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The No. 7-ranked Ray football team was eliminated from the state playoffs following a high-scoring 90 – 58 defeat against No. 2 Bagdad last Saturday night.
Seniors Fabian Valenzuela and Nathan Molar combined to rush for 283 yards and five touchdowns in addition to hooking up for three passing scores. It wasn’t enough though, especially when the opposing quarterback throws for nine touchdowns.
The teams combined for 40 points in the first quarter and 48 more in the second.
Senior Dyllin Lopez led the Bearcats’ defense in a game that was anything but defensive. Lopez had two sacks and three tackles in the final game of his high school career. Molar had a team-high nine tackles.
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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