Catalina Foothills 30, Pueblo 24
In a game delayed by a fight and the lights going out, Catalina Foothills (1-1) survived two late touchdowns by Pueblo and a back-and-forth first half to win 30-24. (See box score below).
“I thought we played pretty good for most of the game, particularly in the third quarter and then some bizarre things happened, that’s what happens in football,” said Catalina Foothills head coach Jeff Scurran.
Foothills lead by as much as 30-12 before Pueblo backup quarterback Daniel Vega led the Warriors to two touchdowns in the last 5:28.
“I’m happy we won, but there’s certainly a lot, a lot, a lot to learn from,” said Catalina Foothills junior quarterback Rhett Rodriguez.
After Catalina Foothills fumbled at midfield, Pueblo had the ball with 1:15 left and down by six, but they turned the ball over on downs with 48.5 seconds left, when the lights went out and the officials called the game.
“At the end we kinda got lazy and that backfired,” said Catalina Foothills senior running back Preston Kime, who ran for two touchdowns. “We just got to keep our heads up and play next week even harder.”
Last week the Falcons opened the season with a 41-7 loss at Goodyear Desert Edge.
Scurran said the loss last week was more like a scrimmage.
“We don’t even count that last game.” Scurran said. “We didn’t ask for it, that team shouldn’t be in our division.”
After Catalina Foothills got a field goal, the teams exchanged touchdowns on four drives in the first half.
Rodriguez had an eight-yard touchdown run and was 9-for-12 passing for 144 yards. He also ran for 42 yards on seven carries.
Pueblo senior running back Jorge Romero rushed for 132 yards on 22 carries.
In the fourth quarter, a brawl between the teams saw two players ejected from each team, most notably Pueblo senior quarterback Justin Pledger.
With 5:28 left, Vega connected with Romero for a 24-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. Vega was 7-for-16 passing for 92 yards.
Then about three minutes later, senior receiver Frankie Gomez caught an eight-yard pass for the Warriors.
“Coach Brandon Sanders — he coached with me here — he’s great, he’s got that thing turned around I tell you what, they got some real tough kids,” Scurran said.
James Kelley
