Ryan Schwager is a student journalist at the Walter Cronkite school at Arizona State University assigned to cover the Desert Vista football team.

Perhaps game four felt like a warmup for game five for Desert Vista football. The Thunder cruised to a 44-0 home victory against the North Mustangs on Friday night.

Desert Vista improved to 3-1 and has won its last two games, while North fell to 0-5.

The Thunder offense, led by senior quarterback Parker Navarro and the running back brothers Tyson and Devon Grubbs, scored on each of its five first-half possessions.

Navarro struck for a touchdown in just two plays to start his night, throwing two bullets to receivers Taron Thomas (38 yards) and Elijah Ervin (20 yards) to cap off the quick 42-second possession. On both throws, the receiver was wide open, and Navarro had plenty of time to throw.

“A shutout was one of our goals coming in,” senior lineman Eddie Weigl said. “We got it rolling now. We got to keep working.”

The Thunder defense has allowed just seven points over their last two contests. The domination of late will certainly come in handy when they matchup at home versus the Hawks of Highland High School on Friday, Sept. 27.

The Mustangs, though not scoring, opened the game with one of their best drives of the night. All 6’5” of senior quarterback Luis Rojas led the Mustangs to two first downs and on the Thunder side of the 50 before three consecutive sacks and three penalties pushed them back to their own 36 yard line.

That would be the furthest North got down the field until the fourth quarter.

The Thunder defense was just getting started. It forced Rojas into four consecutive three-and-outs in which the offense produced points off each time.

“We worked on guys playing downhill, getting to their zone drops, tackling, and reads this week,” said Bob Wakefield, assistant coach on the Thunder staff. “Just basic football. And it doesn’t matter who you play, you need to play your best every night.”

Tyson Grubbs played his best, running for three touchdowns on just six carries. He accumulated 66 yards on the night.

After Grubbs ran in his third and final score on the night, things got a little wacky.

Pinned on its own 24-yard line, North was forced to punt on fourth and six. The snap sailed over Rojas’s head and rolled out of the back of the endzone for a safety. Two points were awarded to Desert Vista, who extended its lead to 30-0.

Then, on the kick, Taron Thomas received the ball, followed his blockers, weaved through North defenders, and tiptoed along the sideline for a miraculous touchdown of more than 60 yards. That score extended the lead to 37-0. The Thunder would make it 44-0 after getting the ball back with just 1:14 to go in the first half, and scoring within 32 seconds on a three-play, 50-yard drive.

“It was good blocking,” Thomas said. “Tyson [Grubbs] and Zack [McGinnis] hit big blocks, I cut back, and made a play.”

The Mustangs lone scoring opportunity came late in the game. They finally were able to drive down the field on the Thunder’s second and third-string defense. With 1:18 left and facing fourth and four from the Desert Vista eight-yard line, Rojas threw an incompletion to the endzone, preserving the shutout.

A takeaway for the Thunder was getting those backups into the game.

“It means a lot to them,” Thomas said. “Everyone sees them in practice working their tails off, and they make plays, too. It was exciting.”

“It good to have depth,” Wakefield added. “These kids practice hard every day just like the starters do, and when you can reward them with some playing time, it’s always good. It continues to add to the brotherhood that we’re trying to build.”

Despite not scoring in the second half, the Thunder offense was explosive. Desert Vista hopes to continue that hot streak against Highland next Friday.