Tim Iannello
ASU Student Journalist

Padres hold off late comeback by Poston Butte, wins 41-38

October 12, 2019 by Tim Iannello, Arizona State University


The Marcos de Niza Padres defeated the Poston Butte Broncos Friday night, 41-38. It was their fourth consecutive victory. (Photo: Tim Iannello/AZPreps365)

Tim Iannello is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Marcos de Niza High School for AZPreps365.com

In a thrilling nail-biter Friday night, the Marcos de Niza Padres held off the Poston Butte Broncos in the final moments of the game to secure a 41-38 win.

The home win brings the Padres to a 5-2 record, while dropping the Broncos to 3-4. The Broncos have lost three straight while the Padres have now won four in a row.

The game was filled large rushing numbers. The Padres totaled 312 yards and five touchdowns, while the Broncos gained 368 rushing yards and had four touchdowns. The Padres' leading rusher was once again Yakeen Baylis, who churned out 266 yards and all five of his team's rushing touchdowns.

The Padres' passing game was stagnant until starting quarterback Antonio Hernandez  left the game due to an equipment violation. The Padres subbed in freshman Jorge Beltran and let him finish the game. Hernandez totaled 88 yards while going 8-for-18. Beltran finished the game going 4-for-6 with 67 yards and a touchdown.

The offense wasn’t the only unit to show up Friday. Senior outside linebacker Micah Willingham recovered two fumbles and almost returned one for a touchdown before being stopped at the 6-yard line.

“With the first one I thought, these refs better not take it back,” Willingham said. “Then the second one I wanted to take that back to the house.”

A huge momentum swing came in the first quarter on a fourth-and-six. Punter Jacob Irick took the snap and rushed for eight yards, gaining the first down.

“It was big,” head coach Eric Lauer said. “We just put it in this week because our snapper got hurt and he couldn’t fully long snap.”

Though the result of that drive was a fumble by Baylis, Willingham recovered a fumble on the next drive and then Baylis rushed for a 64-yard TD to tie the game, 14-14, in the second quarter.

The Broncos also had a few momentous plays.  They attempted two-point conversions after every touchdown, converting four times out of five.

“We don’t have much of a kicking game,” Poston Butte head coach Dain Thompson  said. “We’ve only attempted two extra points all year.”

Adding to the lack of kicking, the Broncos also kicked the ball out of bounds on two kickoffs, which resulted in penalties.

The final two minutes of the game was exhilarating for both teams. The Padres possessed the ball with just over two minutes left but were forced to punt from the opposing 40-yard line with 2:21 left in the game. That's when the Broncos mounted a 13-play, 82-yard drive that was ultimately unsuccessful.

Two defensive pass interference calls aided the Broncos as they marched down the field, but in the end they suffered two delay of game penalties of their own. With six seconds left, Broncos quarterback Gavin Lloyd threw an incompletion through the end zone as time expired.

The Padres will have a tough matchup when they host the Saguaro Sabercats (6-1) next Friday, while the Broncos will host the Mesquite Wildcats (5-2).