Gilbert San Tan Charter played inspired defense against Santa Cruz Valley in Friday’s high school football showdown of the top 2 teams in the AIA's 2A Conference.
Santa Cruz valley (7-1) entered the game No. 1 in The Arizona Republic's 2A Conference rankings, and San Tan Charter (7-0) No. 2. Those positions were reversed in the AIA's initial 2A rankings released earlier in the week.
The Roadrunners' forced three turnovers on downs, two fumbles and two interceptions. Another stellar outing from versatile two-way player Uriah Neloms led the Roadrunners to a win, 24-15.
Key Plays
Santa Cruz’s O’Ryan Williams got things going for the Dust Devils with a fumble recovery returned all the way to San Tan Charter's 8-yard line. A couple penalties and Roadrunner stops later, Santa Cruz went for it on 4th-and-25, but couldn’t convert.
With 2:30 left in the first, Neloms showed off his legs and took it up the middle for a 55-yard touchdown. The Roadrunners held a 6-0 lead after a missed 2-point conversion.
San Tan's Timi Akinyoyenu had things rolling on both sides of the field. He picked up a loose ball after a completed pass was knocked loose by Christian Munoz. Then, with a little over two minutes to play in the half, he caught a 47-yard strike from Neloms for a touchdown. The 2-point conversion was good this time and San Tan was up 14-0 at the break.
Santa Cruz came out in the second half swinging, putting together an efficient drive that concluded with Juan Juarez reaching into the end zone after quarterback Nathan Harris delivered a dart.
But the Roadrunners were resilient. On fourth down, they faked the punt to get the first down, and the next play, Dwayne Jones caught a short pass and ran it 45 yards for a touchdown. Roadrunners up 14.
San Tan’s defense continued to show out. They forced another fumble, which was recovered by the Dust Devils only for Brody Prassas to intercept a pass from Nathan Harris on the next play. The Roadrunners would force another turnover on downs when Santa Cruz went for it on 4th-and-goal.
Then it was the defense, again, that closed it out. With two minutes to play, Jayden Williams tipped a pass attempt into the air, and it was none other than Neloms who came up with the interception. Then it was victory formation for the Roadrunners.
Key Players
Neloms started the Roadrunners’ scoring with a 55-yard rush and contributed two touchdowns through the air. He even added an interception to the stat sheet to close out the game. Timi Akinyoyenu got it done on both sides. He recovered a fumble for San Tan, then caught a 47-yard touchdown.
Quotes
“It sucks,” said San Tan head coach Chase Cartwright on what it’s like to play against Santa Cruz. “They’re big, they’re physical, they’re well-coached, they’re disciplined … Hopefully we’ll see them down the road again.”
“Todd Peat being our defensive coordinator, a former high school teammate of mine, he’s come in and done just an incredible job leading that entire group of defense,'' Cartwright added.
“Trust in the game plan. Coach Chase had us in a position to win. We just executed our game plan.” – San Tan’s Uriah Neloms
Next Up
Santa Cruz (7-1) will play in a home game against Sequoia Pathway (1-6) next Friday, while San Tan Charter (7-0) heads out on the road against Heritage Academy (5-2).