SAN MARCOS, Calif. – It was an ambitious trip for Desert Hills, and certainly many lessons were learned. But it’s still no fun to get whipped.
Led by future University of Utah quarterback Jack Tuttle, Mission Hills (Calif.) flew out to a 35-0 halftime lead en route to a convincing 42-7 win over the Desert Hills Thunder Friday night.
Tuttle connected on five touchdown passes, four of them before halftime, and passed for more than 300 yards as the Grizzlies manhandled the Thunder. The senior quarterback had passing scores of 26 yards (to Mo Morice in the first quarter), 16 yards (also to Morice, late first quarter), 17 yards (to Chris Olave, early second quarter), 37 yards (also to Olave, second quarter) and 40 yards (again to Olave, early third quarter).
The only other score for Mission Hills came off the legs of speedy running back Damon Wigand, who had a 57-yard TD run in the first quarter.
Down 21-0, Desert Hills threatened inside the Mission Hills 5-yard line. But on fourth down, the Grizzlies stuffed a swing pass for no gain and the lone scoring threat of the half was snuffed out.
Tuttle’s first TD pass to Morice made it 7-0 on the first drive of the game, followed by Wigand’s long run moments later, making it 14-0. Morice got behind the DH defense once again late in the first for a quick score to make it 21-0.
After the Thunder were stuffed on fourth down, Tuttle and his offense put together a 95-yard drive that culminated with Olave’s first score on a swing pass-and-run. That made it 28-0.
After a Desert Hills turnover, Tuttle and Olave hooked up again to make it 35-0 heading into intermission.
The duo teamed up one more time in the third quarter on a 40-yard strike to send the margin to 42-0.
Desert Hills finally stopped the shutout when quarterback Noah Sewell rushed it in from 2 yards out to make it 42-7, but the Thunder would get no closer.
Sewell and running back Brock Parry had decent numbers in the loss. Sewell passed for 75 yards on 9 of 15 attempts, while also rushing for 64 yards on 19 carries. Parry finished the game with 102 yards on 12 attempts, 8.8 yards per carry. Hayden Henrie caught three passes for 53 yards to lead Desert Hills.
The Thunder drop to 1-2 on the preseason and will head into Region 9 play next week. D-Hills hosts a Hurricane team that is also 1-2 and dropped a 35-24 decision to Moapa Valley Friday night. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Thunder Stadium.
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