Senior Jaysen Leonard ran for 136 yards and three touchdowns Friday, Oct. 9, as part of 31 unanswered points in the second half by Camp Verde High School en route to a 38-7 road win over North Pointe Preparatory Academy.
Leonard averaged more than 10 yards a carry to solidify his hold on the Division V, Section III rushing lead while ranking second in scoring and fourth in receiving yards to fill the stat sheets of the scouts from the seven colleges recruiting him.
“Jaysen provides us with a dual run and pass threat,” said Cowboys head coach Steve Darby. “He turns in consistent performances every week and is a strong and elusive running back.”
The Cowboys [3-4] needed Leonard’s production on a night when four fumbles killed their drives, miring them in a 7-7 tie at the half.
“We need to do a better job protecting the ball,” said Darby, after seeing his team lose 13 fumbles in the past three games. “Ball security is high on our list to practice this week. N[orth] P[ointe]’s only score was off a fumble recovery and runback.
“We also had a couple of touchdowns called back for penalties. Defensively, we had some holes in our pass coverage.”
But assistant coach Steve Sarkesian closed those holes for the second half while his son, quarterback Payton Sarkesian, found 209 yards’ worth of holes in the Falcons secondary for two more touchdowns. Sarkesian has over 1,000 yards passing this fall, second in the section.
“Our line did a great job giving Payton time to throw,” Darby said. “Payton is learning how to step up in the pocket and make good throws.”
Plus, senior wideout Trevor Heyer caught seven passes for a team-leading 100 yards.
“Trevor also is giving us great downfield blocking on run plays,” Darby said. “Trevor runs very good routes. He and Payton have gotten their timing down.”
Heyer also picked off two passes, adding to his section-leading total of five interceptions on what has shaped up to be a young but tenacious defense.
“Our defensive line and linebackers were relentless,” Darby said of senior Jesse Etienne, junior Reyes Herrera, freshman Blaine Mahan and their teammates. “The[ir] quarterback was running for his life all night. In the second half, he would just take a knee or slide down when he saw [them] coming for him.”
For the full story and standings, please see the Wednesday, Oct. 14, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
