The Twentynine Palms varsity Wildcats defeated Xavier Prep of Palm Springs, 39-28, on the road Friday night. Coach Ernest Martinez said defensive standouts were K.J. Morton, Tyler Cobb, and Tristan Carpenter; Morton led the team with 11 tackles, while Cobb and Carpenter had eight tackles each. Jonathan Carson had an interception, and a fumble recovery.
Offensive standouts were Hunter Tygart with 140 yards rushing on 25 carries, and D’Shaun Barrett with 273 total yards of offense. Barrett was 13 of 22 for 210 yards passing with three touchdowns. Isaiah Castaneda had 124 yards receiving, and Cody Landry and Morton combined for five total receptions on the game. The offensive line, led by Casey Allen, Sean Sears, Kyle Kropacek, Andrew Wallace, and Adam Mapuatuli, had an outstanding game, leading the ’Cats to over 435 yards of total offense and six touchdowns. With the victory, the Wildcats are now 3-0 on the season in non-conference play.
The Twentynine Palms Frosh-Soph team is also 3-0, having won 27-20 against Xavier Prep.
Full recap by Coach Ernest Martinez:
The Twentynine Palms Varsity Wildcats defeated a solid Desert Valley league football team, Xavier Prep 39-28, on the road Friday night. The Wildcats fell behind early 7-0, after a deflected pass was returned for a touchdown, but responded with 27 consecutive points to take a 20-point halftime lead. The Wildcats defense held the home team without a first down during the first 24 minutes of the game, in an outstanding defensive effort. Senior QB D’Shaun Barrett accounted for 5 touchdowns, as he tossed 3 touchdown passes to junior wide receiver Isaiah Castaneda, and ran for two more scores in the second half.
Senior K.J. Morton started the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run to tie the game with 7:05 left on the first quarter clock. The Wildcats drove 85 yards on their first score of the game completing two fourth down conversions on the drive. After a second defensive stop, the Cats drove 75 yards on big run plays by Barrett and senior running back Hunter Tygart to take a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. A dropped punt by the home team set the Wildcats up for their 3rd scoring drive, as Barrett connected on a quick pass play to Castaneda for the 20-7 lead. The Wildcats finished off the second quarter scoring with another long pass play, as Barrett once again found Castaneda for a 58 yard Td pass down the left sideline for the 27-7 halftime lead.
Defensive standouts were K.J. Morton, Tyler Cobb, and Tristan Carpenter as they led the team in total tackles. Jonathan Carson had an interception, and a fumble recovery. Morton led the team with 11 tackles, while Cobb and Carpenter had 8 tackles each.
Offensive standouts were Hunter Tygart with 140 yards rushing on 25 carries, and D’Shaun Barrett with 273 total yards of offense. Barrett was 13 of 22 for 210 yards passing with 3 Td’s. Castaneda had 124 yards receiving, and seniors Cody Landry and K.J. Morton combined for 5 total receptions on the game. The Offensive line led by Casey Allen, Sean Sears, Kyle Kropacek, Andrew Wallace, and Adam Mapuatuli had outstanding games, leading the Cats to over 435 yards of total offense and 6 touchdowns.
With the victory the Wildcats are now 3-0 on the season and return home to take on Indian Springs from San Bernardino next Friday at Tom Nicoll stadium. The Frosh Soph Wildcats will start the football games at 4:00 pm. The Frosh Soph team is also 3-0, having won an outstanding game on Thursday evening. The team scored on a 48-yard touchdown run by sophomore Jason Durrum in the final seconds of the game to win 27-20. The team trailed at halftime, but tied the score on a long run by freshmen running back Alex Burns. Freshmen QB Carson Estrada led the team on 3 scoring drives, and the defense led by Luke Emmons, Chris Rantzow, and Eric Stone forced several key turnovers on the game.
