GameNight: DV offense sputters in loss to Centennial

Eleven exhausted pair of legs slowly trotted off the field.

Desert Vista's defense certainly had a right to be tired on this night.

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The unit had had its best showing of the year, yet had nothing to show for it.

It dominated two-time defending Class 5A-II champion Peoria Centennial for nearly the full 48 minutes. Yet there was only one problem: the defense couldn't play both sides of the ball.

An inept Thunder offense had minus-24 yards rushing and scored just once -- on a drive that started inside the red zone -- as DV (3-2) fell to the Coyotes (5-0), 20-7.

"The defense played great. Offensively, we've got to try to find some things and get some things going," said DV coach Dan Hinds. "We can't continue to put our defense in such bad situations."

It was an offensive showing that meant that even though wideout Casey Bolena -- essentially the entire DV offense Thursday night -- caught five passes for 94 yards, including the touchdown, the Thunder finished with 73 total yards.

Holes were not open. Routes were not crisp. Even the huddle relayed incorrect plays from the sidelines at times.

"We couldn't block anybody," Hinds said. "We couldn't do anything up front. When you can't block anybody up front, it's tough to get anything going. We have some things we've got to fix on our O-line."

The defense, though, certainly did its part. One touchdown was almost enough.

On Centennial's opening drive, the Thunder forced a fumble that gave DV the ball at the Coyotes' 29-yard-line. The offense, helped by a pass interference call and Anthony Kereluk's four-yard run, moved the ball to the 3. But it wouldn't get any further, and turned the ball over on downs.

The defense would force another three-and-out, and, following a seven-yard punt, DV got the ball at the 20. Three plays later, DV quarterback Cody Sokol connected with Bolena on a 19-yard strike for a 7-0 lead.

The Thunder then forced Centennial to miss a field goal. And another.

"We do as much as we can do," said DV linebacker Lee Williams. "We stop them, we make them go three-and-out, we get turnovers. That's what we can do. As long as they don't score on us, we've done our job."

Finally, with 51 seconds to go in the half, the Coyotes' Anthony Hughes broke away from a logjam up the middle for a 25-yard touchdown. But Centennial's Ryan Shauger missed the extra point, allowing DV to hold a 7-6 advantage.

For a while, it looked to stay that way.

Motivated by its lack of a ground game -- DV had minus-2 yards at the break -- the Thunder called 21 pass plays in the second half, running just twice.

But it didn't change much.

DV finished 2-for-12 on third down, and 1-for-4 on fourth down. Sokol would be sacked six times in the game.

Still, its defense held into the fourth quarter. But soon, the fatigue began to set in, which Centennial exploited on an 81-yard scoring drive capped by John Hughes' 3-yard run with 8:13 left to play. A two-point conversion made it 14-7.

The offense had its chance to respond, but Sokol's third-down pass was intercepted by Reggie Umuolo and returned for a score. It was now 20-7.

DV's sputtering offense had one last gasp of a drive, which ended, fittingly, in an incompletion as time expired.

The Thunder host Phoenix St. Mary's next week.

"We're going to get some stuff fixed," Hinds said. "This game tonight is going to be a great character builder for us."