Trailing by one point after a late touchdown at Sahuaro last night, Walden Grove coach Corey Noble did not think twice about going for a 2-point conversion instead of settling for a tie with a point-after attempt.
“We’re here to win,” Nobles said. “We wanna make the most of every opportunity on the field and as cliché as it sounds in life, how can I preach that and then make a different decision there?”
Sebastian Adamski‘s 16-yard touchdown — his only catch of the game — from quarterback Jason Stevens cut Sahuaro’s lead to 28-27 with 2 seconds left before Noble sent the 2-point conversion unit on to the field.
Stephen Brower ran off tackle into the end zone for the two-point conversion, enabling the Red Wolves to win 29-28 and start the season 2-0.
Stevens completed 20 of 33 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns. Duncan Hoover had 17 catches for 172 yards and a touchdown while Ty McDermott finished with seven receptions for 107 yards and a score.
“When we started that (last scoring) drive, I told our offensive coordinator to have his 2-point play ready,” Noble said. “Our kids know how I feel. We are gonna take calculated risks to give ourselves a chance every time. I’m gonna trust my boys to execute. So proud of their resiliency and effort tonight.”
Sahuaro was led by Trevion Watkins’ 155 yards on 20 carries, including a 55-yard touchdown run.
Salpointe 38, Mountain Ridge 21
From our @THutch1995: @SCLancerNation tops Mountain Ridge to improve to 4-0. https://t.co/iLAmKs6mko
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 7, 2020
Tucson 21, Cholla 7
Tucson defeated longtime rival Cholla, opening the season with a victory at Gridley Stadium.
Ayden Ortiz had a rushing touchdown in the second half, which helped the Badgers move forward following a 7-7 tie at halftime.
Sunnyside 49, Flowing Wells 17
Sunnyside sophomore quarterback Deion Conde finished with five touchdown passes and the Blue Devil defense forced five turnovers in the victory.
Game is now over! Final score is,
Sunnyside – 49
Flowing Wells – 17Thank you to @CabFootball for the opportunity to play each other!
On to Game 2!
Nov. 13th, at home, versus Desert View. pic.twitter.com/w17xWKyv1Y— SunnysideBlueDevilFootball (@SSBDFootball) November 7, 2020
Maricopa 18, Marana 6
Marana @MaranaFB opens up season / Ironwood Ridge @irhsfbbooster to host Cienega @CienegaFootball on Saturday https://t.co/K2nXQseiU6 pic.twitter.com/VWwt0vJro5
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) November 7, 2020
Tanque Verde 49, Rincon/UHS 10
What a head coaching debut for former Sahuaro & UA standout Jay Dobyns & staff with @HawksTvhs. Night belonged to SRs such as RB Dillon Simmers & QB Corbin Austin. After Senior Night festivities, they won soundly, exorcised past struggles with program. https://t.co/YrV64eVjPs
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 7, 2020
Canyon del Oro 21, Desert View 20
The Dorados went to Desert View and evened their record at 1-1 following last week’s season-opening loss to Cienega. CDO trailed 14-13 entering the fourth quarter in the tight game throughout.
The Jaguars lost their season opener. They play at Sunnyside next week in the Duel in the District rivalry game.
Amphitheater 41, Sahuarita 19
Amphi improved to 2-0 with another solid running performance.
Isaiah Hill had a 20-yard touchdown run in the victory.
Isaiah Hill made it 41-12 after this touchdown!!! Amphi with the 41-19 victory over Sahuarita!!!@DavidKellyKVOA @AndyMorales8 @JavierJMorales pic.twitter.com/7hczob11fL
— Anthony Encinas (@AnthonyEncinas7) November 7, 2020
Rio Rico 36, Santa Rita 19
Rio Rico bounced back after last week’s season-opening loss at Amphi with a victory over Santa Rita and longtime local coach Richard Sanchez.
Pusch Ridge 70, ALA-Ironwood 9
Pusch Ridge continued to dominate, improving to 5-1 in Kent Middleton’s first season as head coach. Seven different Lions scored touchdowns, including running back Javier Grajeda and quarterback Hayden Hallett for two each.
Homecoming🦁🏠. ALA Ironwood @ @PRCAFootball pic.twitter.com/S85VT3CR5g
— Pusch Ridge Football (@PRCAFootball) November 6, 2020
Grajeda scored on runs of 19 and 4 yards. Hallett had a 9-yard scramble for a touchdown and also scored on a 1-yard run.
The other scores:
QB Ryan Fontaine had a 2-yard TD run.
WR Jayden Rittenbach had a 4-yard TD run on an end-around play.
ATH Bryce Jewell scored on a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown.
RB Evan Lovett scored on an 8-yard run.
RB Phillip Raica had an 11-yard rushing touchdown.
RB E.J. McKenna scored on a 10-yard run.
Benson 56, Tombstone 7
Benson is now 5-0 and primed for a high seed in the 2A state playoffs.
Tristan Martinez returned a punt for a touchdown for Benson. Devin Bowling added two touchdown runs, including one of 50 yards.
Santa Cruz 43, AZ College Prep 37
Hunter Ogle led Santa Cruz with 33 carries for 230 yards and a touchdown in the important win for the Dust Devils, who are now 5-1 with a game scheduled at Chandler Prep next week.
Ogle now has 1,201 yards rushing this season on 114 carries with 16 touchdowns. He tops all running backs in the state with the yards total.
Remaining scores:
Pima 41, Bisbee 0
Morenci 27, Willcox 21
Duncan 60, Valley Union 26
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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