Kyle Nicolai (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

Effort is hard to define. You know what it looks like when you see it but it’s almost impossible to gauge and you certainly can’t coach it. Simply, if a player has it, they are on the field and if a player shows it, he gives his team has a chance to win. Such was the case Friday night when Kyle Nicolai “ran faster than he had ever run before” to intercept a tipped ball at the goal line with 15 seconds left to preserve a 24-21 win for Ironwood Ridge over Canyon del Oro.

The Amphitheater School District rivalry had its usual standouts on the field with Nick Brahler gaining 218 yards on 18 carries to lead Ironwood Ridge (4-0) and Elijah Carey rushing 32 times for 229 yards for Canyon del Oro (2-1) but big games with big names are usually decided by team effort and the unknown. In this case, Nicolai was one of the “unknown” factors.

“Coaches told me to stay on top and watch out for the post,” Nicolai explained. “I saw where the play was going and I flew over there. I ran faster than I had ever run before and my DB (Thomas O’Halloran) tipped the ball. I was at the right place at the right time.”

It takes coaching, skill and execution to be “at the right place at the right time” and the Dorados matched the Nighthawks at all levels only to come up inches short, though by no fault of their own. The game came down to the final seconds and both teams fought to be in position to win.

The Dorados came up with the first big defensive play of the game when the Nighthawks were forced to give up the ball on downs after taking the opening drive down to the 24-yard line with 7:59 left in the first.

Zachary Eidenschink is one of those relatively “unknowns” in a world full of standouts named “Jamarye Joiner” and “Trenton Bourguet” but the junior QB has quietly led the Dorados back to a regional power and he showed what he was capable of after he hit fellow junior Jose Cruz for 76 yards to put the Dorados up 7-0 to capitalize on the defensive stop.

A fumble on the Nighthawk’s next possession gave the Dorados another shot but the drive ended in a punt and Ironwood Ridge was back in business but things didn’t look so favorable. The Dorado defense forced the Nighthawks into a long third down at their own 10 but Andrew Cook picked 30 yards around the outside and then Heath Beemiller rushed for five more to set up a 53-yard throw from Beemiller to Jadon Price to tie the game up 7-7 with 24.8 seconds left in the quarter.

Trevor Parry hit on a 22-yard field goal to put Ironwood Ridge up 10-7 with 4:47 left in the half but Eidenschink came right back connected with Cruz once more on a 40-yard strike to put the Dorados up 14-10 at the half.

Eidenschink finished the night with 154 yards passing and Cruz pulled down 133 of those.

The game was a standstill until Brahler bulldozed his way in from eight yards out to put Ironwood Ridge up 17-14 with 2:13 left in the third but Eidenschink ripped off a 65-yard run to set up Carey from five yards out to put the Dorados back on top, 21-17, with 11:52 left in the game.

Brahler responded with a 38-yard scoring run to give Ironwood Ridge a 24-21 lead with 9:46 left but the Dorados were still fighting.

“I told you one game at time,” Canyon del Oro head coach Dusty Peace said to his players after the game. “We reached our goal defensively but we needed just one more play. This loss had nothing to do with your effort or focus.”

The Dorados ran 12 plays and took the clock down to 2:55 but the Nighthawk defense came up big and forced the ball back on downs at their own 20. Not to be outdone, the Dorados stuffed the Nighthawks on three straight plays, forcing a punt with 1:22 left in the game.

Starting at his own 36, Eidenschink hit Carey on a 20-yard pass and then Carey rushed for four more. An incomplete pass was followed by an 11-yrd run from Carey and then a seven-yard dash from Eidenschink. The Dorados looked up and they were only 22 yards away from a win with 27.1 seconds left.

Eidenschink spiked the ball to stop the clock and then Carey ran for six yards to move the ball to the 16 with 21 seconds left. Another spike stopped the clock again with 17.7 seconds left and then Nicolai picked off the next pass at the goal line to preserve the win.

“We were that close,” Peace added. “How you react to this will determine who you will be.”

If this game was any indicator, both teams are already more than what others thought they were. And we are only one third of the way in….

The Dorados will host Amphitheater (0-3) next Friday while the Nighthawks have a bye.