September 4, 2004
Roy Lopez was given the game ball to mark his first victory as coach of Marcos de Niza after the Padres opened the season in convincing fashion with a 52-0 win over visiting Phoenix Carl Hayden.
"They waited a long time for this game," Lopez said of his team. "They’ve got great senior leadership. It’s all very contagious. We’re just extremely excited."
Carl Hayden had a chance to score first with a field goal, but the attempt was blocked.
Another drive ended when the Falcons fumbled and Avery Anderberg recovered the ball. On the next play, Terrance Hooks skirted around right end 42 yards for a TD.
Early in the second quarter, Hooks scored again on a 9-yard run up the middle, capping a 10-play, 79-yard drive that was highlighted by a 28-yard pass play from quarterback Adam Reyes to Omar Rodriguez.
Carl Hayden fumbled on two separate occasions in the second period, contributing to a pair of Padre touchdowns, as the Falcons could not get beyond their own 30-yard line.
In the third period, Carl Hayden was stopped on downs on its own 48. Marcos de Niza took advantage of the short field, scoring on one play as Reyes hit Tristan McClelland, who took it away from a defender and scampered into the end zone.
In the fourth period, Marcos de Niza stopped Carl Hayden’s most impressive drive of the game after 10 plays when Antonio Harris intercepted a Jose Rubio pass on the Padres’ 38. Three plays later, Eric Caballes ran 34 yards around left end for what appeared to be a touchdown, but a penalty nullified it. On the next play, Rubin Gonzalez ran around right end and scored.
Jimmy Klingensmith scored the Padres’ final touchdown on a 30-yard fumble return.
Though Lopez was not surprised by the ease with which his team beat Carl Hayden, he wasn’t fully satisfied with the play of his team.
"We’ve got a lot of things to improve on," he said.
Even so, he had a special game ball to treasure.
