Tucson RB Gary Love. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

Mother Nature had her way Friday night. Her clouds gathered slowly over the Santa Catalinas and Rincon Mountains to the east of Tucson and, with a flash of lightning, they tumbled through the city, giving us the rain we desperately needed, but selfishly didn’t want. It was Football Friday after all.

The Buena at Sahuaro game was first to go and then another and then another until Tucson and Pueblo gave in after a huge strike of thunder sent parents and players back to safety after attempting fate. Ironically, that strike was the last spark of the night and Mother Nature dispersed her clouds with only flood waters remaining as a reminder of what was.

The Badgers were tempting fate even before the game started. A monsoon brought destruction to their field last year and the team gathered Friday night to celebrate a new turf and a new beginning as the 6A Conference standard-bearer for all of Southern Arizona but it was not to be, not for 23 more hours anyway.

In all, seven games were rescheduled for Saturday, starting with Cienega at Cholla and Palo Verde at Catalina at 9 a.m., Buena at Sahuaro at 10 a.m., Walden Grove at Flowing Wells at 11 a.m., Cactus at Catalina Foothills at 4 p.m., Rio Rico and Empire at 5 p.m. and Pueblo at Tucson at 6 p.m.

The Bobcats had little difficulty in their 58-0 win at Cholla and Palo Verde slowly pulled away from Catalina to win that one 28-6. It’s been a back-and-forth battle between the Trojans and Titans almost dating back to Greek Mythology with each team seeking revenge from the previous year. It’s probably one of the last true classic inner-city neighborhood rivalries left in Tucson.

J.Q. Hale led the Palo Verde Titans with 84 yards rushing and 90 yards passing and Demier Nelson collected 44 of those passing yards including a 7-yarder for a touchdown. Rastow Gasore connected on a 76-yard play with Philippe Kijana to tie the game up 6-6 in the third quarter but the Titans pulled away from there.

Palo Verde's JQ Hale. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

Buena came up with a big win 16-15 at Sahuaro with Jovani Borbon coming through on a 4-yard pass to tight end Jose Cheno on a fourth-and-goal play with 54.9 seconds left in the game put the Colts ahead 16-15.

Flowing Wells improved to 2-0 in the 5A ranks by stopping a Walden Grove 2-point conversion for the 20-19 win. In the 5A Conference, each win is as good as gold with region championships removed from the playoff equation.

Catalina Foothills dropped one to Glendale Cactus 36-12 in what has to be the most difficult schedule in all of Southern Arizona. A trip to Marana comes next.

Empire led Rio Rico 13-7 at the half but Kenny Lilley scored from 7-yards out to put the Hawks up 14-13 with 8:25 left in the third. The Ravens had one more shot but gave the ball back on downs to preserve the win for Rio Rico.

There was perhaps too much emphasis on the Pueblo/Tucson game coming in, especially with the obvious 4A – 6A disparity but the Badgers won (30-13), as expected. It was a good test for Pueblo and will be beneficial to coach Brandon Sanders in the long run for several reasons.

Unlike 6A and 5A, the region champions in the 4A Conference will receive an automatic playoff berth. A loss to a high-caliber 6A squad like Tucson will help in power-points and the team can focus on the rest of the schedule with 4A Casa Grande (2-0) visiting next week.

For the Badgers, the victory should remove any doubts that Justin Argraves is coaching one of the top teams in Southern Arizona and the team deserves to be ranked up there with Salpointe, Marana, Cienega and Ironwood Ridge.

The Badger defense limited Pueblo to five yards of offense in the first half but the game was awkwardly still close until Wyatt Campos cashed in on a 24-yard fumble return with 7.1 seconds left in the half to put the Badgers up 23-6.

Jesus Montano put the Badgers up 7-0 on a 2-yard plunge with 9:14 left in the first quarter but Julian Lopez picked up a fumbled lateral and ran it back 62 yards to cut the lead down to 7-6 with 1:54 left in the first, with the extra point blocked by the Badger defensive line.

Gary Love finished the night with 118 yards rushing with 37 of those coming on a scamper up the middle to put Tucson up 14-6 in opening moments of the third. Mark Vargas hit on a long field goal to make it 17-6 and then Campos made it 23-6 on his fumble return.

Montano hit Campos from 24-yards out to make it 30-6 with 8:58 left in the third and Rueben Rivera scored with 13.2 seconds left for the 30-12 final. Montano had 137 yards passing and Campos ended with 61 yards receiving. Tucson (2-0) travels to Phoenix Alhambra (0-1) next week.