Salpointe’s Anthony Wilhite, left, rushed for 201 yards as the Lancers got back to their winning ways with a 48-0 rout of previously-unbeaten Desert View on Friday night.

 Kelly

Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

Coming off back-to-back losses, Salpointe Catholic High School went on the road and dominated the line of scrimmage against one of the state’s few remaining undefeated teams.

Desert View’s identity has been pummeling teams on the ground this season, but Friday, the Lancers (4-2) did the pummeling, as running back Anthony Wilhite spearheaded a 301-yard rushing performance in the 48-0 victory.

Wilhite had four rushing touchdowns and close to 150 yards in the first half alone. That included powering a 16-play opening drive, which he polished off with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. After bruising his way to 201 yards on 27 carries with five touchdowns, Wilhite got to rest during the fourth quarter, letting Dalian Goodman and Elias Roberts take over.

Even Wilhite admitted he was surprised at getting such a large role early in the game.

“We watched their defense and their linebackers came down a lot so we figured it would be a passing game,” Wilhite said. “It was all my (offensive) line. I can’t do it without them. We got rolling in the first quarter and the holes were huge for me.”

On the other side of the ball, Salpointe made its strategy clear from the beginning.

Salpointe's Luis Cordorva (72) shows off the ball after coming with the fumble by Desert View in the first quarter Friday night.

On each play, nine or 10 Lancers crowded the box, including times where all 11 defenders were within five yards of the line of scrimmage. The Jaguars (5-1) simply had to complete a deep pass or get one of their speedy running backs to the outside. But tried as they might, they just couldn’t break through the defensive wall.

Leading rusher Carlos Alvarez managed just 66 yards on eight carries for the Jaguars, fumbling on his only run of 10 more yards. Serge Gboweiah, one of the best backs in Tucson this year, had just 22 yards on six carries before frustration took over and he was ejected for a second unsportsmanlike conduct in the second quarter.

Finally, quarterback Oscar Barraza, facing an all-out blitz nearly every drop back, missed on 11 of his first 12 passes. Not to mention, Desert View also had 13 penalties for 93 yards.

For a Salpointe defense that surrendered a combined 77 points in back-to-back losses to Scottsdale Saguaro and Phoenix Pinnacle, it was a banner night.

“Our defense has struggled the last couple of weeks against some really good football teams,” coach Eric Rogers said. “We challenged them this week. There’s no question about it. Our coaching staff and players, everybody stepped up in a huge way.”

Desert View was ranked No. 6 in the initial rankings for the Open Division Playoffs this week. Salpointe came in unranked in the Open rankings and No. 8 in Class 5A.

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