The opening week of the high school football season is always interesting. Teams have only scrimmaged one time before strapping on the helmets in games that count. Coaches don’t really know how the team will perform either. Both Safford and Thatcher answered some of those questions in their first games.
After their scrimmage with Morenci, Thatcher head coach Dan Jones said the team “had a lot of work to do” to get ready for their game at Round Valley. Well, work they did. The Eagles dominated the Elks from start to finish on Friday, not trailing the entire game, in the 42-14 win.
Senior running back Ayden Bingam lead the way on the ground for Thatcher with 167 yard and two scores. The Eagles as a team rushed for 335 total yards. Quarterback Brandon Napier was 6-7 passing for 115 yards and a touchdown, all of which came in the first half.
Thatcher will have a big test at home this week when they face Eastmark. The Firebirds defeated defending New Mexico 3A Champion, Robertson, 33-7 on Saturday.
The Safford Bulldogs had a much different game on Friday night at Phoenix Christian. The Bulldogs trailed 17-6 at halftime before the offense caught fire and outscored the Cougars 21-3 in the second half to secure the 27-20 win.
Running back Monster Rios rushed for 213 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs on offense. Rios missed his sophomore season with a back injury but looked healthy and fast on Friday night.
The Bulldog defense sacked Cougar quarterbacks 5 times and intercepted four passes to limit the scoring in the 2nd half.
Safford will be on the road on Friday at Pima. The Roughriders had a bye last week. The archives show that Safford hasn’t played at Pima since the early 1940’s.
Morenci opened the season with an impressive 30-6 win over Scottsdale Christian in the rain on Friday night. The ‘Cats scored 22 points in the first quarter before adding 8 more in the 4th quarter to put the game away.
Morenci rushed for 306 yards as a team, led by Patrick Chavez with 137 and a touchdown. Michael Casillas finished with 56 yards in 2 touchdowns.
The Wildcats will host Tanque Verde on Friday. The Hawks had a bye last week.
