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Salpointe’s defense comes up big; Marana, Desert View, Willcox and San Manuel remain undefeated

Joey Sumlin hits Ironwood Ridge QB Tyler Haynie on the release. The Lancer defense came up big. (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson)

LINK: FREE IRONWOOD RIDGE/SALPOINTE PHOTOS

It was slow and almost deliberately so. Salpointe’s 34-9 win over Ironwood Ridge at home Friday night cannot be defined by that final margin of victory but rather by a defense that stopped a team that has arguably the most talented group of offensive weapons on one roster this fall – a team that showed what it was capable of on an opening drive that took nine minutes off the clock but settled for a field goal to go up 3-0 on the Lancers.

That kick from Travis Rich put the Nighthawks up in the latter stages of the first quarter, and it looked like it might be a long night for Salpointe from there, but Ironwood Ridge failed to take control of the game after recovering a Lancer fumble at midfield in the opening moments of the second quarter. The Lancer offense seemed to be stuck in the same holding pattern as it was in the second half of its game against Cienega when the Bobcats almost erased a 23-0 deficit in the final quarter of that contest last week but an interception from Michael Aguirre put the Lancers back in business and all momentum by the Nighthawks was lost…..

LINK: GAME STORY AT AZPREPS365

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

5A South Mountain 26, 6A Tucson 20
5A Salpointe 34, 5A Ironwood Ridge 9
5A Gilbert 42, 5A Nogales 0
5A Millennium 23, 5A Mountain View 20
5A Sunnyside 41, 5A Buena 24
5A Marana 56, 5A Flowing Wells 7
4A Empire 38, 5A Cholla 0
5A Desert View 28, 3A Thatcher 6
4A Canyon del Oro 21, 4A Catalina Foothills 14
4A Pueblo 51, 4A Rio Rico 14
(CA) Granite Hills 41, 4A Walden Grove 27
4A Mica Mountain 13, 3A Coolidge 7
3A Snowflake 26, 3A Pusch Ridge 21
3A Sabino 48, 3A Bourgade Catholic 0
3A Safford 34, 3A Sahuarita 10
2A Glendale Prep 18, 2A Santa Cruz 14
2A Bisbee 55, 2A Santa Rita 0
2A Willcox 63, 2A North Pointe Prep 0
2A Tanque Verde 42, 2A San Tan Charter 33
2A Tombstone 47, 2A Catalina 0
2A Benson 42, 2A Veritas Prep 7
1A Duncan 32, 1A Baboquivari 28
1A San Manuel 56, 1A Ft. Thomas 12
1A St. David 70, 1A Valley Union 12

BYES: 5A Cienega (1-2), 5A Rincon/UHS (1-2), 4A Amphitheater (2-1)
NOT AVAILABLE: 4A Sahuaro (0-2), 4A Douglas (1-1).

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

1A Baboquivari at 1A St. David

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

4A Douglas at 4A Casa Grande

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1

6A Tucson (0-3) at 5A Rincon/UHS (1-2)
6A Mountain Pointe (2-2) at 5A Buena (1-2)
5A Catalina Foothills (1-3) at 3A Pusch Ridge (4-1)
5A Salpointe (3-0) at 5A Saguaro (2-1)
5A Sunnyside (3-1) at 5A Cholla (1-3)
5A Desert View (3-0) at 5A Marana (4-0)
5A Notre Dame (1-2) at 5A Mountain View (1-2)
5A Flowing Wells (1-3) at 5A Nogales (2-1)
5A Campo Verde (1-3) at 5A Cienega (1-2)
5A Ironwood Ridge (2-2) at 4A Canyon del Oro (1-3)
4A Marcos de Niza (2-2) at 4A Amphitheater (2-1)
4A Arcadia (1-3) at 4A Pueblo (2-1)
4A Walden Grove (2-2) at 4A Deer Valley (3-0)
4A Rio Rico (0-3) at 3A Sahuarita (0-5)
3A Sabino (3-2) at 4A Sahuaro (0-2)
3A Thatcher (4-1) at 4A Empire (2-2)
2A Willcox (5-0) at 2A Tombstone (2-2)
2A Pima (3-2) at 2A Benson (3-1)
2A Santa Rita (0-4) at 2A Tanque Verde (3-2)
2A Morenci (4-1) at 2A Bisbee (3-2)
2A Santa Cruz (2-3) at 2A Coolidge (2-3)
2A Catalina (1-4) at 2A Sequoia Pathway (3-2)
1A St. David (4-1) at 1A San Manuel (5-0)
1A Ft. Thomas (1-3) at 1A Valley Union (2-3)

BYE: 4A Mica Mountain (1-0). NO GAME: 2A Santa Rita (0-4) and 2A Tanque Verde (3-2).

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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017, a 2019 AZ Education News award winner and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019, became a member of the Sunnyside Los Mezquites Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2021 and he was a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com

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