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St. David loses playoff game, 2008 season over
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| Moving forward: Jordan Tracey, left, makes the reception and heads upfield, while Jordan Mayberry comes in to assist. (Adam Bernal/photo.) |
Adam Bernal/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
St. David had a difficult time against the Williams Vikings in the first round of the 1A State playoffs after the Vikings scored 39 unanswered points in a 55-16 loss that ended the Tigers' season.
The Tigers struggled with a smothering and opportunistic Vikings' defense that caused trouble for St. David throughout much of the game. St. David was held scoreless for three quarters while Williams used a strong running game to get the extra yards needed to power the Vikings to victory.
Both teams started out strong early in the opening quarter after Williams scored off a touchdown pass and got the conversion to take an 8-0 lead. St. David answered right back when Tyler Davis threw a long scoring pass to Nathan Mayberry but missed the conversion to trail by two until the Tigers' defense scored on a safety to tie the game at 8-8.
St. David didn't take long to come back when Davis threw another long touchdown pass to Mayberry and got the conversion to go up by eight. Williams went to their running game and found success running against the Tigers' defense to score on a touchdown run and get the conversion to tie the game at 16-16 before the end of the first quarter.
The teams continued to battle in the second quarter until Williams stopped St. David on fourth down and came back to throw a touchdown pass to go up 23-16. St. David turned the ball over on downs and was in trouble after Williams got into the red zone until Jordan Tracey intercepted a potential Vikings' scoring pass to keep the lead at seven before halftime.
After halftime, the Vikings kept feeding their running game and scored again when Tyrell Valdivia bulldozed his way downfield for a touchdown that gave Williams a 13-point lead. The defense got in on the action by forcing a fumble that bounced into the air and into a Viking player's hands, who brought it to the end zone to give Williams a 35-16 advantage.
St. David couldn't stop the bleeding in the third quarter after Williams recovered an on-side kick after just scoring on the previous play. The Vikings marched their way into the Tigers' territory and scored on another touchdown pass to lead 41-16.
St. David finally found some success with the passing game late in the third until the Vikings' Raul Aguilar intercepted a pass to give possession back to Williams. The Vikings came right back down the field and scored off a touchdown pass by Tyler Krombeen to lead 48-16 at the end of the quarter.
With the clock winding down in the final quarter, St. David tried to make something happen by recovering a fumble to work their way to the Williams seven-yard line until an interception in the end zone killed the Tigers' chances. Williams got the ball back and came down the field to score another touchdown to lead 55-16.
After giving themselves a 39-point lead, Williams held St. David in check the rest of the way and defeated the Tigers to win the first-round game and advance to play the Pima Roughriders in the second round.
Due to disciplinary issues with some of the team's starters last week, several St. David junior varsity players got a chance to start the opening quarter against Williams and held up well against the Vikings. Coach Moore did not provide specifics on why some of the players were disciplined.
Freshman Davis and sophomore Mayberry stepped up to the challenge by teaming up for two long touchdown passes to help St. David score their only two touchdowns of the game.
Head Coach Ovean Moore said his team had opportunities to make plays throughout the game, especially in the second quarter, but weren't able to make anything happen when they needed to most. With a 6-3 record and several blowout wins this season, Moore believes they have the ability to play with other good teams and says the coaches have to do a better job of putting them in the best position to win.
"We've had that problem in big games. We seem to lack execution and as a coaching staff we have to figure out why that happens," Moore said.
Moore said that Williams was able to stay consistent with the running game and put pressure on the St. David offense to work their way back into the game, which caused some unneeded turnovers that led to Vikings' touchdowns. Moore said his team kept the score close until some crucial turnovers near the end of the game hurt their chances of making a comeback.
Senior Clinton Goodman said the players had trouble looking for the ball on the field and that Williams' defense did a good job of being in the right place at the right time to get the ball back. The team had a chance to win but Williams kept picking the ball to get the touchdowns they needed to put the game out of reach, he said.
After finishing the final football game of his high school career, Goodman was glad to have had a winning season and said the younger players on the roster showed a lot of heart and impressed a lot of the upperclassmen this year.
"We had a good season and our upcoming JV team is going to make the best of it next year," Goodman said.
With the Tigers' season now concluded, Moore said he hoped to see his team go off the field with a victory but is proud of the effort his players showed against Williams. Moore said this year's seniors were part of his first freshman class when he began his coaching career at St. David and have done a commendable job improving on both the football field and in the classroom.
