A 35-minute delay, and an extra-long halftime, meant a longer than usual Friday night for the southside faithful, but Pueblo overcame the slow start and eventually put together over 430 yards of offense to beat Cholla 41-15 at home. The victory moved the Warriors to 3-0 on the year and the Chargers fell to 1-3 but the bigger concern is for Cholla senior Moses Nelson.

Nelson took the opening kick and he appeared to go down awkwardly after running a few yards prior to any contact with Pueblo defenders. Nelson is the second biggest playmaker for the Charges behind senior Russell Adams and the crowd grew quiet when it became apparent Nelson’s injury might be serious. All fears were realized when moments became minutes and an ambulance was called in to care for Nelson.

(Former Pueblo coach Saturnino “Curly” Santa Cruz/Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

It is unknown what Nelson’s injury might be, but Nelson was taken to a local hospital after 35 minutes. The delay seemed to carry over to the pace of play but the Warriors struck first thanks to a 1-yard dash from senior RB Jose Encinas with 1:31 left in the first quarter. The kick failed and Cholla took a 7-6 lead after junior QB Carlos Marquez hit senior Estevan Reyna down the sidelines on a 55-yard score with 8:45 left in the first half.

The Chargers were driving once again later in the quarter but Hassan Aden came up with an interception and the Warriors cashed in on a 21-yard run from senior Julián Lopez to go up 12-7 entering the half.

Pueblo held a stadium dedication ceremony at halftime and the school recognized longtime coach Saturnino “Curly” Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz was a member of the 1961 state championship team under another legend in Lou Farber. After college, Santa Cruz started coaching at Pueblo and he directed the 1988 team to ten wins before losing to eventual state champion Agua Fria in the second round. His 1990 squad was the last team to make the state playoffs until current head coach, former University of Arizona and NFL standout Brandon Sanders, led the program to the state playoffs in 2015 and again in 2017.

Sanders presented Santa Cruz with a helmet and a jersey and he kept his team on the field for the halftime ceremony.

The Warriors received the kick after the halftime celebration but a quick fumble was recovered by Matthew Velador and the Chargers used the short field to take a 15-12 lead thanks to a 5-yard run from Adams and a 2-point conversion.

Sanders predicted his team would need to show grit the rest of the way and the Warriors took the game over from that point. Edgar Lopez scored from 5-yards out to give Pueblo an 18-15 lead, Fernando medina ran one in from 13 yards to put the Warriors up 26-15 and Gianni Frias came up with an interception to send the Warriors to the final quarter with that 26-15 lead.

Enrique Cancio ran another score in from 4-yards out and Zaid Gamez returned an interception back 75 yards for the 41-15 final.

Senior QB Marcelino Vega finished with 83 yards passing and 63 yards rushing but Lopez put together 172 yards rushing to lead the Warriors. Marquez led Cholla with 147 yards passing, Reyna pulled down 69 yards receiving and Adams finished with 50 yards receiving and 43 yards rushing.

Pueblo will visit Sunnyside (1-2) next week before finishing the regular season out with six 4A Conference games, including five 4A Gila Region matches. As mentioned before, the Warriors are now 3-0 and the program hasn’t started out 4-0 since 1992. The 1958 team started out 5-0.

Pueblo beat Sunnyside 7-6 in 2017 but the Blue Devils came out on top 21-14 last year.

Cholla has a difficult road ahead with 4-0 Sahuaro visiting next week before 5A Sonoran Region play kicks in.

 

 

SOUTHERN ARIZONA RESULTS

 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

 

2A Morenci (2-1) over 2A Willcox (1-2), 14-6

 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

 

6A Tucson (3-1) over 6A North (0-4), 38-14

Tucson holds a 20-10 record over North dating back to 1941.

 

5A Buena (2-1) over 5A Empire (1-2), 42-7

Buena is 2-0 against Empire.

 

5A Centennial (2-1) over 5A Cienega (1-2), 38-14

Centennial is 4-0 against Cienega since 2016.

 

5A Campo Verde (4-0) over 5A Ironwood Ridge (1-2), 28-14

Campo Verde is 2-0 against Ironwood Ridge.

 

5A Casteel (3-1) over 5A Mountain View (0-3), 25-13

Casteel is 2-0 against Mountain View.

