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Grande gridiron report, 10/25/11

Published: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 9:24 AM MST

Ed Petruska, Sports Editor

Sports Editor Ed Petruska reviews last week’s Casa Grande Union and Vista Grande football games

Casa Grande Union

The Cougars’ 52-45 victory over Higley on Friday night truly required the proverbial “total team effort.” “There were so many key contributions from a lot of different players, and that’s what it takes to win a game like that,” CG Union coach Keith Brown said. “I’m hoping we learned that we don’t have to rely on one or two guys.”

Union came through on offense, defense and special teams at crucial times during the course of the contest, which lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes and saw the teams combine for 15 touchdowns, 1,000 total yards, 54 first downs and 141 plays — along with 25 penalties for 264 yards.

On offense, the Cougars (3-6) rushed for 264 yards and seven touchdowns, with the bulk coming from Nick Elliott (148 yards, three TDs) and Ryder McIntyre (105 yards, three TDs). Elliott also completed 12 of 17 passes for a season-best 221 yards, and that “was a welcome surprise,” Brown said.

Anthony Mitchell’s first two catches of the season went for 69 and 29 yards, both of which led to touchdowns. The 69-yarder was the longest pass play of the season for the Cougars.

Receptions of 17 and 30 yards by Adrian Rodriguez also led to touchdowns, with the second setting the stage for Elliott’s 26-yard TD pass to Sherice Loggins that broke a 45-45 tie with 46.1 seconds remaining.

With Higley (5-4) geared to stop CG Union’s running game by loading the box, “we loosened them up with the pass,” Brown said. “Nick going 12 for 17 was key. Some were easy throws, some were not so easy.”

The Cougars scored on their first five possessions with drives of 61, 73, 98, 80 and 70 yards in taking a 33-14 halftime lead, and two of their first three series in the second half to go up 45-21 with 2.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“Once we got 33 (points) in the first half, there was no reason why we couldn’t score more,” Brown said.

The CG Union defense stopped Higley on five of its first eight possessions, and “that was the reason why we were able to build a big lead,” Brown said. After the Knights scored on four straight possessions in the fourth quarter to tie it, the defense came up with one last stop when Mitchell forced a fumble that McIntyre recovered at the Higley 33 with 22.1 seconds left.

That was the last of three turnovers for the Knights, who also were stopped twice on downs.

James Colbert, who has rushed for over 1,000 yards, didn’t see much action on offense Friday night, but was a presence on defense with seven tackles, all unassisted. Junior varsity call-up Josh Burnett contributed six tackles.

CG Union’s special teams did their part. Prior to McIntyre blocking a PAT kick that would have given the Knights a 46-45 lead with 1:56 remaining, the Cougars stopped four two-point conversion attempts. The Cougars took just two plays to reach the end zone on their initial possession of the second half after Loggins returned a kickoff 57 yards to the Higley 34.

Vista Grande

Full reflection on his 100th career victory will have to wait for Spartans coach Carlo Hernandez. Right now, he’s focused on beating Campo Verde in this week’s regular-season finale.

“I don’t want to say it’s not a big deal,” Hernandez said of the milestone win, which came with Friday night’s 43-13 dismantling of Rio Rico. “But I think it will mean more to me when I’m finished coaching. Right now I want to get the program going (at Vista Grande) and make a difference here.”

Hernandez went 91-19 from 2000-08 at Coolidge, and his teams won two state championships. He is 9-11 at Vista Grande, which overcame an 0-5 start last season to win the independent region title.

He said his success as a football coach “comes down to players and assistant coaches doing their jobs. I didn’t play in any of those games.”

The Spartans improved their 2011 record to 4-5 by jumping on Rio Rico early and never letting up. They led 14-0 after one quarter and 36-0 at halftime.

“Our kids played with a sense of urgency, and I was proud of their effort,” Hernandez said.

Building the big lead allowed Hernandez to give seldom-used reserves significant playing time, “which they deserve because they bust their butts” in practice, he said. “I think everybody was happy.”

Vista Grande’s balanced attack produced 183 yards rushing and 192 passing, and the point total was a season high.

“It played out the way we needed it to,” Hernandez said. “When those things come to fruition, it helps the kids believe in what we’re doing.”

Vista Grande is 4-0 with an average margin of victory of 15.8 points against teams with losing records. Maricopa, CG Union, Marana and Rio Rico are a combined 6-30.

The five losses have come against teams that all have winning records and are a combined 32-13. Vista Grande’s average margin of defeat is 31.8 points.

The teams the Spartans have lost to (Coolidge, Florence, Higley, Perry and Williams Field) “are just better than us at this point. That’s the bottom line,” Hernandez said.

With two freshmen, four sophomores and just a handful of seniors in the starting 22, Hernandez said he is confident the team has the potential to be much better next season.

Defeating a Campo Verde team that is 5-4 would give the Spartans their second two-game winning streak of the season and a respectable .500 record.

“That’s our goal,” Hernandez said.

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