Thatcher in driver’s seat in 3A South
By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – Thatcher senior Kody Bingham ran for 177 yards and scored 4 touchdowns in Thatcher’s rout over Tucson Sabino on Thursday, 41-12.
“It was our first region foe (and) we were just kind of dialing it up,” said Thatcher head coach Daniel Jones. “I feel like our offense has been underperforming, so we’ve been working on that really hard and I think they stepped up and played really well tonight.”
Bingham first scored on a 64-yard run off a 3rd and 5 from the Eagles’ own 36 on their opening drive. Kody hit a hole up the middle and then it was off to the races as Sabino’s secondary couldn’t keep up as Bingham ran to the corner of the end zone.
Quarterback Chad Johnson had a good night as well and went 6-8 for 134 yards with a TD and 1 INT for a quarterback rating of 116.7.
After a Sabino punt, Johnson got in on the action in the second drive with a deep pass to Wyatt Nicholas. He then followed that up with a nice scramble to give the Eagles a first down in the Red Zone.
However, multiple Thatcher miscues, including a missed snap, led to an Eagles punt. They wouldn’t be without the ball for long though, as Patrick Nicholas recovered a Sabino fumble just a few plays later.
The Eagles capitalized off the turnover and after Bingham had a big run to get into scoring position, coach Jones called his number again and Bingham went nearly untouched for a 10-yard TD for his second score of the night. The extra point attempt by Luke Marble was good and Thatcher was up 14-0 with 1:06 left in the opening quarter.
Sabino looked to come back in the second quarter and Adrian Tellez intercepted Johnson to give the Sabercats the ball.
Looking to strike quickly, Sabino quarterback Bodhi Sanford unleashed a deep shot under pressure to Brit Roberson, who had to wait just a second for the pass and then caught it at the 50 and was off down the sideline. Two Eagles were in angled pursuit and Tristun Brown ran down Roberson and rode him like a bronco out of bounds at about the 25.
Sanford then found his man, Zachari Haley, over the middle for a 19-yard TD. The extra point attempt was blocked but Sabino was down only one score, 14-6, with 7:37 left in the half.
A big pass play to Brett Jones brought the ball back into the Red Zone for the Eagles. And Bingham scored his third TD of the night on the very next play on a 17-yard run. The extra point attempt by Luke Marble was good and Thatcher was up 21-6 with 4:45 left in the second quarter.
But the Eagles wanted more, and after the defense forced a punt, Thatcher got the ball back at the Sabercats’ own 42. And on the very next offensive play, Johnson dropped back and bought some time before he hit Wyatt Nicholas crossing across the field. Nicholas was so open he jogged the final 20 yards for the score. After Marble’s kick, the score was 28-6 in favor of Thatcher with 3:05 left in the half.
Bingham would have had his fourth touchdown on a 25-yard interception return on Sabino’s next possession, but Tristun Brown was flagged for roughing the passer and instead, Sabino kept the ball with a first down. The teams would go into halftime with Thatcher leading 28-6.
“We’ve really been talking about finding that steel in your spine and start to really dirt roll people and just be merciless,” coach Jones said. “That’s really what we’re trying to figure out and trying to be.”
Sabino threatened in its opening drive of the third quarter but Thatcher’s defense stepped up and on 4th and 6 from Thatcher’s 28 Sanford’s pass fell incomplete and the Sabercats turned the ball back over to the Eagles. And Thatcher turned that turnover into points as Bingham zipped 40 yards for his fourth rushing TD of the night. Marble’s kick was good and the rout was on, up 35-6 over Sabino with 7:14 left in the third.
Thatcher got the ball back and with 1:17 left in the third, the Eagles were set up with a first and goal from the 3. Suddenly, Coach Daniel Jones’ bellowing voice was heard calling for the team’s manager, Brendan Johnson for a special moment pre-organized with Sabino. Coach Jones told Johnson to find a helmet because he was just the fullback he needed in this situation.
Brendan suffers from multiple sclerosis but he hasn’t let that stop him from performing as the team’s manager all four years in high school. And now, in his senior year, he got the moment of a lifetime as his number was called to carry the ball.
“He’s a warrior and he would’ve been on this field four years if he had the chance and I just wanted it for him,” coach Jones said. “It’s such a hard thing to set up – to arrange and ask another team to do, but coach McBrayer, he’s a hell of a dude – I threw it out there and he said, ‘Yeah if it kind of goes this way then we’ll do it.’ And we did it.”
Teammates helped Brendan to the field, but once there he stood alone and took the handoff from quarterback Chad Johnson. Brendan went right in the hole, and as Sabercats mimed diving at him for the tackle, he scored a touchdown as a Thatcher Eagle.
Brendan was shocked when his number was called and had no idea what coach Jones and the team had cooking.
“I’ve known all these guys since I was a little kid,” Brendan said. “They’re amazing people – amazing athletes. It’s just awesome to be around these guys. They’re humble and phenomenal to watch.”
Sabino added a late score in the fourth on a 46-yard run by Zachari Haley to make the final score 41-12.
Thatcher (6 -0 conference, 6-1 overall) sits atop the 3A South and is currently ranked No. 4 in the state for the 3A Conference behind No. 1 ALA – West Foothills (5-0), No. 2 Florence Gophers (6-0) and No. 3 Blue Ridge Yellowjackets (7-0). Thatcher’s only loss on the season was to 4A Yuma Catholic, 12-19, on Sept. 20. Thatcher will next travel to take on its neighboring city rival Safford on Friday, Oct. 18, starting at 7 p.m., and will have a pivotal home game on Oct. 25 against the Tucson Pusch Ridge Lions that will likely determine the region champion.