The Coronado Dons defeated the Arizona College Prep. Knights 40-28 at Coronado High School on Friday.

“Our young guys keep stepping up,” Knights’ Coach Myron Blueford said, “We had three freshmen playing defensive line. It’s the hardest position to play in football, and we got guys who were in junior high last year playing there.”

This Class 3A Metro East matchup was a hard-fought battle as Coronado (1-4, 1-0 region) and Arizona College Prep (0-5, 0-1) were looking for their first wins of the season. With ACP’s young team it can look as if they are playing uphill at times versus an older and physically larger team like the Dons.

Coronado senior running back Dayvion Sumpter ran for 127 yards, one rushing touchdown and a 67-yard punt-return touchdown. While dual-threat junior quarterback and running back Mikel James threw for 214 yards on 14 completions and had three rushing touchdowns.

“The best part about the win was, we faced some adversity.” Coronado Coach Curt LeBlanc said. “We got a little complacent at the end of the half, and we were pretty fired up about it.”

The Knights’ squeezed a safety out of the Dons as junior quarterback Juan Booth inadvertently took a knee in his own end zone. This play was a big momentum swing in favor of the Knights just before the half with the score 27-16 in favor of the Dons.

“We told him to take a knee, but we just had a penalty,” LeBlanc said, “There was a little confusion, and that’s not on him.”

For the Knights’ offense, it was another explosive night for sophomore wide receiver Bryan Dyson. Dyson had 188 yards and three touchdowns all on three receptions, including a 99-yard receiving touchdown.

Dyson left the game briefly in the third quarter with a leg cramp after having scored two touchdowns.

“It was very painful coming back from a cramp.” Dyson said, “but at the end of the day I got to come out here and do my job for everyone.”

It looked like the Knights had a chance to try to come back in the fourth quarter as Coronado led 40-23 when Dyson ran for a 99-yard touchdown. However, the Knights could not capitalize on the possessions with two costly turnovers.

“We have a lot of freshman and sophomores, and in two years these interviews are going to get a lot easier,” Blueford said.