Special to AllSportsTucson from Brittany Bowyer
Brittany Bowyer is a freelance journalist who started her career as an intern for a small sports website back in 2015. Since then, she’s obtained her master’s degree in Sports Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU and is in her fourth year of covering various levels of sports across a broad range of platforms in Arizona. You can follow her on twitter @bbowyer07
The Salpointe Catholic Lancers battled their way to a 21-14 win over the Campo Verde Coyotes on Friday to become 3-0 on the season. It was a highly defensive game, but the Salpointe Catholic offense was eventually able to get the job done to seal the deal.
“We prepared knowing it was going to be a four quarter battle. We knew it was going to be a physical match up,” Salpointe Catholic Coach Eric Rogers said.
It was a scoreless first quarter as both teams were working to get things rolling for them offensively. Quarterback Treyson Bourguet had an interception on the first drive, but the Lancer defense nearly stopped the Coyotes in their tracks on the following drive, causing a quick turnover on downs.
Bourguet and the Lancers came back out on the following drive looking for redemption, and they got it. On a second and nine, Bourguet found an open Julian Robles in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass. The Lancers went for two but couldn’t convert, putting them on top 6-0 with 11:00 remaining in the second.
Campo Verde answered with a 21-yard touchdown pass of its own from Reilly Garcia to Zach Goebel with three minutes left in the second. The Coyotes’ extra point was good, giving them a 7-6 lead going into the half.
“I told the kids at half time the first half was my fault. I got a little too aggressive, I kinda gambled a little too much and we didn’t need to do that. I told them just settle down, let’s play our football in the second half and I think we can win this football game. And the kids responded and did it,” Coach Rogers said.
.@SCLancerNation with another touchdown to extend the lead. @treysonbourguet finds @michaelaguirre_ to make it 19-7. Lancers go for 2 and convert, it’s 21-7 Salpointe Catholic with 4:23 remaining #CVvsSC pic.twitter.com/9hj7iY3agS
— Brittany Bowyer (@bbowyer07) October 31, 2020
Salpointe Catholic got the ball to start the second half, and their adjustments they made proved to be successful. The Lancers moved the ball nicely down the field and capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run from Anthony Wilhite, who fought his way for every inch. The extra point was good, putting Salpointe Catholic up 13-7 over Campo Verde with about eight minutes left in the 3rd.
The Campo Verde defense continued to hold strong until midway through the fourth quarter. It was then that Salpointe Catholic was able to progress down the field to score it’s game-securing touchdown. Bourguet found Michael Aguirre in the end-zone for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The Lancers went for a two-point conversion again and got it this time, with Robles taking it in.
Campo Verde put up a fight, rallying back and scoring with 13 seconds remaining on a pass from Garcia to Noah Borchard. The Coyotes attempted an onside kick but couldn’t pull it off, allowing Bourguet to kneel the ball down and close out the game.
“We just took what they gave us,” Bourguet said. “Second half we opened up and really started airing it out more. Our receivers did a really good job catching the ball and getting a lot of yards after the catch.”
“We knew it was going to be a dog fight when we came in, and we just came out on top,” junior defensive tackle Joey Sumlin said. “We worked on the plays, we studied on Hudl, we just knew we were going to win.”
Sumlin was a big contributor to the strong defensive performance by Salpointe Catholic.
“Defensively I think we played our heart out,” Sumlin said.
The win marks the first road victory for the program. Next week, Salpointe Catholic faces Mountain Ridge at home.
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