Eight penalties for 100 yards bogged down Salpointe Catholic in the opening half of its showdown with Cienega on Friday night, but the Lancers cleaned up the self-inflicted errors in the second half to cruise past the Bobcats 37-13.
Salpointe committed just one penalty in the second half. The Lancers improved to 2-2.
“That first half, I was not very pleased,” said Salpointe Catholic coach Eric Rogers. “We had 100 yards of penalties. We were just undisciplined, not doing what we need to do when we’re in a football game. ... A couple of them were defensive plays ... but a couple of them — spinning the football, late hit, late hit out of bounds, late hit on the quarterback — little things that we are in control of, and we need to do a better job of being disciplined.”
Following a three-and-out possession by Cienega to open the game, Salpointe running back Dailan Goodman scored punched in an 11-yard touchdown to give the Lancers a 6-0 lead. The Bobcats’ offensive struggles continued with a fumble recovered by the Lancers on the first play from scrimmage. A field goal by senior Carson Fiske extended Salpointe’s lead to 9-0.
Brayden Cherry threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Peterson, then Bobcats defensive lineman Abram Bury forced Lancers quarterback Fredo Sotelo to fumble, with safety Sean Cadena picking up the loose ball. Cherry then threw his second and final touchdown of the game to junior receiver Ari Dubin.
Cienega’s 13-9 advantage would be the only lead of the game for the Bobcats. Both of Cienega’s touchdowns happened immediately after personal foul penalties committed by the Lancers.
Salpointe's Elijah Rushing, top, and a teammate sack Cienega quarterback Brayden Cherry.
“I told them at halftime, ‘If we don’t beat ourselves, I’m pretty sure that if we go out there and play a pretty good second half, take care of business and not turn the ball over’ — I kind of wanted us to do this,” Rogers said.
Just before halftime, Sotelo connected with Salpointe receiver Gage Felix for a 48-yard touchdown. To start the second half, Felix had another 30-yard touchdown. Felix finished the night with four catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Salpointe linebacker Conner Raetzman returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter to make it 30-13. The final score of the night for the Lancers was a one-handed, 32-yard acrobatic catch down the sideline by two-way star Nate Spivey. Said Rogers: “(Spivey) does that stuff all the time.”
“That kid is going to play college football now,” Rogers said. “He’s something else. ... This is nothing new for us. He does this stuff all the time in practice. He’s outstanding. We have to keep him going.”
Sotelo can attest.
“Everybody is surprised, but he does that all the time in practice,” Sotelo said. “It was a spectacular catch, I gave my guy a shot and he did that.”
Sotelo, who threw two interceptions in a blowout loss to Chandler Basha last week, finished Friday night completing 12 of 15 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns.
“Scrambling around and throwing the ball in the air, that can’t happen, so I took that to heart, took accountability in practice and it showed out tonight,” Sotelo said.
Rogers said he was “super, super proud” of Sotelo for his performance on Friday.
“He played his best game, there’s no question about it,” Rogers said. “He came out and was making great decisions with the football. ... I know that was a hard week for him, but he stepped up big.”
Pusch Ridge suffers first loss
Pusch Ridge Christian played the first half of Friday’s game against Thatcher before inclement weather forced both teams inside.
The Lions returned Saturday night to play the second half, and fell 28-14.
Because of the delay, Pusch Ridge (5-1) will have one fewer day to prepare for this week’s game against Sabino (5-0). The Sabercats beat Safford 68-14 to stay undefeated, with star quarterback Cameron Hackworth throwing for 309 yards and five scores. Hackworth also rushed one time for 15 yards and a touchdown.
Tucson High beats South Mountain, coached by ex-Cat
Tucson High scored 20 first-half points and held on, beating Phoenix South Mountain 20-12 on Friday night to improve to 2-1 on the season.
South Mountain is coached by former Arizona Wildcats and NFL standout Byron Evans. The Jaguars fell to 2-2.
Tucson High will play at Catalina Foothills and at Sunnyside before returning home Oct. 14 for a game against Mountain View.
Phoenix South Mountain High School Byron Evans, left, and Tucson High coach Malcolm Nelson shake hands following Tucson High's 20-12 win. Evans is a former Arizona Wildcats and NFL standout.
Tanque Verde notches first win
Five different Tanque Verde players scored rushing touchdowns and the Eagles notched their first victory of the season with a 61-rout of North Pointe Prep.
Rocco Haggard, Kasey Johnson, James Torok, Matthew Ramos and Sebastian Blakeman all punched the ball in. Josh Lopez and Delon Harrison both caught touchdown passes.
TV (1-4) will play Santa Rita this week.
Photos: Cienega vs. Salpointe Catholic high school football
Cienega's Edgar Garcia (2), in the arms of Salpointe's Orlando Gonzalez (34) gets hammered by Dailan Goodman (25) in the third quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe’s Elijah Rushing (95), top, and a teammate sack Cienega quarterback Brayden Cherry (16) in the fourth quarter of their game at Cienega High School on Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe's John Martin (7), left, and Armani Sheriff (3) manage to stop Cienega's Gavin Peterson (18) just short of the end zone after his catch in the second quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe's Dailan Goodman (25) splits Cienega's Gavin Peterson (18), left, and River Ries (8) as he bursts up the middle in their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
The Cienega student section cheers their Bobcats onto the field against Salpointe at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe's Nate Spivey (8) runs through Cienega's Sean Cadena (6) and James Kendryna (17) in the first quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Cienega's Alex Patterson (52) jars the mouthpiece out of Salpointe's quarterback Taylor Nagore (10) as he helps sack him at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Cienega's Abram Bury (71), left, strips Salpointe's Jaxson Banhie (6) of the ball, which the Bobcats recovered. in the second quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe's Fredo Sotelo (18) finds the time to fire over the middle against Cienega at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe's Conner Raetzman (2) gets congratulated after his pick-six early in the third quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Cienega's Brayden Cherry (16) just gets off the throw as he's hit by a Salpointe rusher and teammate Jimmy Mccormack (5) in the third quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Cienega's Keron Watson (4) pulls down a catch despite being handled by Salpointe's Gage Felix (1) in the third quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe's head coach Eric Rogers has high fives for his defensive unit after they made a four down stand inside their own ten in the fourth quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Cienega's Keron Watson (4), left, and River Ries (8) drag down Salpointe's Elias Roberts (27) after a catch in their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Cienega's head coach Justin Argraves, left, and defensive coach Bryan Lopez bring down a pass dumped into their side line in the fourth quarter against Salpointe at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe's Cam Myers (22) does just enough to keep Cienega's Ari Dubin (13) from pulling down a reception in the fourth quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Cienega's Evan Weber (1) gets off the throw between Salpointe's Joey Bernier (33) and Sean Madrid (4) late in the fourth quarter of their game at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe's Mason Sanchez (11), left, and Conner Raetzman (2) wrap up Cienega's Ari Dubin (13) after a catch at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Salpointe's Fredo Sotelo (18) scrambles out of pressure to avoid a sack in the fourth quarter at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
Cienega's players go through their pre-game warm ups just before taking on Salpointe at Cienega High School, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 23, 2022.
