Friday Night Lights Week 14: Stars shine bright
Yuma Catholic hangs on state playoff opener while Palo Verde earns respect in Coronado
YUMA, Ariz. ( KYMA, KECY-TV ) - The Yuma Catholic Shamrocks used an onside kick with just over 7:00 minutes remaining in the second quarter to turn the tide against Buckeye Union on Friday night. After a Richard Stallworth connected with Dion Quintana on a 48 yard touchdown to tie the score at 21. Head coach Rhett Stallworth they called for an onside kick. On the kick Shamrock sophomore Hunter Hancock jarred the ball loose, freshman Gabriel Cota recovered the loose ball to give the ball back to the Shamrock offense. Stallworth then would hit Sir Stokes on a 36 yard strike to give the Shamrocks back the lead.
Yuma Catholic would score 21 unanswered points heading into the halftime locker room with a 42-21 lead. The Shamrocks would hold off a second half rally by the Hawks and hang on to 56-42 victory, punctuated by a 30 yard touchdown pass from Richard Stallworth to Jared Marquez and solidified by an interception by sophomore Darryl Coleman.
The Shamrocks will have another home game in the state quarterfinals next Friday, November 25th when they host Lake Havasu. The 13th seeded Knights defeated 4th seed Poston Butte 42-24. Yuma Catholic defeated Lake Havasu on the road 28-14 on September 16th.
In California, the Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets, led by three touchdowns from Marcus Macon, defeated Coronado 35-15 in Coronado. The win for the Yellow Jackets sends Palo Verde to the CIF San Diego Section Division IV championship game against fallbrook next Friday. Last year, Palo Verde won the CIF Division V championship.
The Central Spartans hopes of winning their first CIF championship since 1947 were thwarted on Friday against the Ramona Bulldogs. Despite playing at home as a #2 seed, the Spartans lost 19-7.
