Walden Grove needed to get its feet on the ground, literally, after starting the season losing two games by a total of eight points against quality opponents Phoenix Northwest Christian and Phoenix Arcadia.
Following a bye week after losing at Arcadia, the Red Wolves reset themselves and concentrated on winning the line of scrimmage on both sides and dominate with their potent running game.
Corey Noble’s team mixed a healthy dose of the run behind physical, bruising senior backs Carlos Montoya Jr. and Robert Cash III, the effective passing of junior Kaleb Layton, and an aggressive defense in a 27-10 win at Cienega on Friday night.
Walden Grove (1-2) scored 27 unanswered points after falling behind 10-0 and overpowered the Bobcats (2-2) in the second half after trailing 10-6 at halftime.
“We just had more energy; we wanted it more,” said Montoya, a Vrbo Fiesta Bowl preseason all-state team selection. “We just wanted to pound it down their throats. We came together and got it done.”
.@FB_RedWolves have one of the most physically imposing backfields in the state with senior @CarlosM_Litos20 (5-9/215) and @Robert_Cash_III (5-10/215). Their running punctuated a dominant second half in which Walden Grove turned a 10-6 halftime deficit to a 27-10 win. pic.twitter.com/9uZLRXczm1
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 21, 2024
Walden Grove gained 159 of its 192 yards rushing in the second half.
Montoya, 5-foot-9 and 215 pounds, rushed for 98 of his 107 yards after halftime (he had only one carry for nine yards in the first half).
Cash, 5-10 and 215, gained 51 of his 74 yards in the second half. He was Noble’s workhouse, rushing 20 times.
“In the second half, we played much closer to how I expected us to play, to the level we’re capable of playing,” Noble said. “We’ve played a lot of good football against really good opponents, but we made enough mistakes and played bad football to lose two games I don’t think we should have.
“Our boys came out at halftime and put the game away (against Cienega). It was outstanding to see on offense and defense.”
RED WOLVES BATTLE TESTED
Walden Grove lost 21-16 at home against Northwest Christian in the opener and followed that with a 24-21 loss at Arcadia. Northwest Christian is 3-1 and Arcadia is 4-0.
Those games will be significant with Walden Grove’s power points at season’s end. Walden Grove, of the 4A Kino, is also playing up in class in the non-region schedule against 5A schools Cienega, Desert View (on Friday) and Mountain View (Oct. 4).
.@FB_RedWolves coach Corey Noble’s team won its first game of the season tonight, 27-10 over host Cienega, after the Red Wolves lost narrowly to quality teams NW Christian and Arcadia to start the season. They took command of the second half tonight, outscoring Cienega 21-0. pic.twitter.com/HdMChmlwU0
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 21, 2024
Credit Noble, the school’s athletic director, for doing all he can to beef up the schedule and avoid the disappointment of the 2022 season when the Red Wolves did not qualify for the 4A state playoffs with an 8-2 record.
“Keep working, week by week, taking on all our opponents,” Cash said. “We’ve got some tough matchups in the coming weeks but nothing we can’t handle.”
LAYTON TAKING OVER STRONGLY FOR SMITH
Gabriel Smith became the most prolific passer in Walden Grove history by the time he graduated following last season. He passed for 5,607 yards in his career while completing 379 of 574 pass attempts with 61 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Kaleb Layton, a junior, bided his time to become a varsity starter. If his first three games are indication, Layton will be every bit as efficient as Smith.
.@FB_RedWolves QB Kaleb Layton is three games into his varsity career as a junior after biding his time behind Gabriel Smith and Walden Grove coaches believe he is something special. pic.twitter.com/Un094bHtpQ
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 21, 2024
Layton played a part in all four of Walden Grove’s touchdowns against Cienega.
He rushed for two touchdowns and completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Montoya and 17-yard scoring strike to Jonathan Bustos.
Layton said he learned about “leadership” the most from Smith.
“He showed a lot of leadership out there; he always picked up the team when we were down,” Layton said. “I learned that a lot today (against Cienega). We went into the halftime down four. I told them, ‘Boys, it’s our game. We played a pretty crappy game of football right there and we’re down only four. Let’s come out and show our best.'”
