The Cowboys saw their 2012 season come to an end as their heated cross-valley rival took revenge on them for last year.
The Camp Verde High School Cowboys [1-9] traveled to Cottonwood to continue the once-heated rivalry with the Mingus Union High School Marauders [7-3] on Friday, Oct. 27. The Marauders showed how powerful their game on the gridiron is as they beat the Cowboys 74-8. The rivalry is now 1-1 as the Cowboys beat the Marauders 41-31 in 2011 when the Camp Verde-Mingus Union game was reinstated.
Camp Verde knew it would be a rebuilding year, but it struggled with loss of players due to grades and injuries toward the end of the season.
With fewer than 20 players on Friday night, the Cowboys lacked depth, giving the Marauders an easy advantage, particularly in the second half as the Cowboys tired out since many players had to play on both sides of the ball. Senior Doug Ashley was playing six positions: running back, safety, punter, place kicker, punt returner and kick returner.
The Cowboys started with the ball, but a fumble recovered by the Marauders allowed them to score the first touchdown of the game — a 21-yard run on a third-and-4.
Cowboys senior quarterback Kyle Lobaugh pushed his team for a first down with the help of Ashley and junior Tyler Dickey, but the Marauders strong defense prevented them from crossing into Marauder territory.
Marauder senior Tyler Herndon had a 46-yard touchdown run on the next Mingus Union drive.
The Marauders defense continued to give the Cowboys nowhere to run, but the Cowboys defense stepped up for the rest of the first quarter as they held the Marauders to fourth down.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Oct. 31 issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
