Safford wasted little time taking control Thursday night, using a dominant defensive performance and a balanced offensive attack to roll past Morenci, 44-0.
The Bulldogs forced five turnovers, held Morenci to just 103 yards of offense and did not allow the Wildcats to complete a pass.
Safford opened the scoring with 5:53 remaining in the first quarter when Andrew Baker punched it in from one yard out. Less than two minutes later, a Morenci snap sailed over the punter’s head and through the end zone for a safety, giving the Bulldogs a 9-0 advantage.
Safford broke the game open in the second quarter.
Quarterback Parker Whisman connected with Matteo Chavez on a ten-yard touchdown pass with 9:54 remaining in the half. Whisman then scored on a two-yard run before finding Lamarr Ellis for a 23-yard touchdown with just seven seconds remaining before halftime.
The Bulldogs went to the locker room with a commanding 30-0 lead.
Whisman did all of his damage through the air in the opening half, completing 6 of 11 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Safford did not attempt a pass after halftime.
Instead, the Bulldogs turned to the ground game.
Whisman finished with 100 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Baker added 58 yards and two scores. Baker’s second touchdown came on an eight-yard run with 4:25 remaining in the third quarter to extend the lead to 37-0.
Freshman Noah Jurado provided one of the night’s biggest highlights in the fourth quarter. On the first varsity carry of his career, Jurado broke loose for a 53-yard touchdown with 8:02 remaining, giving Safford its final 44-0 margin.
Safford finished with 360 yards of total offense, including 248 yards on the ground and 112 through the air.
Chavez led the Bulldogs’ receivers with four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Morenci struggled to generate offense against a Safford defense that controlled the game from start to finish. The Wildcats finished with 103 rushing yards and attempted just one pass. Freshman Gunner Barron led Morenci on the ground with 41 yards.
Safford’s defense forced five turnovers on its way to the shutout, while the offense established the run and got strong protection up front.
“We team did a great job being physical in all three phases of the game,” Safford head coach Ishmael MacNeil said. “We established the run and had great protection up front to pass the ball. Defense played lights out in the shutout.”
Despite the lopsided victory, MacNeil said the Bulldogs still have plenty to work on as they prepare for their next test.
“Lots of things to clean up before we travel to Blue Ridge, but it was great to pick up a win in front of the home crowd,” MacNeil said.
With the win, Safford improved to 1-0 and will travel to Blue Ridge on August 28th. Morenci fell to 0-1 and will head to Tanque Verde.
