Ironwood Ridgeβs Jordan Thomas leaves the Marana defense in his wake as he runs up the middle for his fifth touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter Friday. The Nighthawks won 69-27.
Led by junior Jordan Thomasβ five touchdowns, Ironwood Ridge High School ran into the playoffs in dominant fashion.
No. 15-ranked Ironwood Ridge (6-4) beat No. 14 Marana 69-27 on the road in what was possibly an elimination game before the Class 5A playoffs start next week.
βWe did what we needed to do, we took care of business,β said I-Ridge coach James Hardy. βWe played four-quarter football: offense, defense and special teams, they did what we asked them to do and thatβs the result we got today.β
After falling to 2-4 with a 31-21 loss at Cienega, Ironwood Ridge won four straight games, including the rout of northwest rival Marana (7-3).
βWe did great, we came out we knew what was at stake,β Thomas said. βWe came and we played how we should be playing all year, so we made a big statement and we just played like weβve been playing these past couple weeks.β
Thomas rushed for 226 yards on 23 carries, scoring four times on the ground.
βJordan do what Jordan does,β Hardy said. βJordan is by far is one of the best running backs, especially in Southern Arizona and he proved that running the ball, catching the ball, returning the ball.
βIβm very proud of him, great kid, great attitude, hard worker, everything that he does heβs earned that so weβre proud of him.β
βItβs probably one of the best nights Iβve had but I couldnβt have done it without my other teammates,β Thomas said. βThe line did a good job of blocking, receivers did a good job at blocking, getting me out there in the open field.β
Ironwood Ridge quarterback Tyler Haynie passed for 146 yards and three touchdowns, going 7 for 10.
For Marana, junior quarterback Elijah Joplin passed for 228 yards, going 20 for 31 with an interception and two touchdowns. He scored the Tigersβ other two touchdowns, running for 92 yards on 10 carries. Sophomore Jaelen Collins caught four balls for 105 yards and one score.
The brackets for the Class 4A, 5A, 6A and open tournaments will be announced on Saturday at 8 a.m. and will be streamed on nfhsnetwork.com.
Hardy said the win streak is due to refocusing.
βWe understood the task at hand going through things and so itβs just understanding what we could do as a team and if we play as a team on all three facets, weβll be successful,β Hardy said.
Photos: Ironwood Ridge wins in a shootout at Marana, 69-27, high school football
Marana vs Ironwood Ridge
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Marana vs Ironwood Ridge
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Marana vs Ironwood Ridge
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Ironwood Ridge vs Marana
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Ironwood Ridge vs Marana
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Ironwood Ridge vs Marana
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Ironwood Ridge vs Marana
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Ironwood Ridge vs Marana
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Ironwood Ridge vs Marana
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Ironwood Ridge vs Marana
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Should winning team apologize for 106-0 high school football score?