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Salpointe earned its 30-17 victory Friday night over Tucson High at Gridley Stadium by running the ball effectively.
Salpointe wasted no time getting the running game going early. On the first drive, junior running back Chris Chaney broke out for a 58-yard run to put Salpointe in scoring position. The drive was capped by a 2-yard run by senior running back Alon Deon to get Salpointe on the board two minutes into the game.
Chris Chaney’s big plays against Tucson High.
“I’m nothing without my O-line. They got me good blocks. Shot the gap and I was gone,” Chaney said.
Tucson High would respond to that drive by using the height of its receivers to its advantage. Senior quarterback Derek Mesa would hit senior wide receiver Malaki Hiadzi Cunningham on a 3rd-and-long to extend Tucson High’s drive. Mesa would hit Hiadzi Cunningham with a 7-yard touchdown pass to make the score 7-7 after the first quarter.
Derek Mesa connects with Malaki Hiadzi Cunningham for a 7-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7.
Early in the second quarter, Salpointe continued to use the combination of Chaney and Deon to run the ball down the field, leading to a 1-yard touchdown run by Chaney.
Tucson High would try to respond by getting big plays from its playmakers on the outside, like sophomore wide receiver Ezra Spivey, who caught a 34-yard pass from Mesa to put Tucson High at midfield. On a 4th-and-1 on the Salpointe 26, Tucson High would run the ball with a direct snap to senior running back Makoa Pena. Pena would fail to convert, giving Salpointe the ball back.
Ezra Spivey adjusts to make the catch on a 34-yard gain.
A play later, senior cornerback Kenzy Couch would strip junior wide receiver RJ Gory, giving Tucson High the ball back with great field position. Salpointe would minimize the damage by holding Tucson High to a field goal.
Before halftime, Chaney would break off another big run all the way to Tucson High’s 15 for his third big run of the night. Deon would bounce off two defenders for his second touchdown, giving Salpointe a 21-10 lead at halftime.
Tucson High continued its passing attack to begin the second half. Mesa connected on a 37-yard pass to senior wide receiver Noah Chanez, putting them in Salpointe territory after the first play. Later in the drive, Mesa would find Hiadzi Cunningham for a 15-yard touchdown to bring them within four.
On Salpointe’s first drive of the half, Tucson still had no answer for Chaney and Deon. What would a promising drive for Salpointe was a bobbled snap by senior quarterback Matthew Avelar, giving Tucson High’s senior defensive tackle Taysean Romero enough time to get home for the sack. Salpointe would settle for a field goal, keeping the game within one score heading into the fourth quarter.
Taysean Romero gets to Matthew Avelar for the sack.
Defenses took over in the fourth quarter. Tucson High’s defense was able to contain Chaney and Deon, while also breaking up passes on key downs, giving its offense a chance to tie the game. However, self-inflicted wounds would be the downfall of the Tucson High offense. Penalties on early downs would leave the Badgers in third and fourth & long, giving Salpointe’s defensive playmakers, like senior defensive tackle Noah Bahnie, to get to Mesa. Plays like those lead to junior free safety Jake Bondi picking off Mesa. A drive later, Tucson was forced to turn the ball over on downs.
“Our whole D-line knew we had to get to the quarterback, and that’s what we did — we got in his face, pressured him a lot. He still made a lot of good throws, but other than that, we did our thing,” Banhie said.
To seal the deal for Salpointe, Chaney broke off one more big run for 36 yards. A few plays later, Gory put the game out of reach for Tucson, using his agility to run it in from 24 yards, making the score 30-17 with over a minute left in the game.
RJ Gory breaks loose to put the game away for Salpointe.
On Friday, Salpointe will look to go 3-0, hosting an old foe in Scottsdale Saguaro. Tucson High will look to get into the win column as it travels to Sahuarita to play Walden Grove.
Both games will take place at 7 p.m.
“I’ve said all along our region is brutal. We’re playing big schools, 6A football. That means we’re going to play bigger bodies. It’s going to be tough, but we’ve done it for three years now; we’ve done a good job,” Salpointe coach Pat Ryden said.
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