Their best included Layton completing his last four passes and converting 7 of 11 passes overall for 102 yards without an interception. He also spread his seven completions to six different receivers.
CIENEGA QB HAINLEY ANOTHER RISING JUNIOR TALENT
Cienega quarterback Julian Hainley, also a junior who is finally getting his chance to show his talent, was impressive especially with how he played under duress from Walden Grove’s defensive front.
He completed 11 of 19 passes for 260 yards with a 38-yard touchdown pass to junior playmaking receiver Jaden Rodgers.
That connection put Cienega ahead 10-0 with 8:51 left in the second quarter.
Rodgers had four catches for 62 yards. Ayden Billings, another junior of note, had five receptions for 123 yards.
Zane Colson first put the Bobcats on the board with a 36-yard field goal that culminated the first possession of the game.
Walden Grove finally mustered some offense against Cienega after having to punt in its three first possessions.
After Cienega was unable to get a first down on a fourth-and-7 attempt at the Walden Grove 45, the Red Wolves scored on Layton’s 20-yard pass to Montoya with 2:04 left in the half. Layton connected with Jesus Dicochea on a 23-yard completion in that possession.
Walden Grove then scored on the first possession of the second half, putting together a 12-play, 80-yard drive that took almost 8 minutes. A 32-yard run by Montoya set up Layton with a 4-yard scoring run to put the Red Wolves ahead 13-10.
WALDEN GROVE’S DEFENSE COMES THROUGH
Cienega was limited to three possessions in the second half because of Walden Grove’s grind-it-out, time-consuming drives. The Bobcats had a field goal blocked, were forced to punt and and had the game end on a sack in their possessions.
“Defense played outstanding second half,” Noble said. “They were really good. … Cienega’s got some great athletes. We have some things we have to take care of there.
“We really clamped down, the D-line really dominated the game in the second half.”
Cienega next plays at Tempe McClintock (4-0) on Thursday in its last game before the 5A Southern schedule starts.
Walden Grove will play at Desert View (1-2) on Friday. The Jaguars will be coming off a bye week.
NICE TRIBUTE TO LATE COACH ROY PERKINS
.@CienegaFootball tribute to late assistant coach Roy Perkins, who was also a legendary track and field athlete at Tucson High. He passed away from a sudden health issue at age 66 before last season. He was a longtime assistant under Cienega coach Justin Argraves. pic.twitter.com/UsAdY7KD70
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) September 21, 2024
Cienega places a folding chair with a Bobcat jersey draped over it with a photo of late assistant coach Roy Perkins on the chair during home games.
Perkins passed away at age 66 after a sudden health issue before last season. He served as an assistant coach under Cienega coach Justin Argraves at Tucson High (his alma mater) and Cienega before passing way.
Perkins coached at Desert View when his son Brandon attended school there and became a talented athlete in football, basketball, baseball and track. Brandon went on to play football at Pima College and Western New Mexico. He is now the defensive backs coach at Adams State after serving as a graduate assistant at New Mexico State.
While with the Aggies, Brandon coached his brother Austin, a former standout defensive back with the Badgers. Austin was with New Mexico State from 2015-19.
Roy Perkins’ cousin Don Perkins played eight seasons in the NFL and is a member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.
SOUTHERN ARIZONA’S REMAINING UNBEATENS DOWN TO THREE
Mica Mountain, Casa Grande and Marana — each 4-0 — are the remaining unbeaten teams in Southern Arizona after their victories on Friday night along with the losses of Buena to Tucson, Thatcher to Yuma Catholic and St. David to Mogollon.
Buena, Thatcher and St. David all lost at home while suffering their first defeats of the season.
Mica Mountain defeated Sunnyside 28-0 at home on Thursday, Casa Grande took care of visiting Maricopa 45-7 Friday and Marana routed visiting Mountain View 46-13 Friday in the “Battle for the Boot.”
Marana and Casa Grande are scheduled to play at Casa Grande in a 5A Southern game Oct. 11.
The Tigers play at defending 4A state champion CDO (3-1) on Friday.
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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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