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Superior Panthers
The Superior football team dominated Mayer on offense, defense and special teams last Friday night on the road, leading to a lopsided 50 – 0 victory in the season opener for both teams.
“Our experience shined, although we still had some mental mistakes,” Superior head coach Ryan Palmer told the Sun. “For it being week (one), overall I was happy with our execution.”
Senior quarterback Steven Ybarra threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more to lead the Panthers’ offense, which totaled 318 yards. Junior running back Gabe Otero averaged 10 yards per rush, finishing with 30 yards on only three carries. Sophomore Adam Navarrette, senior Cedric Mendoza and senior Jesus Castellanos were the recipients of Ybarra’s scoring throws.
“I felt like Steven did a great job passing,” Palmer said. “(The) offensive line gave him time to throw and he was nearly perfect (8-of-10) with one dropped pass. He also ran option well and made some good reads.”
Navarrette added another touchdown on special teams, returning a first-quarter punt to increase the Panthers’ lead to 20 – 0.
Ybarra and Mendoza each had a team-high five tackles for the defense, which tallied three sacks – one each by sophomore Matthew Diaz-Gonzales, junior Daniel McConnell and senior Brayan Aguilar. Sammy Lopez’ interception setup up Superior’s second touchdown of the game. The Wildcats were held to 87 yards of total offense in defeat.
Asked afterwards if the lopsided scoring margin was great execution by team his or was Mayer simply outmanned, Palmer answered, “A little of both. Mayer is a young team.”
The Panthers go on the road for the second-straight week this Friday, visiting Valley Union. The Blue Devils were blown out by Bagdad in their home opener last week, 66 – 0.
“We need to clean up the mental mistakes and make sure we continue to play disciplined football,” said Palmer, looking ahead to Friday’s game. “It is a long season and we have a lot to improve on.”
Kickoff is scheduled 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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