Amphi’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 Amphitheater’s Friedli Field was a stage, then the Panthers’ 42-27 win over Sahuarita on Friday night was the Kiko Trejo Show.

Amphi’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.

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

Just minutes into the first quarter, Trejo ran 38 yards for Amphi’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 Amphi’s lead to 14-0, after returning a punt 35 yards inside Sahuarita territory.

β€œOur offensive line was picking up every stunt and every blitz they had, and Kiko was running hard,” 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.

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

β€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,” 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.

Amphi’s offense momentarily stalled, but was sparked by a 55-yard flea flicker pass from Trejo to Ithzael Carbajal to put the Panthers on Sahuarita’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 Amphi’s 26-yard line, but Valdez threw his second interception of the game.

Amphi capitalized on Sahuarita’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.

β€œOur kids got a little complacent once we got up big. … They throw the ball well, and you gotta communicate against a team that throws the ball,” Mendivil said. β€œIt’s a little disappointing that our kids need to step up and realize what’s going on. A lot of them were a little lost out there, for sure.”

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