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Old school: Miners vs Lobos. Lobos win 20-18.
The Hayden football team, which is ranked No. 9 in 1A, stepped up to 2A to take in old rival San Manuel in Winkelman last Friday night. The Lobos, who were playing in their regular-season finale, took advantage of an overconfident Miners’ team in a 20 – 18 victory.
“It was different,” Hayden head coach John Estrada said afterwards. “By the end of the game we were down to 12 players and just tried to get out of there healthy. It was a good experience for the kids.”
San Manuel, with nearly 30 players on its roster, had a 49-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Gabe Velasquez in the first quarter but not much more until after halftime.
“We were overconfident and we underperformed during the entire first half,” San Manuel head coach Daniel Williams said. “Hayden came out, smacked us in the mouth, and did what they wanted to do.”
Ryan Donovan and Brandon Cruz scored rushing touchdowns for Hayden, which scored a third touchdown on a pass play from junior quarterback Mario Mariscal to Frankie Valencia.
San Manuel scored two second-half touchdowns on a pair of passes by freshman quarterback Caleb Quintero – one to Hector Sierra and another to Julian Rodriguez.
Quintero threw for nearly 200 yards in the game.
“Quintero had a good game for a freshman quarterback,” Williams said. “He hung in there and played really well.”
Hayden, which finished the regular season at 5 – 3, earned the No. 9-seed in the 1A State Championship Playoffs. The Lobos will play at No. 8 Mayer this Saturday in the first round.
“It’s do-or-die for us now,” Estrada said. “Mayer is big and we’re just going to have to get the job done if we want our season to continue.”
After finishing last week’s game with only 12 healthy players, Estrada was asked if he expects his team to be a full strength entering the playoffs.
“We’ll be ready to play Saturday,” he answered. “We have to do our job and we have to execute.”
“We’re going to prepare based on what we see on film,” Estrada added. “Mayer is going to try to power us so we have to hit – like we’ve been doing all year – and execute.”
The kickoff for Saturday’s playoff game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
San Manuel plays at Bisbee on Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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