In the spirit of Halloween, Friday night’s matchup between Rio Rico and Amphi featured trickery right from the start.
The Amphi Panthers snuffed out a surprise onside kick from their opponent on the opening kick of the season, then scored on the very next play. The Panthers rode that momentum to a 45-0 win in the season opener for both teams.
“I’m just proud of all our guys tonight,” said Amphi coach Jorge Mendivil, now in his seventh year coaching the program. “They’ve worked their butts off the last six weeks and they’re just so fired up about being able to play.”
The result of their work over the last month-and-a-half translated to a resounding victory.
Rio Rico's Edryann Rodriguez (9) can't get to Amphi's Isiah Hill (30) as he dashes down the sideline for a long touchdown run in the first quarter of their game at Amphi High School, Tucson, Ariz., October 30, 2020.
After Amphi recovered the kick, junior running back Kiko Trejo took a handoff near midfield, bursting down the far sideline for an emphatic start to the game. All night, the Panthers opted to go for the two-point conversion after scores and led 8-0 less than 15 seconds into the game.
The Panthers leaned on their rushing attack, powered by the tailback tandem of Trejo and Isiah Hill as both backs scored twice and ran for over 100 yards.
“It’s hard for the opponent to just focus on one guy,” Mendivil said. “This year we asked Isiah to move from running back to fullback. When Kiko goes into motion on a jet sweep, it forces the defense to focus on him, so those two really feed off each other.”
Amphi made it 16-0 near the end of the first quarter when Hill scampered for a 50-yard TD run. In the second quarter, the Panthers notched another touchdown thanks to Trejo, this time coming via a 13-yard rush, to take a 24-0 lead into halftime.
Shortly after the second half kicked off, the Panthers scored again on a 30-yard rush from Hill.
In addition to the potent rushing attack, Amphi rotated its quarterback usage, showcasing multiple sets against the Rio Rico defense. Seniors Junior Goldshteyn and Alejandro Peralta switched off under center for the Panthers as Goldshteyn operated in short-yardage situations while Peralta utilized the read-option and play action.
Amphi's Emilio Cocio (4) jostles Rio Rico's Nathan Villegas (7) enough to jar the ball loose and prevent a touchdown catch on fourth and long in the third quarter of their game at Amphi High School, Tucson, Ariz., October 30, 2020.
“We’re trying to figure out who the better fit is,” Mendivil said. “They both have strengths. Junior is a big strong kid who likes to run the ball and is maybe a little bit more football savvy. Alejandro throws a great ball.”
The Panthers added two more scores late in the game from sophomore tailback Keagan Haynes, who caught a touchdown from Peralta and ran for another.
Next week, Rio Rico travels to face Santa Rita and Amphi hits the road to battle Douglas.
