Amphiโ€™s Kiko Trejo, right, scores one of his five touchdowns on the night as the Panthers jumped on Sahuarita early and went on to beat the visiting Mustangs 42-27.

 Rebecca Sasnett, Arizona Daily Star

If Amphitheaterโ€™s Friedli Field was a stage, then the Panthersโ€™ 42-27 win over Sahuarita on Friday night was the Kiko Trejo Show.

Amphiโ€™s star two-way player was a do-it-all standout for the Panthers, rushing for 181 yards on nine carries and scoring five total touchdowns.

โ€œToday was beautiful, man,โ€ said Trejo. โ€œWe all played hard, worked hard and did our jobs.โ€

Just minutes into the first quarter, Trejo ran 38 yards for Amphiโ€™s first touchdown of the game to make it 7-0. Trejo also capped off the second offensive possession of the night with a 4-yard touchdown to extend Amphiโ€™s lead to 14-0, after returning a punt 35 yards inside Sahuarita territory.

โ€œOur offensive line was picking up every stunt and every blitz they had, and Kiko was running hard,โ€ said Amphi coach Jorge Mendivil.

The Kiko Show continued on defense, with Trejo intercepting Sahuarita quarterback Alex Valdez for a 45-yard pick-six, giving Amphi a 21-0 lead going into the second quarter.

Sahuaritaโ€™s Joseph Loveall, bottom, gets tackled by Amphiโ€™s Xzavier Sanchez during the first half Friday night. Amphi improved to 2-0 with the win.

โ€œI saw the ball was getting overthrown a little bit, then I saw the ball get tipped, I caught it and then I took off,โ€ he said.

Sahuarita briefly had a shift of momentum in the second quarter, when defensive lineman Levi Pannell recovered a fumble on a botched handoff. The Mustangs drew closer with a 27-yard touchdown from Alex Valdez to James Miner, cutting the deficit to 21-7. Valdez finished the contest completing 8 of 19 passes for 242 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Amphiโ€™s offense momentarily stalled, but was sparked by a 55-yard flea flicker pass from Trejo to Ithzael Carbajal to put the Panthers on Sahuaritaโ€™s 5-yard line; freshman fullback Jacob Espinoza punched in a 2-yard run to give Amphi a 28-7 advantage.

Sahuarita garnered an opportunity in the second half following a high punt snap that set up the Mustangs on Amphiโ€™s 26-yard line, but Valdez threw his second interception of the game.

Amphi capitalized on Sahuaritaโ€™s miscue, and Trejo bolted for a 68-yard touchdown. Trejo scored his fifth touchdown of the game to give Amphi a 42-14 lead going into the fourth quarter. Sahuarita scored two late touchdowns, but the fourth-quarter comeback fell short.

โ€œOur kids got a little complacent once we got up big. โ€ฆ They throw the ball well, and you gotta communicate against a team that throws the ball,โ€ Mendivil said. โ€œItโ€™s a little disappointing that our kids need to step up and realize whatโ€™s going on. A lot of them were a little lost out there, for sure.โ€

Up next, Amphi (2-0) will face Phoenix Thunderbird in Tucson next Friday, while Sahuarita (0-3) will battle Pusch Ridge Christian.

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Contact sports producer Justin Spears at 573-4312 or jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter: @JustinESports