by 
San Manuel Miners
The San Manuel football ended its season last Friday with a 60 – 6 defeat at No. 2-ranked Santa Cruz Valley.
The Dust Devils, a team many think can win the 2A state title, led 52 – 0 at halftime.
The Miners totaled more than 400 yards of total offense, including 268 passing yards from freshman quarterback Caleb Quintero, who was 18-of-25 passing with a touchdown.
Despite the impressive offensive totals, the Miners didn’t put up enough numbers where it mattered most – the scoreboard.
Quintero found receiver Rey Martinez for the only score of the game. Martinez, a sophomore, had six receptions for 104 yards. Alejandro Camacho finished with five catches and 93 receiving yards in the loss. Sophomore running back Fabian Russo had a team-high 77 rushing yards on just 11 carries, an average of seven yards per rush.
Junior Gabe Velasquez led the Miners with a game-high 19 tackles.
After finishing the season with only one win under first-year head coach Daniel Williams, the Miners will have a number of players returning next season, including several underclassmen who made significant contributions as the season came to an end.
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.
by by