PIMA, Ariz. — On a warm, windy senior night in front of a packed crowd that filled both sides of Pima’s bleachers, the Roughriders found their fight — and maybe their season.
Trailing 6–0 midway through the fourth quarter, Pima rallied to score twice in the final nine minutes, pulling out a gritty 13–6 win over Morenci in a classic 2A East battle Friday night.
Pima’s comeback started when Rooster Alder burst through a crease and sprinted 35 yards to tie the game with 9:06 left. The extra point missed, leaving the score knotted at six and setting up a dramatic finish.
The game turned into a defensive slugfest from start to finish. Both teams intercepted two passes in the red zone, keeping the score tight and the tension high. Pima’s defense spent much of the night absorbing punches from Morenci’s bruising ground attack, but the unit bent without breaking — a theme that defined the win.
When Pima took over late in the fourth quarter, the Roughriders faced a seemingly impossible 4th-and-18. A helmet-to-helmet hit on a receiver turned that into a manageable short-yardage try, and Pima converted to keep the drive alive.
Moments later, with just 13.2 seconds remaining, Joe Palmer plunged in from a yard out to give the Roughriders their first and only lead of the night. The extra point was good, and the home crowd erupted.
Alder powered Pima with 148 yards rushing on 18 carries and a touchdown — a breakout night that pushes his season total past 650 yards. Quarterback Cedrick Grimes, making his first start of the season after a preseason scrimmage injury, went 4-of-14 for 33 yards and two interceptions but managed the offense with composure in crunch time.
Morenci took the lead early in the fourth on an 8-yard touchdown run by Derrick Lytle, but the two-point try failed. The Wildcats finished with 212 rushing yards, led by Julien Aragon’s 188 yards on 30 carries, while Lytle added 39 yards and the score. Quarterback Deegan Miller was 0-for-4 passing with two interceptions.
Pima totaled 162 rushing yards and 33 passing for 195 yards of offense, while Morenci finished with 212 on the ground and no completions.
The win moves Pima to 4–4 overall and marks its fifth straight victory in the series, keeping the Roughriders in the playoff hunt after a slow start.
Morenci (5–3) will travel to face 2A East-leading St. Johns next week, while Pima (4–4) travels to Madison Highland in another key matchup.
