By Stan Granch
MaxPreps.com
Last weekend was big for a pair of Tucson-based schools, but for entirely different reasons.
First, Salpointe Catholic more than lived up to its MaxPreps.com ranking by handling last year’s 5A-I champion (highest level in Arizona) Brophy College Prep, 17-9, before a raucous crowd.
“That student body was our 12th man,” Salpointe coach Dennis Bare told the Arizona Daily Star.
Helping ignite the crowd was wide receiver Mike Descisciolo, who took a simple slant pass 64 yards for the go-ahead score late in the third quarter. The 6-foot, 175-pound senior recorded his second straight 100-plus yard receiving game, finishing with five catches good for 136 yards.
“Being counted out by everyone just made us want this one even more,” Descisciolo told the Daily Star. “We knew what we had; it was just a mater of executing.”
“(Descisciolo) is a great high school football player,” Brophy head coach Scooter Molander told the Tucson Citizen. “He, along with our penalties on offense, was the difference.”
Descisciolo also helped Salpointe win the field position battle with a 41-yard kickoff return and later sealed the game with a 54-yard reception late in the fourth quarter.
With the victory, Salpointe (3-0) moved up to No. 3 in the Grand Canyon State according to the latest MaxPreps.com rankings. The Lancers take their unbeaten record on the road vs. Sunnyside, which is 2-1 and enters the contest fresh off a 42-0 triumph over Central.
Brophy, which had been featured early in the week by NBC’s “NFL Sunday Night Football,” is now 2-2 and falls to No. 14. The Broncos have another huge test at they battle undefeated Mountain View (Mesa).
On the other end of the spectrum was Tucson High School, which hadn’t won a game on the field in nearly three years (the Badgers did get a forfeit victory last year).
The school’s run of misfortune came to an end in emphatic fashion as the Badgers crushed Alhambra, 54-7, ending a 25-game losing streak.
“I’m so happy for those kids,” Tucson head coach Vince Smith told the Citizen. “As a coach you need to learn to accept winning and losing and find ways to move on. But for the kids in the locker room, I know their faith had been shaken a little. It had to be. So for them to do what they did tonight, it was a long time in coming and they deserve it.”
What had to give Smith even more satisfaction is the fact his team didn’t give up, despite entering the contest off a 50-8 loss to Corona del Sol.
Perhaps a reason for the victory was moving senior Daniel Malone from defensive back to wide receiver. The 6-1, 195-pound speedster caught four passes for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“He moved to receiver this week so we could take advantage of his athleticism and also try and free up William (Griffin),” Smith said. “It worked for him and for William, they both caught two touchdowns.”
Tucson is now 1-2 and takes on Mountain View (Tucson) this week, which is also 1-2. Alhambra has yet to win in three contests. The Lions, who have given up 162 points in those three loses travel to play Dobson, which is 1-3.
Notes
* The single-game record for passing yards went down in flames as Desert Ridge’s Kevin Pantastico threw for 595 yards. Despite the accomplishment, the Jaguars fell to Red Mountain, 43-40. The best may be yet to come for Desert Ridge as Pantastico is only a sophomore. The 6-1, 158-pound quarterback completed 23 of 44 passes and threw six touchdowns against three interceptions in the record-setting game. The Jaguars are 1-2 and host Sunrise Mountain this week, which is also 1-2.
* Scottsdale Christian Academy and Joseph City were in a game like no other Friday. SCA is Class 2A, but Joseph City is 1A, which in Arizona is the 8-man football division. So which rules do you follow? The answer was simple, both. When Joseph City was on offense, the 8-man rules, including the smaller and narrower field were in force and then when it was time for Eagles to have the ball everything reverted back to the normal 11-man set up. By the way, SCA won the game 37-26, improving to 3-0, while Joseph City falls to 2-1.
