Marana uses balanced attack, big defensive play to upend Cienega; CDO runs past Foothills

Entering Friday night, the Marana Tigers averaged 368.8 passing yards per game — most of them coming from star quarterback Elijah Joplin, who is among the top passers in Southern Arizona.

Marana took a more balanced approach in a 41-31 over the win-hungry Cienega Bobcats on Friday, bouncing back from its 59-58 loss to Mesa Westwood last week.

“I’m proud of them and the boys did a good job coming off a loss,” said Marana coach Philip Steward. “Coming out here and fighting like that, I’m just proud of them. I tip my hats off to all of them.”

Joplin completed 19 of 28 passes for 210 yards and scored three all-purpose touchdowns on Friday, but the Tigers were led by two-way captain Matthew Jensen. Jensen rushed 14 times for 98 yards and two scores, caught one pass for two yards and returned an interception returned for a touchdown.

“I wish I had 12 of him,” Steward said of Jensen. “Him going from defense and then going to offense, doing what he does on offense, back to being our ‘Mike’ linebacker making 11 tackles — I’m happy to have him. He does a lot for us and he’s something special. I hope people notice we have a special guy on our team. … I always tell him: ‘Great players make great plays.’ Tonight he was able to do that.”

Marana’s gameplan against the Bobcats included lots of running. The Tigers rushed an even 30 times for 150 yards and three scores.

“We saw they struggled against the run. One thing I told my boys is going into this week, (the Bobcats) were going to try and fix it,” Steward said. “We tried to run early, they were stopping it, but we stayed with it. The boys kept saying, ‘Coach, run the ball, run the ball.’”

Cienega starting quarterback Brayden Cherry was held out on Friday with a concussion, and junior Evan Weber started. Weber orchestrated Cienega’s offense inside the red zone, but the Bobcats settled for a 28-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Zane Colson to lead 3-0.

Following a 10-yard touchdown pass from Joplin to Tigers wide receiver Jason Wood, Marana forced Cienega to fumble on its 25-yard line; the Tigers came up empty after a fourth-down snap went over Joplin’s head.

On Cienega’s following fourth-down play, Weber faked his punt attempt and then found junior wide receiver River Ries for a 39-yard completion down Marana’s 10-yard line. Weber rushed in for a 6-yard touchdown for Cienega to move ahead 10-7 at the end of the first half.

Then the Jensen show started.

Marana’s bell-cow running back started off the second half with a goal-line rushing touchdown. Joplin connected with Wood again for a 57-yard touchdown to lead 20-17.

Marana took a 27-17 lead after Weber was knocked down on a pass attempt, with Jensen intercepting the popped up ball and returning it 85 yards for a touchdown.

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“I never housed it in my college career, so hats off to him for housing it,” Steward said. “I had a lot of picks but I never housed it.”

Said Jensen: “I saw the ball coming at me and I said, ‘Oh, this is it!’ Once I got the ball, our ‘Spur’ linebacker Lee-vi Nez was like, ‘Run! Run!’ I felt myself starting to slow down and I was getting tired, but he kept cheering me on. I honestly don’t think I would’ve made it without him.”

Leading 27-24 in the fourth quarter, Marana ran a fake punt, and Nez picked up the first down on a run. Jensen capped off the drive with a rushing touchdown. Despite a late touchdown by Weber, Marana was able to stave off the Bobcats, marking the first win over Cienega in program history.

“It’s a special moment and I’m just happy for the guys. … They grew up in Marana. They know all about it, so I’m glad I was able to come in and help them do something they’ve been wanting to do for years,” Steward said.

Luke, CDO run past Foothills

Kayden Luke rushed 13 times for 124 yard and scored three touchdowns and Canyon del Oro improved to 4-1 with a 49-6 win over Catalina Foothills on Friday night.

The Dorados put up 398 yards of total offense. Quarterbacks Tristen McClelland and Caden Goldtooth combined to complete all eight of their pass attempts for 187 yards and two scores. Daylon Beck finished with a team-high four catches for 136 yards and a score, and Zack Rogowski hauled in three passes for 46 yards and a score.

CDO will play at Douglas next week before returning home to face Pueblo.

Extra points

Salpointe Catholic scored five first-half touchdowns on the way to a 55-14 win over Mica Mountain on Friday night. The Lancers (3-2) will play at Mesa Red Mountain next week before returning home to face Gilbert Williams Field.

Ironwood Ridge scored on its first drive, led by six points at halftime and topped Flowing Wells 27-7 on Friday night to earn its first win of the season. The win was also the first for first-year coach Dale Stott. I-Ridge had lost its first four games by a combined score of 151-17. The Nighthawks (1-4) will host Desert View and Cienega over the next two weeks.

Thatcher improved to 7-0 with a 50-0 win over Benson. The Eagles will travel to Coolidge next week before turning home to face Sabino (6-1). The Sabercats beat Maricopa Sequoia Pathway Academy 73-40 on Friday, with quarterback Christian Hackworth completing 27 of 32 passes for 423 yards and five touchdowns. Hackworth added eight rushes for 72 yards and a score.