Cibola falls to Valley Vista in shootout
Raiders’ 3-game win streak ends
Buckeye Union got off to a 21-0 start by the end of the first quarter, and despite keeping the score close the rest of the way, the Criminals fell by four touchdowns in their 4A Southwest Region opener.
Yuma High coach Curt Weber said Buckeye Union’s (4-2 overall, 1-0 4A SW) read-option running game caused fits for the Criminals’ (1-5, 0-1) defense early on.
“We had trouble finding the ball, and once we found it, they were already running down the field,” Weber said over the phone.
But after the first quarter, the Hawks outscored the Criminals by just one touchdown the rest of the way.
Quarterback Isaac Ignacio, filling in for in- jured starter Alex Guerra (hand), was 11-for-21 with 163 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The score came on a 24-yard pass to Damian Miller. Isaiah Joya had Yuma High’s other score, a 5-yard run.
Yuma High’s second region game will be Friday at
SW: 5-0 overall GR: 2-4 overall
home against Youngker.
Southwest (Calif.) 38, Gila Ridge 14
The Gila Ridge football team played a strong first half and stayed within 10
Another impressive offensive showing wasn’t quite enough for the Cibola football team Friday night in Surprise, where a 42-34 loss to Valley Vista snapped the Raiders’ threegame winning streak.
Cibola (4-3 overall) led at various points throughout the game, including 34-28 entering the fourth quarter, and had a chance to take a late lead but missed a 36-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining.
“I was really proud of our guys,” Cibola coach Lucky Arvizo said. “(Valley Vista) is a pretty quality team on both sides of the ball. Our guys played extremely well.”
Senior quarterback Curtis Wolfe finished 31 of 48 for 390 yards and three touchdowns, senior running back Jesus Romero carried 22 times for 87 yards and two scores, senior receiver Miguel Alvarado had 11 catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns, and senior tight end Mark Walton had seven catches for 121 yards and one touchdown.
Senior Gabriel Claudio, the team’s No. 1 receiver,
VV: 4-2 overall C: 4-3 overall
was held out of the end zone for the first time in six weeks, but still managed to finish with seven receptions for 97 yards.
Valley Vista (4-2), ranked No. 19 in 6A, also entered the evening on a threegame winning streak, with its most recent loss coming by just three points to a Skyline team that’s ranked No. 5 in 6A.
But Cibola proved it wouldn’t be overmatched early, jumping out to a 14-0 lead thanks to touchdowns by first-quarter touchdowns by Walton (43 yards from Wolfe) and Alvarado (20 yards from Wolfe). Valley Vista responded with consecutive touchdowns in the second quarter, the first of which was a long punt return score, before Romero scored from eight yards out