Oct. 9: Pusch Ridge Christian 24, Flowing Wells 21
Pusch Ridge Christian senior quarterback Cody Cropp took the snap, moved a couple steps to his right and essentially walked into the end zone to cap off a tenacious 14-play drive — a drive that may go down as the biggest in program history.
The Lions survived a wild third quarter and stole the show at Flowing Wells’ homecoming on Friday night, knocking of the unbeaten Caballeros 24-21 and making a statement that eighth-ranked Pusch Ridge is a legitimate contender in its new division (see box score below).
“This win was huge for us,” said sophomore Tamerat McLeod, who rushed for a game-high 135 yards. “We’ve been talking about it for months. We moved up to Division IV just to play this kind of team so it’s awesome. This is a huge step for us.”
Yes it was.
Pusch Ridge (6-1) has won six straight games since losing its season opener at Benson, the No. 1 team in Division V. The Lions qualified for the state playoffs in each of the last two seasons and have won 30 games since Troy Cropp took over the program before the 2012 season.
But no victory was sweeter than Friday night’s come-from-behind road win.
“I think it’s probably the biggest win in Pusch Ridge history, especially on this stage,” said Troy Cropp. “We’ve won playoff games before, but we feel like this was a playoff game.”
Cropp’s 1-yard touchdown run with 1 minute 36 seconds left came one play after senior James Raica rushed for a 7-yard gain, giving him 96 yards.
The score finished off a drive that started on the Pusch Ridge 21, after Flowing Wells turned the ball over on downs with 7:59 remaining.
Ironically, it was a drive similar to the one the Lions opened the game with, running more than seven minutes off the clock before Dionte Flores and the Caballeros touched the ball. But that drive lasted 12 plays and resulted in a turnover on downs.
“That wasn’t necessarily our plan for this game, that is our plan for this season,” said Cody Cropp. “That’s what our style of game is, and we’re a team. There’s no one standout; everyone gets the ball, and everyone blocks for each other.”
Flowing Wells (7-1) managed to move the ball near midfield before the Lions came up with a fourth-down stop in the final seconds of the game, just a few plays after Ben Walker sacked quarterback Julio Sandoval to help thwart the possibility of the Caballeros getting back in the game.
“They got up on us, but we had great heart,” said Walker, who caught three passes for 116 yards. “That’s what it came down to. They got their touchdowns; they had momentum swings, but we just never gave up.”
Flowing Wells entered the night ranked seventh in Division IV and had a 7-3 lead at halftime. But things went south in a back-and-forth third quarter when Flores — arguably Tucson’s top player — ended up sidelined for some time with a left leg injury.
The senior two-way starter eventually came back in but was held a season-low 47 yards on 11 carries and, most importantly, no touchdowns.
“He’s a tough kid,” Flowing Wells coach Mark Brunenkant said. “I think if we have a different Dionte, maybe not a different outcome, but we score more points.”
Just a few plays after Flores hobbled off the field early in the third quarter, Sandoval connected with Bailey Caron for a 44-yard touchdown in his first game back since the second week of the season. The senior was out with an injured left hand and was wearing a splint on Friday night.
Walker responded by hauling in a jaw-dropping 71-yard touchdown pass just a few minutes later to make the score 14-10, with Flowing Wells still leading.
“I don’t know how I caught it, and then I don’t know how I stayed inbounds,” Walker said. “He spun me around. I just kept concentration on the ball. I knew I had to catch it, and once I got it, I took off.”
The Caballeros drove down for another touchdown after that, but McLeod answered right back with a 58-yard scoring run to make it 21-17 with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
Flowing Wells, which hosts Sahuarita next week, got the ball early in the fourth quarter on its 45. But the drive stalled at the 21 when Sandoval nearly had a pass intercepted on fourth down, setting the stage for the Lions’ big drive.
“We’ve just got to bounce back,” Brunenkant said. “We’ve just got to get healthy; we’re banged up. We’ve got to come back from a little adversity.”
Daniel Gaona
