DON McDERMOTT / PVT Ermillo Arias, a ninth-grade Tonopah linebacker, pursues Evan Entler, the Las Vegas Mountain View Christian quarterback, in a Nevada Class A football playoff game Saturday. Tonopah won 44-8 to advance to the state semifinals at home Saturday against undefeated Coleville, Calif. Curt MElroy Advertisement

After losing to Las Vegas Mountain View Christian 16-0 earlier this season for their only loss,Tonopah dominated upfront in the rematch in the Nevada Class A football quarterfinals.

The game's outcome -- a 44-8 Muckers victory Saturday -- was determined early on. The victory moved Tonopah into the semifinals; the Muckers' opponent will be undefeated Coleville, Calif. 10-0 after a 52-38 win against Wells Saturday.

Kickoff for the Tonopah-Coleville game will be at 1 p.m. Saturday on the Muckers' field.

Junior quarterback Scott Thibodeaux scored on runs of 60, 16, and 32 yards as Tonopah took an 18-0 first half lead. The third touchdown came with just 1.4 seconds remaining in the second period.

Tonopah coach Curt McElroy cited experience as the difference between the teams' first and second meetings.

"We play a lot of young guys and some of those guys weren't ready to play the first game we played," said McElroy of his defense which has just three seniors, two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen.

"Jose Arias, Ermilo Arias, Chase Gibson ... those guys kept containment the whole game and that forced them to run back to our linebackers Mike Dolfin and Garrett Valenzuela," said McElroy.

"We just had constant pressure up front and after we hit the quarterback three or four times he was trying to rush the all, trying to throw on the run and they had some troubles."

Dolfin led the Muckers' defense with 12 tackles, Valenzuela added 10 and Valentine had eight tackles and an interception.

Tonopah extended its lead to 32-0 entering the fourth quarter after Kevin Valentine scored from five yards and Thibodeaux added a 26-yard touchdown.

Thibodeaux added another 76-yard touchdown run in the fourth and finished with 241 yards on just 17 carries.

"Our kids fired off the ball and did a great job of making our running game go," said McElroy. "Scott got the yards but Robert Miramontes, Tim Smith and Ronnie Lowndes made the holes."

"They completely controlled both sides of the ball," said Saints' coach Ray LeBoeuf. "We tried putting extra people in the back field to protect (quarterback) Evan (Entler) but it didn't help. It just started to snowball on us."

Entler entered the game with more than 1,500 passing yards, but he was given little time to throw Saturday.

Only one question remains following Coleville's victory against Wells: How good are these guys anyway?

While Coleville's offense spent most of the regular season taking advantage of the weakest schedule of any Class A playoff team, questions remained about the Wolves' ability to match-up physically with some of the 1-A's top teams, according to a NevPrep.com report.

Just ask Coleville coach Will Sandy, who coached his first playoff game in 15 years.

"I was scared to death of being out-physicalled," said Sandy. "But our defense really proved that they can be tough. They're the part of the team that really stepped up."

The question was answered for Wells' coach Steve Rodriguez as well. His Leopards had one of the 1-A's toughest schedules, playing Pahranagat Valley Alamo, Carlin and Tonopah.

And while Wells lost badly to Tonopah, the Leopards played Pahranagat and Carlin to identical 26-20 scores, both losses.

"Their defense was a little more physical than I thought they'd be," said Rodriguez. "We had a tougher time running the ball than I would've liked to have seen for sure.

"They'll come out and hit you and tackle. That's something that's sometimes hard to see on film. But they came out ready to play today."

No doubt the Coleville offense, behind the throwing and running of Jason Peters, was ready to play.

Peters hit Trevor Anderson for a 49-yard touchdown pass on the Wolves' first possession and had it not been for three unforced fumbles in the half, Coleville might've hung 50 first half points on the Leopards.

As it was, the Wolves led 30-6 at halftime following Peters' 20-yard touchdown pass to Emmi Sandoval, Peters' three-yard touchdown run and a 65-yard touchdown pass to Anderson.

Wells' only first-half score came on a one-yard touchdown run by James Cromie following a 21-yard pass to Jimmy Lotspeich that cut Coleville's lead to 14-6 late in the first quarter.

But the Leopards would never get closer, despite scoring on consecutive possessions at the start of the second half, the first on a Cromie to Lotspeich pass and the second a Cromie to James Brough pass that Brough fumbled at the goal line before it was recovered by K.J. Schoessler in the end zone.

"We did what it seems like we've done all year in our losses," said Rodriguez. "We dig ourselves a hole but today we dug ourselves a grave and we couldn't get out of it.

"We made a run in the second half but they answered right back and came up with more big plays."

Those big plays came from a variety of sources as Peters completed at least three passes to four different receivers.

Anderson led the corps with seven catches for 175 yards, Emmi Sandoval caught six for 77 yards, including three for touchdowns.

Dylan Hudson added three catches for 37 yards and tight end Marco Brajas had six catches for 70 yards, most of which came on inside screens that the Wolves used to counter Wells' inside pressure.

"It's tough to cover all three receivers," said Sandy. "You have to make a choice and that leaves somebody open. Jason had a great day. He really made some good decisions.

"And running the ball he picked his spots and was really effective. He ran just enough to keep them honest. And I was really proud of the line. We did a pretty good job of picking up the blitz and protecting Jason."

Coleville also kept it honest on the defensive side, first by plugging the middle where Brough has done his damage this season and then on the outside, keeping speedy Shawn Pearson in check.

"For the most part everyone stayed home and did their job," said Sandy. "You can't cheat against that team or they'll make you pay.

"Our nose tackle, Carlos Hernandez, gets a lot of the credit for stopping Brough up the middle. If the nose guard is blowing up the middle then your linebackers can make the tackles."

Coleville totaled 481 yards of offense with Peters connecting on 22 of 33 passes for 366 yards and five touchdowns.

He ran for a net of 45 yards on 12 carries after being sacked a few times, but had almost 60 yards rushing in the first half, most of which came when he left the pocket to avoid would-be tacklers.

Wells was limited to less than 200 yards of offense, although Pearson picked-up large chunks of yardage with a kickoff return for a touchdown and on another long return after he fooled the entire Coleville kickoff team on a fake reverse.

Carlin started slowly, scoring just once in the first quarter, but the Railroaders ripped off 29 points in the second quarter on their way to a 56-20 win over Smith Valley in Carlin.

The Railroaders led 50-0 before Smith Valley got on the board with 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Carlin now faces a rematch with Alamo which defeated Indian Springs 52-6 Friday night in Alamo.

The Panthers defeated Carlin, 44-6, in the first game at Carlin.

Against Smith Valley, C.J. Urie ran for 201 yards on 20 carries (giving him over 500 yards in his last two games) and four touchdowns, including three in the first half. Kyle Mecham completed 10 of 21 passes for 91 yards and Anthony Danks caught three passes for 25 yards.

Paharanagat's Brady Whipple rushed for a touchdown and 103 yards on just eight carries and Chase Leavitt rushed nine times for 60 yards and three touchdowns.

Taylor Paulson completed 9 of 18 passes for 122 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Kenny Turley had five catches for 67 yards and a touchdown for the two-time defending state champ Panthers, who have won 34 consecutive games against NIAA opponents.

Alamo's only loss was 42-40 on Santa Catalina Island, Calif., to Avalon High School in September.