Amphitheater running back Ronald Hopper was getting his fair share of attention before Friday night's game against Santa Rita.
Hopper was the Panthers' homecoming king, and he was averaging 125 yards per game.
But Santa Rita was not influenced by either factor. Hopper was held to 38 yards on 13 carries as the Eagles rolled to a 23-0 victory.
While Amphi's running game sputtered, Santa Rita's emerged in the form of 5-foot-6-inch senior AuBurá Taylor.
Taylor, who played for Cholla last year but transferred to Santa Rita when Jeff Scurran took over as coach, rushed for 42 yards on the Eagles' first drive.
The 17-play drive spanned more than eight minutes, resulting in a Santa Rita field goal by Chris Mayer at the end of the first quarter.
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On its first possession of the second quarter, Amphi failed to generate any momentum, and Andy Humphreys was forced to punt.
But Humphreys managed to boot the ball 2 yards, giving Santa Rita excellent field position.
Four plays later, Santa Rita quarterback Chris Johnson tossed the ball to a diving Matt Sanchez, who hauled it in for a touchdown, giving Santa Rita a 10-0 lead.
Johnson finished the game 6 for 11 for 75 yards; 9 of his passes came in the first half.
"I didn't have to pass too much; the running game was so unstoppable," Johnson said. "Why pass when you can run?"
During the second half, Santa Rita used its lead to relax the offense and pound the ball on the ground. That's when Taylor shifted his game into overdrive.
Taylor rushed for 116 yards in the half, and found the end zone in each of the final two quarters.
He finished with 169 yards on 23 carries.
While Taylor and the Eagles offense was able to penetrate Amphi's line and move the ball seemingly at will, Santa Rita's defense held Amphi to 164 yards.
Santa Rita defensive end Joe Chuisano had a big game.
"We pride ourselves on stopping the run, and that's what we came out and did," Chuisano said.
"We knew they were going to pound it at us, and we just gave them a taste of their own medicine."
Santa Rita improved its record to 5-1. Amphi dropped to 1-5 and will play Palo Verde next week. Santa Rita will take on Catalina Foothills at home.
Santa rita 23
Amphitheater 0
