After carrying the momentum for much of the first quarter, a two-play series with seconds left in the second quarter doomed Scottsdale Coronado during its 44-3 home loss to Maricopa on Friday night.
Down 7-3 with 16 seconds left in the first half, Coronado (3-4) set up to punt the ball to Maricopa (4-3), but the snap cleared the Dons' punters' head and landed beyond the end zone for a safety. A quick kick return and 12 seconds later, Maricopa quarterback Caleb Buck found receiver Tim Byrd for a 31-yard touchdown pass, putting the Rams up 16-3 going into halftime.
“We just got blown out from there,” Coronado coach B.J. Pasquel said.
The Rams' scoring spree continued into the second half, as the Maricopa's offense scored on all three of its possessions and linebacker Bryant Downes found the end zone on a fumble recovery, sending the Dons to a tough homecoming loss.
Maricopa 44, Coronado 3
Maricopa 0 16 21 7 – 44
Coronado 3 0 0 0 – 3
First downs: Maricopa 12, Coronado 12
Rushes-yards: Maricopa 23-104, Coronado 45-219
Passing yards: Maricopa 162, Coronado 15
Comp-Att-Int: Maricopa 12-25-0, Coronado 2-3-0
Fumbles-lost: Maricopa 0-0, Coronado 5-2
Penalties-yards: Maricopa 4-20, Coronado 7-63
C – Benitez 25-yard field goal
M – Coleman 2-yard run (Staehs kick)
M – Safety
M – Byrd 31-yard pass from Buck (Staehs kick)
M – Coleman 21-yard pass from Buck (Staehs kick)
M – Coleman 20-yard run (Staehs kick)
M – Downes 14-yard fumble recovery (Staehs kick)
M – Vong 5-yard run (Staehs kick)
