Desert Vista’s thunder has struck several times on offense this season. Friday it was time for the defense to produce a storm.

“We wanted to go three-and-out as much as we could,” said senior cornerback Kaleo Bright. “Coming out there and setting the tone early and quick, it feels great.”

After giving up 45 points in last week’s loss to Highland, the Thunder (5-1) responded by forcing eight three-and-outs and giving up only four first downs in their 27-3 victory over Desert Ridge (3-4).

The victory gave the Thunder their first win against a 6A Central opponent and matched their total from 2017.

Entering the week, Desert Vista was down perhaps their best weapon in junior running back Tyson Grubbs. The 6A conference’s fifth leading rusher was sidelined with a foot injury suffered against Highland, forcing his team to find a spark from elsewhere.

The defensive unit responded. Desert Ridge came into Friday’s contest averaging 171.2 rushing yards but was restricted to one first down in the first half.

The inefficiency on the ground forced Jaguar quarterback Austin Kolb to dial aerial attacks on third-and-long. Desert Vista keyed in as Bright jumped a post route on third-and-16 and returned an interception for a touchdown to give the Thunder a two-score lead before halftime.

“It was my first official score in varsity football,” Bright said. “It’s not going to happen without [our] defensive linemen putting pressure on the quarterback and getting that ball out there that quick.”

The flexibility allowed Desert Vista to control time of possession and push offensive tempo. Two of the team’s offensive scores came after conversions of fourth-and-6, fourth-and-1 and fourth-and-3.

The moves were risky, but coach Dan Hinds isn’t afraid to put his team in those positions.

“I have faith in our offense,” Hinds said. “I have faith in our offensive line, and I have a lot of faith and trust in our running backs. So when we’re in that situation, we feel like we’re going to get the first down. We go for it.”

In Grubbs' absence, junior running back Colby Humphrey received most of the carries. He recorded over 50 yards of offense but was injured twice in the third quarter, placing the ball in the hands of sophomore Taron Thomas and senior fullback Armando Delgado.

 

The pair didn’t miss a beat, leading the Thunder to one more score to close the game.

“I’d give it (the glory) all to the linemen,” Delgado said. “Because without our linemen, Tyson’s not making all the touchdowns, Colby’s not making all the touchdowns, no one’s making all the touchdowns without our linemen up front.

“As long as our linemen [are] strong and we keep getting pushes, it doesn’t matter who’s in the backfield. We’re still going to keep scoring.”

Up next, the Thunder prepare for a long-awaited battle against rival Mountain Pointe. Last season, the Pride beat Desert Vista on their home field, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of Thunder players.

Even though down in numbers, Bright believes this victory earned Desert Vista back some respect. If they’re to knock off Mountain Pointe, he knows that effort must mirror this one.

“I think we just got to keep up our defense,” Bright said. “Our defense has been killing it lately and that’s really what we need to capitalize with.”