 

5A Desert View (2-1) over 5A Marana (0-4), 33-14

Marana is 11-8 against Desert View dating back to 1985.

 

5A Nogales (3-0) over 4A Rio Rico (2-2), 17-14

Nogales is 11-0 against Rio Rico since 1997 including a 45-0 win last year.

 

4A Pueblo (3-0) over 5A Cholla (1-3), 41-15

Pueblo holds a 29-15 record over Cholla dating back to 1972.

 

4A Amphitheater (3-1) over 5A Flowing Wells (0-4), 38-0

Amphitheater holds a very slim 14-12-1 record over the Caballeros of Flowing Wells dating back to a 7-7 tie in 1961.

 

5A Rincon/UHS (2-1) over 3A Tanque Verde (0-3), 61-14

Tanque Verde and Rincon/UHS are 1-1 against each other.

 

4A Sahuaro (4-0) over 4A Marcos de Niza (1-2), 20-13

Sahuaro is 2-0 Marcos de Niza.

 

4A Casa Grande (2-2) over 4A Walden Grove (2-1), 33-21

Walden Grove and Casa Grande are 1-1 against each other.

 

4A Douglas (2-2) over 3A Catalina (0-3), 50-0

Douglas holds a 20-17 lead on Catalina dating back to 1963.

 

4A Canyon del Oro (4-0) over 3A Pusch Ridge (1-2), 21-0

Canyon del Oro is 2-0 against Pusch Ridge.

 

3A Sabino (2-1) over 4A Catalina Foothills (1-3), 20-14

Sabino is 10-3 against Catalina Foothills dating back to 1995.

 

3A Coolidge (4-0) over 3A Sahuarita (1-2), 41-12

Coolidge is 25-2 against Sahuarita dating back to 1980.

 

2A Santa Cruz (3-1) over 3A Kingman (2-1), 48-8

Santa Cruz is 1-0 against Kingman.

 

2A Benson (3-0) over 2A Santa Rita (1-2), 43-0

Benson is 2-0 over Santa Rita.

 

2A Bisbee (3-0) over 2A Miami (2-1), 20-14

Miami is 14-7 against Bisbee since 1969.

 

2A Antelope (2-1) over 2A Tombstone (1-2), 49-0

Antelope is 7-4 against Tombstone since 1965. Tombstone won 68-38 last year.

 

1A Hayden (3-0) over 1A Baboquivari (2-2), 42-20

Hayden is 9-2 over Baboquivari dating back to 1970.

 

1A Anthem Prep (2-2) over 1A St. David (1-6), 22-16

Anthem Prep is 2-0 over St. David.

 

1A Mogollon (3-1) over 1A Valley Union (1-3), 60-6

Mogollon is 6-2 against Valley Union since 1996.

 

BYES

5A Sunnyside (1-2)

4A Salpointe (2-0)

4A Palo Verde (1-2)

2A San Manuel (1-2)

 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

6A Tucson at 5A Mountain View

5A Buena at 5A Desert View

5A Cienega at 5A Rincon/UHS

5A Ironwood Ridge at 5A Centennial

5A Marana at 5A Williams Field

5A Flowing Wells at 5A Paradise Valley

4A Sahuaro at 5A Cholla

4A Pueblo at 5A Sunnyside

4A Walden Grove at 5A Nogales

4A Palo Verde at 5A Empire

4A Canyon del Oro at 4A Amphitheater

4A Silver City (NM) at 4A Douglas

4A Casa Grande at 4A Rio Rico

4A Cactus at 4A Salpointe

3A Payson at 3A Catalina

3A Pusch Ridge at 3A Snowflake

3A Blue Ridge at 3A Sabino

3A Tanque Verde at 3A Winslow

2A Thatcher at 2A Benson

2A Bisbee at 2A Pima

2A Santa Rita at 2A Miami

2A Globe at 2A Tombstone

2A San Manuel at 2A Willcox

2A Santa Cruz at 2A Morenci

1A Valley Union at 1A Baboquivari (South Region Game)

1A St. David at 1A Ft. Thomas (South Region Game)

 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

3A Sahuarita at 3A Holbrook, 6 p.m.

 

BYE

4A Catalina Foothills