Mingus Union football played its homecoming game Friday Oct. 4, when the Marauders faced off against the Flagstaff Eagles.
The opening Eagles’ kickoff was handled by Rimington Stokes, who brought the return to the Marauders’ 25 yard line. Despite this field position, the Marauders still had a long way to go if they wanted to take an early lead.
The first play of the game featured the Marauders’ running back Stokes with an electric 48-yard run getting the Marauders down to the Eagles’ 27-yard line. Everything was looking up, but after a few more running plays to Stokes, the Marauders were up against a third down and short, and had to get momentum in their favor to convert and score a touchdown.
After a third-down conversion from Stokes, quarterback Dawson Rice scrambled for a 16-yard touchdown, giving the Marauders an early 6-0 lead. Stokes — who is the kicker as well as the running back — scored the extra point.
The Eagles responded to the early pressure the Marauders had put on them with a big return, starting off at their own 37-yard line. The Eagles’ first drive was a pass almost intercepted by Mauraders cornerback Xavier Thompson, who, unfortunately, did not get his feet within bounds after making the catch.
The second was a run by Eagles running back Jadon Wetzel, then Eagles tight end Jason Laughing for a first down.
After two short runs by Wetzel, Eagles quarterback Chase Brown connected with his receiver with a pass, putting the Eagles on the Marauders’ 13 yard line.
Wetzel scored a touchdown and the Eagles scored the extra point, tieing the game 7-7.
A return by Rimington Stokes started the Marauders’ second offensive drive on their own 30-yard line. After a short run by Stokes, the Eagles sacked Rice.
A pass put the Marauders’ ball on the Eagles’ 48-yard line and were looking to score their second touchdown with a running play by Stokes that put Mingus on the Eagles’ 35-yard line. After a few unsuccessful runs, the Marauders tried to pass on third down, but Rice threw an interception. The Marauders’ defense stepped up, forcing the Eagles to go three and out and forcing them to punt, which went almost 50 yards. The Marauders took over at their own 23-yard line, but found nothing on the drive and were forced to punt back to the Eagles. The last play of the first quarter was a 15-yard run by Wetzel, sending the game into the second quarter with a tied score.
“I knew that they could establish the run game against us, and we were getting pretty good yardage per carry when we did attempt to pass the ball,” MUHS coach Aaron Midkiff said. “We just had a really hard time giving the quarterback time and he’s having a hard time throwing the ball quickly to be able to get these passes accomplished, so we had plenty of pass plays they just couldn’t execute.”
The second quarter did not start off well for the Marauders, as they gave up a wide-open pass to an Eagles receiver, putting the Eagles on the Marauders’ 1-yard line. A Eagles quarterback sneak scored the second touchdown, followed by an extra point conversion, making the score 14-7.
After a few more nice runs by Stokes, he fumbled, resulting in a turnover to the Eagles. The Eagles marched all the way down inside the Marauders’ 20-yard line, but were forced to attempt a field goal after not being able to score on third down. The field goal missed. The Marauders took over, but with 1:30 left in the second quarter, they went three and out, resulting in a punt and returning possession back to the Eagles.
On the first play of the Eagles’ drive, Brown threw an interception to Stokes, which resulted in a defensive touchdown for the Marauders.
With the score 14-13, the Marauders had a chance to tie with a successful extra point. However the kick missed to the Marauders’ detriment.
Going into halftime, though the Marauders were down by one point, confidence was high after Stokes’ pick 6. The third quarter started with Stokes kicking the ball into the endzone, resulting in the Eagles taking possession at their own 20-yard line; however the Eagles were unable to get a first down and were forced to punt.
The Marauders proceeded to march down the field, but were eventually stopped at the Eagles’ 35-yard line, facing a third and 12. The Marauders called a timeout, but the Eagles defense sacked Rice on the next play, forcing the Marauders to punt again. The Eagles went three and out, then punted back to the Marauders. However, after the return fumbled, Eagles pounced on it, giving them yet another chance to find the endzone and increase their lead. Despite another chance and even better field possession, the Eagles were forced to punt again due to the strong Marauders defense.
The third quarter ended with the Marauders further establishing their strong running game, but as soon as the fourth quarter started, a nice pass from Rice was followed by a scramble, putting the Marauders inside the 15-yard line.
An offensive holding call brought the Marauders back 10 yards. Things did not get better for the Marauders on third down. Rice’s pocket collapsed, resulting in his getting sacked, forcing the Marauders to punt. When all hope seemed lost, wide receiver Koby de la Haye caught a huge interception pass.
Despite the offense getting all the way inside the Eagles’ 30 yard line and the Marauders fighting, it was not enough on fourth down as Rice through an incomplete pass, ending the game with the Marauders losing 14-13.
“We had high hopes watching films and practicing this week, that we had a good chat shot against Flagstaff,” Midkiff said. “I feel like this game was completely winnable. Again, our mistakes is what took it away from us.
“A couple defensive players did a good job; Rimington Stokes had an interception for a touchdown. Kobe de la Haye had an interception. [Running back, wide receiver and outside linebacker] Shane Chupp played really good at his position, made some good key tackles.”
“We just had way too many mistakes on offense and defense; gave away the ball on turnovers and had a couple key penalties that really hurt us for field position” Midkiff said. “We just have to continue preparing our boys in practice to cut out the mental mistakes and keep up the intensity. Couple players [are] down with injuries, but the backup guys and the section guys, we’re going to have to step up and figure out how to play those positions.”
The next Mingus Marauders home game will take place on Friday, Oct. 18, when they will be facing the Bradshaw Mountain Bears.
