It will be deja vu for the Mingus Union High School football team Friday, but the Marauders are hoping it’s not deja vu all over again.
After getting thoroughly dominated by Sunrise Mountain High School, 61-17, in Peoria, Friday, Oct. 28, the Marauders will face Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria, Friday, Nov. 4.
Despite the loss, Mingus [6-4] secured a playoff spot as the 14th seed in the 16-team 4A championship, but as fate and the Arizona Interscholastic Association would have it, they are matched against the Mustangs, who are seeded third.
All four Marauders’ losses this season were to high schools that made the playoffs: Higley [seeded 2nd], Sunrise Mountain, Bradshaw Mountain [9th] and Cactus Shadows [11th]. One of their six wins came against a playoff team: Cactus [7th].
Against Sunrise Mountain, Mingus fell behind early, rallied briefly, then watched as the Mustangs galloped away.
The Marauders’ defense came out strong, forcing a three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, but the Mingus offense likewise failed to get a first down on its first series.
After giving up a first down on the first play of Sunrise Mountain’s next possession, the Marauders sacked quarterback Chase Cord on each of the next three plays to force another punt. Senior Juan Ruiz, junior Tyler Kelly, and sophomore Alex Nelson were responsible for the sacks. For the game, Mingus had 9.5 sacks.
After a short punt gave Mingus the ball on the Sunrise Mountain 32, senior quarterback Trey Meyer hit senior Jordan Pollock for a 10-yard gain, then connected with Nelson for
12 yards.
Poised to get on the board first, the Marauders made a key mistake. Meyer held onto the ball a little too long on the option before trying to pitch it back. The ball hit the turf and Sunrise Mountain recovered it at the 7-yard line.
Six plays later, Cord hit a wide-open Garret Veldhuizen on a wheel route that turned into a 64-yard touchdown strike and a 7-0 lead with about three minutes left in the first quarter.
The Marauders tried to answer, driving to the Mustangs’ 26-yard line as the first quarter ended. When the drive stalled, Mingus lined up for a field goal on fourth down and three yards to go.
Instead, holder and backup quarterback sophomore Chaz Taylor took the snap and tried to find a receiver, but his pass under pressure went incomplete.
Nelson recovered a Veldhuizen fumble on the ensuing drive, but the Mingus offense stalled again and punted back to the Mustangs.
On the second play from scrimmage, Cord scrambled away from pressure and took off downfield, taking it 67 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The Marauders would finally light up the scoreboard on their next possession. A failed onside kick attempt gave them the ball near midfield and they drove six plays for the touchdown, a 14-yard pass from Meyer to senior Alejandro Stabreff. Meyer’s extra point kick made the score 14-7.
Cord, who announced earlier this year that he had committed to Boise State University, began to heat up.
On consecutive plays, he had completions of 37 yards and 42 yards, the latter for a touchdown.
The Marauders again turned the ball over on a bad pitch. Two plays later, Cord connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass and a 27-7 lead.
Mingus had its last gasp on the following possession. Senior Jason Groth took the handoff up the middle, made a slight cut to the outside and outran the defense for a 61-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 27-14.
Groth carried the ball 11 times for 117 yards in the game, and surpassed 1,000 yards for the season.
Sunrise Mountain received the ensuing kickoff with 1:27 left in the first half. Cord connected on passes of 26 yards and 14 yards before hitting Veldhuizen with a 20-yard touchdown pass and a 33-14 lead with 30 seconds left.
It was enough time, however, for the Marauders to drive down the field, thanks in large part to Groth’s 27-yard run. With three seconds left, Meyer hit a 35-yard field goal, the Marauders final points of the game.
Sunrise Mountain scored 28 points in the second half to make the final score 61-17.
