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Jaedon Amos rushed for 153 yards and three TDs (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)
MORE PHOTOS OF THE GAME HERE
An 11×17 colored hard copy of this article is available for only $10. amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
The Tucson Youth Football & Spirit Federation (TYFSF) regular season got underway Saturday and our Game of the Week featured the 11U teams from the Vail Vikings and the Palo Verde Scorpions with the Vikings coming away with a 25-8 victory.
Jaedon Amos led the Vikings with 153 yards rushing and three touchdowns on only four carries. Sporting golden shoes, the Vail Desert Sky sixth grader gave the Vikings a 6-0 lead on the Viking’s first play from scrimmage on a 35-yard dash down the sideline. The Scorpions broke through the line and blocked the extra point attempt.
The Scorpions had difficulty holding onto the ball early with their first three possessions ending in fumbles and Amos cashed in again on a 65-yard run to give the Vikings a 12-0 lead.
Bo Bo Edwards gave the Vikings a 19-0 lead on a 15-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. Edwards ran in the extra point.
Both defenses held and the score remained 19-0 at the half.
Ryan Fontaine.
Viking quarterback Ryan Fontaine had an exciting summer after being selected from a group of 150 to compete in the DUEL Quarterback Skills Competition held in Canton, Ohio in July.
Only 24 quarterbacks made it to Canton and Fontaine took third place in his age group based on skills such as rapid cognition decision making, speed, strength, stamina and position specific performance.
“I qualified after I attended the competitions in Phoenix and Los Angeles,” Fontaine explained. “It was intense but I had lots of fun in Ohio.”
A Vail Rincon Vista sixth grader, Fontaine is unsure if he will be playing for Cienega in a few years but he knows what position he wants to play.
“I got a medal but, for me, the competition was the start of a new beginning.”
But Fontaine wasn’t the only quarterback on the field Saturday. Scorpion QB David Arvizu finished the game with 50 yards passing with Gunnar Hernandez collecting 46 of those on three catches. The duo opened up the field for running back Roman Figueroa.
Figueroa broke free on a 24-yard run in the third quarter to cut the Viking lead down to 19-8 with Hernandez connecting on an extra point that would have been good from about 30-yards out.
Roman Figueroa.
Figueroa was a workhorse for the scorpions and he finished with 53 yards and also attends a Vail middle school, Desert Sky.
“Well, it was a great game,” Figueroa said. “We played hard but I’m pretty sure we need to work on some things in practice. I know they thought they were going to beat us by a lot but we worked hard to hold them.
“As far as my touchdown, my line did the blocking and I saw the hole,” he added.
The Vikings faced a long fourth down situation as the third quarter was about to end but Amos broke free again on a 53-yard sprint to give the Vikings a 25-8 lead.
Both teams struggled in the fourth quarter with Hernandez picking up a big interception to keep the Vikings from increasing their lead.
“We have a great team,” Amos said after the game. “We need better effort at times but it was fun getting the win. Our team is like family and we work together.”
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. 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, on AZPreps365.com and on the pages of the Vail Voice and the Tanque Verde Voice. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com
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