Desert View’s players walked on to the field at Jaguar Stadium quietly in a single file Tuesday behind coach Richard Riesgo in the few minutes leading to the Jaguars’ first flag football game in school history.
No marching band or a throng of cheerleaders ran before them to the sideline before they played Tempe.
No public-address announcer tried to whip the crowd into a frenzy.
Only a few fans, most of them parents, cheered from the stands during the Jaguars’ 15-6 victory.
Senior Crystal Mora (20), freshman Elisia Tucker (1) and sophomore Zarriyanna Bacon (25) can always say they were part of Desert View’s inaugural flag football team that won its first game. Tucker threw an 18-yard TD pass to Mora, who also recorded a safety, and Bacon had an… pic.twitter.com/JPytBxLJ38
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 18, 2024
Although the atmosphere was relatively quiet, the mission of the Jaguars was loud and clear as they stood together with a determined look near the sideline when the captains of each team met at midfield for the coin toss.
“I’m proud of us, I’m proud of the team that we made history,” said senior captain Crystal Mora, the top playmaker on the field for either team. “We won our first game but it’s not going to be the last game we win. We’re going to win many.
“We got this.”
They got it. She’s got it.
Mora looked like a veteran against Tempe with how she recorded a safety, ran the sweep, option, reverse and caught passes. She also nailed an extra-point attempt.
With Riesgo coaching alone, he needs the veteran leadership from Mora.
“Before I took the job, I made sure she was going to be my player,” Riesgo said. “She’s a leader. She can play all day. She can play any position you’ll tell her. She’ll do it.”
He said he relies on Mora “to get the kids going,” with him being the lone coach.
“It’s kind of hard being the only one (coach). It’s very difficult, but I love the challenge,” he added.
Desert View advanced to the Tempe 10 and 28 in its first two possessions but came up empty with many dropped passes on perfectly thrown passes by freshman quarterback Elisia Tucker, including when she was feeling the rush.
The Jaguars finally got a breakthrough play on Tucker’s 18-yard scoring strike to Cora with 2:36 left in the second quarter.
Tucker completed 8 of 21 pass attempts for 133 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
Mora caught six of the passes for 90 yards.
“It was really fun. I enjoyed it. I’m really proud of my team,” Tucker said of her first of many games with the Jaguars. “Growing up, my uncle taught me how to play football and I’ve always played football.”
Tucker played organized flag football before. Hard to believe it was Mora’s first flag football game. Sophomore Zarriyana Bacon also played her first game and had an interception and touchdown reception.
“I think I played really good, but there’s things you can also improve on,” Bacon said.
One focus area will be dropped passes with at least five that Tucker delivered on the spot.
Despite the missed opportunities to score with those drops, Tucker continued to move the ball while the Jaguars’ defense was stifling against Tempe.
The Buffaloes had difficulty advancing the ball, and a safety recorded by Mora with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter was indicative of the swarming defense at the line.
Desert View coach Richard Riesgo works alone as the Jaguars’ first flag football coach. He relies on his seniors, including playmaker Crystal Mora, for help as leaders. His team won its inaugural game, 15-6 over Tempe. pic.twitter.com/b7DxeMfLzO
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 18, 2024
The safety, which put Desert View ahead 8-0, occurred after a 16-yard pass from Tucker to Mora on a fourth-down play took the ball to the Tempe 1.
After Tempe was forced to punt on its next possession, Desert View’s fast and athletic Monique Blackshire tracked down the Tempe quarterback with a sack on a fourth-down try at the Tempe 30 with 1:57 left.
Cora then completed a 21-yard pass to the Tempe 2 and Bacon followed with a 2-yard touchdown reception on a pass from A.J. Bernal with 1:00 left.
Tempe managed to get on the board on a 59-yard run by Mar’Nae Smith with 8.8 seconds left.
When asked what winning the first flag football game in school history means to him, Riesgo said, “It means a lot. These girls, a lot of effort since July. I’m proud of the girls.”
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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. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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