Auhsoj Cunningham and Demarion Carter both ran for over 150 yards and combined for three touchdowns in Sunrise Mountain's 35-0 win at Valley on Friday night.
It was a triumphant return for head coach Chris Sawyers, who spent the past three years at Canyon View High School in Cedar City, Utah.
"I'm proud of how we played defense," Sawyers said. "A lot of guys stepped up big time."
The Miners snapped a nine-game losing streak that was mired by an 0-7 campaign last year. It's the first time they've scored more than 30 in a game since winning 36-7 Oct. 5, 2018 against Durango.
Sawyers said he was happy to get the victory, but there were some struggles offensively against a Valley program coming off a 3-7 season in 2021. Ball security was a major issue, and tackling was a problem in the first half.
"We did some good things," he said. "Am I satisfied? No. We had some passing game breakdowns that we need to correct. Getting the win was a good start."
Sunrise Mountain has its home opener next week against Del Sol. The Dragons are coming off a 27-12 loss to Mojave on Friday.
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.