Cienega tops Ironwood Ridge in hastily scheduled Saturday game

Flexibility is key for Southern Arizona’s high school football programs as they navigate through a shortened season amid a global pandemic.

Take what happened in the hours before Cienega’s 36-22 win over Ironwood Ridge on Saturday afternoon.

“This is my 31st year coaching, and I’ve never experienced the last 15 hours I had,” Cienega coach Pat Nugent said.

“I was sitting on my back porch with my wife and grandson and was following Twitter and saw a note that said the Ironwood Ridge game (against Buena on Friday night) was canceled. … Two minutes later, I sent a note to (I-Ridge head coach James Hardy) to see what was going on. … Everyone agreed to do it, and we just went into panic mode.”

Ironwood Ridge was initially scheduled to host Buena Friday night, but the Colts packed up the team bus and trekked back to Sierra Vista after coaches reported at least one positive coronavirus case in the school.

Cienega was off, having canceled its game against Nogales following the Apaches’ report of positive cases in the athletic department. Other games, such as Amphitheater-Douglas, Sahaurita-Sabino and Palo Verde-Pueblo were also canceled this week. Rather than sit out, Amphi and Sahuarita played each other on Friday.

Saturday’s 2 p.m. game betwen the Bobcats and Nighthawks was unique for more than just the day and kickoff time. Cienega’s players drove from Vail to northwest Tucson to play; there was no team bus.

With blustery conditions and abbreviated planning, the Nighthawks and Bobcats were sloppy on offense to begin the game. A week after committing six turnovers at CDO, Cienega quarterback Ryan Swoger and running back Gabe Levy fumbled a combined four time. One first-quarter flub resulted in Ironwood Ridge’s Tyus Williams scoring on a 52-yard touchdown run. It was the Nighthawks’ first — and only — lead of the game.

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“Ryan and Gabe just try to do so much. We gotta learn how to protect that ball better. They’re always going to be superstars for us and we’re going to keep going to them. They just need to learn how to protect that ball better,” said Nugent.

Levy rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. The run-first Swoger put up 62 yards on the ground and threw for 106 and a touchdown.

Takeaways sparked the Bobcats in the second half: Random Aiello had a scoop-and-score fumble return, and Trey Denetso picked off two passes. Denetso’s second interception came one play after Ironwood Ridge committed personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, backing the Nighthawks up to their goal line. Denetso returned the interception to the 10-yard line to set up Levy’s second touchdown. The Bobcats led 30-14 lead to start the fourth quarter.

“This is the first time I’ve ever gotten two picks in a game, so it’s exciting and definitely something that I’ve been wanting for a while now. … My second pick gave the offense pretty good field position,” Denetso said.

Through the multiple layers of adversity, between fluid — and abrupt — scheduling and turnovers, the Bobcats find themselves 2-0 to start 2020.

Cienega will travel to Buena on Friday in Sierra Vista, while Ironwood Ridge (0-1) will face rival CDO.

“Ironwood Ridge and CDO are really good football teams. To turn the ball over 10 times in two weeks and still have dominant wins is pretty impressive,” Nugent said. “It’s sign of how good we could be and hopefully we get a chance to play again.”