Friday night’s matchup between Marana and Desert View had it all.
A rattlesnake nearly slithered onto the field near halftime before the Marana Fire Department boxed it up and escorted it out of Tiger Stadium. The umpire sustained a leg injury and was carted off the field.
And, oh, and there was also a showdown between two unbeaten teams, with the Jaguars outlasting the host Tigers 46-28.
Desert View’s fourth win of the season was led by its standout running back tandem of Serge Gboweiah and Carlos Alvarez. Desert View’s rushing duo combined for 444 yards on the ground, including 315 from Gboweiah, and four touchdowns.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Gboweiah said. “The linemen did their job, they were able to push and I was able to run behind them. … Once I break something, (Alvarez) comes in when I need a break and then I get I back in when he’s tired.”
Desert View’s Enrique Cancio makes a lunging one-handed catch behind the Marana defense in the first half Friday night.
For the last two seasons, Gboweiah and Alvarez have been Desert View’s top two players for offensive production, which was on display once again Friday night.
“It was big, because both of those guys have to play both ways,” said Desert View coach Robert Bonillas. “Being conditioned and practicing and doing what we do as a program allows them to go out and be successful.”
In the first quarter, Marana quarterback Elijah Joplin, Southern Arizona’s second-leading passer heading into Friday night, connected with wide receiver Sam Brown for a 53-yard strike to set up the Tigers in the red zone, but Marana fumbled the ball away.
Desert View responded with a methodical drive and capitalized it with a goal-line touchdown by star Alvarez to take a 6-0 lead.
On the following drive, Marana running back Matthew Jensen dropped a lateral pass, which left everyone believing it was an incomplete pass. After Jensen realized the game officials hadn’t blown the whistle to signal the play done, he bursted down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead.
Desert View’s Alvaro Chaparro sacks Marana’s Elijah Joplin in the third quarter.
Gboweiah scored Desert View’s next touchdown, with Jaguars wide receiver Enrique Cancio making a one-handed grab in the end zone to push Desert View ahead 20-14 at halftime.
The Tigers garnered momentum to begin the second half with a fumble recovery on the opening kickoff, which was followed up by Marana receiver Jaelen Collins catching a red-zone touchdown to get a 21-20 lead. Collins batted a pass down and intercepted the ball.
That would be the only positive sequence for the Tigers in the second half besides Joplin’s 12-yard rushing touchdown to end Desert View’s 17-point swing that was focused around Gboweiah and Alvarez.
“We all came out as a unit and kept our heads in the game,” said Gboweiah. “We just made great plays.”
Desert View (4-0) will return home to face Nogales next Friday for homecoming; Marana (4-1) hosts Sunnyside.
“We still gotta clean up some mistakes, but great job by the kids and the coaching staff to come out here prepared to face a well-coached team,” Bonillas said. “Hey, it was a hell of a win for our boys and the coaching staff.”