"We've got a good group of kids that really tried hard and gave us everything they had," Moore said. "I wish nothing but the best for the seniors."
St. David had a difficult time against the Williams Vikings in the first round of the 1A State playoffs after the Vikings scored 39 unanswered points in a 55-16 loss that ended the Tigers' season.
The Tigers struggled with a smothering and opportunistic Vikings' defense that caused trouble for St. David throughout much of the game. St. David was held scoreless for three quarters while Williams used a strong running game to get the extra yards needed to power the Vikings to victory.
Both teams started out strong early in the opening quarter after Williams scored off a touchdown pass and got the conversion to take an 8-0 lead. St. David answered right back when Tyler Davis threw a long scoring pass to Nathan Mayberry but missed the conversion to trail by two until the Tigers' defense scored on a safety to tie the game at 8-8.
St. David didn't take long to come back when Davis threw another long touchdown pass to Mayberry and got the conversion to go up by eight. Williams went to their running game and found success running against the Tigers' defense to score on a touchdown run and get the conversion to tie the game at 16-16 before the end of the first quarter.
The teams continued to battle in the second quarter until Williams stopped St. David on fourth down and came back to throw a touchdown pass to go up 23-16. St. David turned the ball over on downs and was in trouble after Williams got into the red zone until Jordan Tracey intercepted a potential Vikings' scoring pass to keep the lead at seven before halftime.
After halftime, the Vikings kept feeding their running game and scored again when Tyrell Valdivia bulldozed his way downfield for a touchdown that gave Williams a 13-point lead. The defense got in on the action by forcing a fumble that bounced into the air and into a Viking player's hands, who brought it to the end zone to give Williams a 35-16 advantage.
St. David couldn't stop the bleeding in the third quarter after Williams recovered an on-side kick after just scoring on the previous play. The Vikings marched their way into the Tigers' territory and scored on another touchdown pass to lead 41-16.
St. David finally found some success with the passing game late in the third until the Vikings' Raul Aguilar intercepted a pass to give possession back to Williams. The Vikings came right back down the field and scored off a touchdown pass by Tyler Krombeen to lead 48-16 at the end of the quarter.
With the clock winding down in the final quarter, St. David tried to make something happen by recovering a fumble to work their way to the Williams seven-yard line until an interception in the end zone killed the Tigers' chances. Williams got the ball back and came down the field to score another touchdown to lead 55-16.
After giving themselves a 39-point lead, Williams held St. David in check the rest of the way and defeated the Tigers to win the first-round game and advance to play the Pima Roughriders in the second round.
Due to disciplinary issues with some of the team's starters last week, several St. David junior varsity players got a chance to start the opening quarter against Williams and held up well against the Vikings. Coach Moore did not provide specifics on why some of the players were disciplined.
Freshman Davis and sophomore Mayberry stepped up to the challenge by teaming up for two long touchdown passes to help St. David score their only two touchdowns of the game.
Head Coach Ovean Moore said his team had opportunities to make plays throughout the game, especially in the second quarter, but weren't able to make anything happen when they needed to most. With a 6-3 record and several blowout wins this season, Moore believes they have the ability to play with other good teams and says the coaches have to do a better job of putting them in the best position to win.
"We've had that problem in big games. We seem to lack execution and as a coaching staff we have to figure out why that happens," Moore said.
Moore said that Williams was able to stay consistent with the running game and put pressure on the St. David offense to work their way back into the game, which caused some unneeded turnovers that led to Vikings' touchdowns. Moore said his team kept the score close until some crucial turnovers near the end of the game hurt their chances of making a comeback.
Senior Clinton Goodman said the players had trouble looking for the ball on the field and that Williams' defense did a good job of being in the right place at the right time to get the ball back. The team had a chance to win but Williams kept picking the ball to get the touchdowns they needed to put the game out of reach, he said.
After finishing the final football game of his high school career, Goodman was glad to have had a winning season and said the younger players on the roster showed a lot of heart and impressed a lot of the upperclassmen this year.
"We had a good season and our upcoming JV team is going to make the best of it next year," Goodman said.
With the Tigers' season now concluded, Moore said he hoped to see his team go off the field with a victory but is proud of the effort his players showed against Williams. Moore said this year's seniors were part of his first freshman class when he began his coaching career at St. David and have done a commendable job improving on both the football field and in the classroom.
"We've got a good group of kids that really tried hard and gave us everything they had," Moore said. "I wish nothing but the best for the seniors."
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