non-league win over the visiting Bears.

The Golden Eagles, now 4-0 on the season, opened the scoring when Russell Smith tallied on a 30-yard run. After Merced capitalized on a pass interception for a shor scoring run that tied the game at 7-7, Howerton took the ensuing Bears kickoff and returned it the distance to put Del Oro up for good.

Smith then added another score on a two-yard plunge before quarterback Bobby Heartherington tossed a six-yard touchdown strike to tight end Alex Bertrando. Del Oro then completed its scoring when Rex Hime went over from four yards away.

The Golden Eagles received stellar defensive play in the win from Hime, Austin Soldano and Scott Westlake, all who picked up pass interceptions. Bertrando and Ashwin Cardenas also played well. 

Placer 56 Mesa Verde 6 – Tyler Gardner, Peter Ho, Joe Mangino and Jake Callahan all ran for touchdowns and quarterback Johnny Foley tossed scoring aerials to David Ho, David Daniel, and Jordan Rawls as the Hillmen improved to 4-0 in winning its Pioneer Valley League opener.

For the Placer defense, Daniel had a pass interception while Tanner Jay collected three sacks.

Colfax-Bear River Meet Monday – Bear River’s JVs will host Colfax Monday at 5 p.m. in a Pioneer Valley League opening game which was postponed from Friday because of a flu bug that hit the Bear River varsity team. Both Bear River and Colfax take 3-0 non-league records with them into the contest.