PIMA — For the second week in a row the Pima Roughriders stood toe to toe with a 3A opponent. The ‘Riders defense forced 4 Thatcher turnovers but could never get anything rolling offensively and fell to the Eagles 14-0.
Thatcher scored on their opening possession on a 25 yard run by quarterback Wyatt Larson. That would be the lone score of the half by either team.
Pima linebacker Leland Thompson intercepted Larson and recovered a fumble on the very next Eagle possession to keep the ‘Riders close at the break.
Both teams sputtered offensively in the 2nd half. Thatcher added a touchdown run by Josh Mangum in the 3rd quarter after converting on a 4th and 17 to take a 14-0 lead. Mangum lead the Eagles on offense with 88 yards.
“We are still figuring out who we can be on offense,” said Pima Head Coach Jim Hughes. “We will get there, it just takes time,” he added.
Thatcher head coach Dan Jones is happy his team moved to 3-0 stating, “an ugly win is still a win.”
Pima held Thatcher to just 50 passing yards on 4 receptions. The Eagles had 157 rushing yards on the night.
Thatcher held Pima to 85 total yards in the game.
Thatcher will host Sabino (2-1) next week. Pima will travel to Tucson to take on Santa Rita (0-2).
