Konstantine Ribeiro is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Campo Verde for AZPreps365.com.

GILBERT - Campo Verde’s football team took the No. 2 spot in the 5A San Tan Region after a 45-12 victory over Mountain Pointe on Thursday.

The Coyotes (5-2 overall, 2-0 in 5A San Tan) extended their win streak to two games after a dominant performance against the Pride on Breast Cancer Awareness Night, with players on both sides wearing pink to honor survivors and those lost to cancer.

Campo Verde struck early after senior defensive lineman Xavier Medrano recovered a fumble, allowing senior quarterback Jonah Lubno to throw a 15-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Ethan Loper. 

“I love being able to rally on my defense when they make a play like that,” Lubno said. “We can just put all that momentum into the next drive and go score.”

The Coyotes’ defense continued its domination on the next drive as Medrano and junior defensive lineman Winston Wright sacked Mountain Pointe senior Kristian Escobedo, forcing a punt. After bringing the ball down into the red zone, Lubno ran it in for a 14-yard rushing touchdown to make it 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Campo Verde’s defense continued to dominate as senior middle linebacker Nicholas Fox recorded his first sack of the season, and Wright recorded 2 1/2 more, bringing his total to 3 1/2 sacks.

The offense also continued to expand the lead, as Lubno recorded his second passing touchdown, this time finding senior wide receiver Easton Bakutis in the end zone to make it 21-0. 

On the Pride’s next drive, they got into field goal range, but junior kicker Luis Martinez Flores missed right, setting Campo Verde up in great field position. After moving the ball downfield, senior running back Brodie Stickle rushed into the end zone for the touchdown. The Coyotes then went for the 2-point conversion and succeeded after a quick pass to Bakutis, making it 29-0 at halftime. 

“Jonah is a special athlete; he can throw the ball anywhere he wants on the field,” coach Ryan Freeman said. “He can pull it down and run, and having both of those skill sets makes him so hard to defend.”

In the third quarter, Campo Verde’s defense continued to shine as senior linebacker Scottie Aholohei recorded his first sack of the game, as well as the seventh and final sack. On the next drive, sophomore running back Cade Wood rushed into the end zone to make it 36-0. Later, senior kicker Ryker Morgan drilled a 20-yard field goal to make it 39-0 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Mountain Pointe found the end zone after a deep pass from Escobedo, but Martinez missed the extra point, making it 39-6. Lubno found the end zone again, this time connecting with senior wide receiver Tobin Hanson, to make it 45-6 after failing the 2-point conversion. 

After that, Lubno played only a few more snaps and was eventually subbed out for junior quarterback Wesley Colvin after he was sacked and then threw a tipped, intercepted pass. The Pride eventually scored again at the end of the game but failed to convert the 2-point conversion.

Campo's defensive line was the MVP of the game, stopping Mountain Pointe from converting on third down seven of eight times.

“They just bought into the game plan. We didn’t do anything special, but we communicated well and did our job.” Freeman said. “That’s what you have to do against teams with speed, like Mountain Pointe.”

The Coyotes' next matchup is on Oct. 16 at Skyline High School.