MESA — The Buena Colts won in dominant fashion Friday night, routing Skyline 52-20 here. For Coach Joe Thomas, it was a much better all-around performance by his team in the victory compared to the opener at Cienega last week.
“From last week, I think we excelled on both sides of the ball,” Thomas said.
Last week, despite the win, Thomas said the team didn’t feel like they blocked very well, something they definitely made improvements on this week. He also noted that defensively, they were able to get off the field a lot more this week and cleaned a lot of issues.
Things got off in favor of the Colts from the start, as Buena won the coin toss and elected to defer.
On the opening drive for Skyline, quarterback Owen Claridge was picked off by TJ Walker. Unfortunately for Buena, the Colts wouldn’t be able to do anything with the ball, as they fumbled it on the first snap and it was recovered by Skyline.
The Coyotes were able to capitalize on the turnover, reaching the end zone on a 12-yard pass from Claridge to Shawn Saxon. The extra-point attempt was good, making it 7-0 with 7:14 remaining in the first quarter.
Buena wasted no time answering, as it took only two snaps for the Colts to score. After a 7-yard run from Michael Lujan, Kaleb Layton was able to connect with Jayden Thomas, who took it in for a 65-yard touchdown. The kick by Alan Marturello was good, making it tied at 7 with 6:26 remaining in the first quarter.
On Buena’s next possession, the Colts were again able to score, this one on a 37-yard pass from Layton to Thomas. Marturello’s kick was good, making it 14-7 with just 1:40 left in the first quarter.
Skyline got the ball back and was able to reach the red zone; however, Tariq Howard was able to close out the first quarter with a bang, picking off a tipped pass and returning it to midfield.
All cylinders were firing on offense, and it once again only took the Colts two snaps to reach the end zone. After another shorter run from Lujan, Ricardo Brooks was able to take it 46 yards for a touchdown. The kick from Marturello was good, extending the lead to 21-7 early in the second quarter.
Buena’s following possession was all Lujan, as he was given the ball on every single play of the drive. He capped off his trip down the field with a 9-yard run to extend the lead. Marturello’s kick was good, making it 28-7 with 3:30 left before the half.
“[Lujan] didn’t find the end zone last week,” Thomas said. “So we challenged him a little bit more this week and said, ‘Mikey, we’re gonna feed ya.’ That one drive it was all him. … I just called plays specifically for him. He’s in shape. He’s our senior running back returner, and I wanted to make sure he found the end zone.”
The Colts wouldn’t escape to halftime without giving up three more points, as the Coyotes were able to boot one through to make it 28-10 at the end of the second quarter.
Thomas said the message to his team at the half was to finish, because last week they were up 31-17 at the half before letting Cienega get back in the game.
“You set the tone; you finish,” Thomas said. “Right? You’re up 28-10. We’re getting the ball back. Finish.”
Buena got the ball to open up the second half of play, but a fumble by the Colts would ultimately be recovered by Skyline at the 32. Capitalizing on the turnover, the Coyotes were able to tack on three more thanks to a 27-yard field goal to make it 28-13 with 3:39 remaining in the third quarter.
It was another quick offensive outing for Buena, as it took the Colts only three snaps to reach the end zone. With 2:55 remaining in the third quarter, Brooks was able to plow his way into the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown run. The extra point was good, making it 35-13.
After eating away most of the remaining time in the third quarter, Skyline punted the ball back to Buena with 26 seconds left. After fielding the ball at the 14, Lujan took it 86 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead more. Marturello continued to be accurate, increasing the lead to 42-13 to close out the third quarter of play.
Buena’s defense started taking its foot off the gas a bit, allowing Skyline to reach the end zone on a 9-yard run by Caleb Wheeler with 8:28 remaining in the game. The kick was good, cutting Buena’s lead to 42-20.
Offensively, though, Buena was still pushing pedal to the metal as it worked its way down the field. Trading off runs between Lujan and Aydan Fregoso, Buena was able to hand the ball off to Lujan to punch it in from the 1. Continuing his accuracy on the night, Marturello’s kick was through the uprights, making it 49-20.
None of Buena’s touchdowns would have been possible without the hard, often unrecognized work of the offensive line, for which Thomas gave a shout-out for their performance this week.
“Our line, which we thought didn’t block very well last week, they did their job and they blocked pretty good, so we’re happy with that,” Thomas said.
On the opening snap of Skyline’s following drive, Lucas Portis intercepted a pass for Buena. From there, the Colts were able to run out most of the remaining clock before settling for a field goal to make it 52-20.
“We’re always challenging our defense,” Thomas said. “Shoot, we dropped like three or four interceptions tonight that we should have had. … Our defense knows that I’m greedy. I want them to give me the ball every time, but they were in position and they batted those balls down, so I’m fine with that.”
With 1:22 remaining, the Coyotes attempted to put more points on the board before the game ended, but Buena’s defense held strong, denying them any chance. As the final horn sounded, Buena shook hands with the Skyline players before heading over to the sidelines to celebrate the win before talking with Thomas and the coaches.
The Colts will now focus on their game against ALA-Gilbert North on Friday. It will be the first home game of the season for Buena, and the Colts know they face a steep challenge.
“We know they were a good team last year,” Thomas said. “We don’t know what all they’ve got coming back, but we’re gonna watch some film, see what they’ve got and we’ll see what we’re gonna do against them.
“We’re excited going 2-0. It’s the first game at home. We plan on going 1-0 next week to go 3-0 and things are moving along just like we like them to.”
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