Ray’s Jesse James (#4) tries to avoid Hayden’s Tyler Garner (#4). Photo by James Carnes
All the games are played and the rankings announced: all four high school football teams are heading into the post season.
Last Friday marked the end of the regular 8-man football season. The top 12 teams in the 1A division will now start their playoff journeys.
Number 5 seeded Superior will face off against #12 Salome at home. #11 seeded San Manuel will travel to take on #6 Williams, with the same time and date as above. 7-seed Ray will host 10-seed Valley Lutheran. All three games will be held on Friday, Oct. 24, with kickoff times of 7 p.m.
Hayden, which is seeded #1, has a bye this week. They will play against the winners of the Desert Heights Prep vs. Mohave Accelerated game on Oct. 31, with a start time of 7 p.m. Hayden, as the top seed, will host.
In regular action this week, perennial rivals Hayden and Ray met on the field for the Lobos’ Homecoming game.
The first quarter of the game saw the Bearcats put 6 points up onto the scoreboard. The Lobos put up 49 points in the first quarter. Hayden continued to hold control for the rest of the first half, with the score sitting at 56-6.
Ray struggled to break past a tough Lobo defense, and was not able to get into the end zone the rest of the game. Hayden continued to dominate the field, and closed out the last game of the regular season with a 68-6 win over the Bearcats.
San Manuel Miners
The Miners closed out their regular season last Friday, with an away game at Baboquivari. The boys showed a dominating force on the field, not letting Baboquivari make their way into the end zone.
The following Miners contributed to their victory with 1 touchdown each: Brody Fletcher, Isaac Zazueta, Tanner Decker, Gabriel Valenzuela, Daniel Najera, Taylor Decker, Ivan Flores, and Damian Cervantes. Brody Fletcher also had 1 two-point conversion.
Leading the team on defense was Daniel Najera with 8 solo tackles and 3 assists, followed by Ivan Flores with 6 solo tackles and 3 assists.
The Miners played a good game, and were able to come out with a 50-0 victory over the Warriors.
Superior Panthers
The Superior football team hosted Cicero Prep last Friday. The Panthers came out onto the field ready to play. The boys were able to hold control of the game, by halftime the score sat at 34-6. Cicero kept putting up a fight, but in the end, the Panthers were the ones to come out with a 42-20 win over Cicero Prep.