Salpointe Catholic 24, Sahuaro 8

At Sahuaro, both Salpointe and the host Cougars prepped for their matchup all week, a big-time Division II game that would give the winner a good shot at reaching the state playoffs, and the loser some work to do.

Those plans went out the window about a half-hour before kickoff, however.

Rain and lightning pelted the east side of town, causing over a 90-minute delay before kickoff finally took place. In a grind-it-out type of game that did not see a pass attempted in the first half, the Lancers were able to pull out the victory 24-8, thanks to a big night on the ground by senior running back Dominic Salaz. 

Salpointe (4-4) was able to carve out enough room for Salaz to operate, letting him use his speed to do the rest. He finished with 206 yards rushing to go along with three touchdowns.

“I just made sure to hold onto the ball with both hands and run hard,” Salaz said. “It was choppy out there with the conditions so I knew ball security would be important.”

Both teams had drives stall in the first quarter due to fumbles, with Salpointe finally capitalizing on an 8-yard run from Salaz. Salpointe took a 21-0 lead going into the fourth on another Salaz touchdown run and never looked back. Sahuaro (3-5) was unable to get much going on offense, as it finished with just 90 yards of total offense. 

 “We played a solid football team” said Sahuaro coach Scott McKee. “We weren’t able to game plan for the weather but we went out there and gave it a solid effort.”

 “The line did a great job tonight along with the defense,” said Lancers coach Dennis Bene. “We knew that in the conditions every point would matter, so we were happy to sustain drives and put points up in every quarter.”

Bene knows the important stretch for his team has just begun, however.

“I told them that every week from now on is like a playoff game, we just need to go in focused and ready to play.”

 Mark Lawson