Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: C.J. Scrivner sacks Florence’s Christopher Walter to halt a drive in the second quarter. Safford’s defense held Florence scoreless while its offense put up six touchdowns on its way to a 40-0 victory Friday night.
By Jon Johnson
“We’re not ready yet, to play with the top teams in the state, but we’re getting there.”
Safford Head Football Coach Eric Hjalmarson
SAFFORD – Safford head coach Eric Hjalmarson said his team isn’t quite ready to compete with the best teams in the state, but after winning the last two games by a combined score of 85-8, it isn’t a stretch to think that these Bulldogs might make a deep run into the playoffs this year.
Safford (0-0 region, 3-1 conference, 3-1 overall) had no problem handling the Florence Gophers (0-0 region, 1-4 conference, 1-4 overall) on Friday night, holding them scoreless in a 40-0 shellacking.
The Bulldogs controlled both sides of the ball and had runs of three touchdowns three successive possessions in both the first and second halves. Safford’s only miscues on offense was a missed field goal after having gone backward from 1st-and-goal from the 5-yard line in its opening drive and a turnover on downs in the second quarter that was also assisted by two penalties.
On defense, the Bulldogs forced four turnovers – including a 65-yard fumble recovery return for a TD by Samuel Tobias – and four punts while keeping the Gophers out of the end zone.
“Our defense has played well all year,” Hjalmarson said. “We have to build upon that.”
The breakout star of the night was Tobias, who scored on defense with the fumble recovery return, on a 20-yard pass from Mason Duros on 4th-and-5, and on runs of 25 yards and 74 yards to cap his four-touchdown night.
“I think everyone executed,” Tobias said. “It wasn’t me, it was the line for the most part. We all did our job and the holes were there, so (they were) easy touchdowns.”
The Bulldogs moved the ball down the field behind two big runs from Robert White on their first possession to a 1st-and-goal from the 5-yard line. However, a mishandled snap and a sack sent them backward.
Safford attempted a 23-yard field goal from the sure-footed Justin Torrio on 4th-and-goal, but Torrio misfired and the kick was no good. It would end up being one of the few miscues from the Bulldogs on the night.
On Florence’s opening possession, Dylan Dorrell snagged a tipped ball and ran the interception back into Gopher territory to set up the Bulldogs.
After working it back into the Red Zone, White finished off the drive with a 9-yard TD run. A fake extra point attempt failed, and Safford was up 6-0.
Florence began to move the ball on its second possession but Kaleb Lewis lost the handle and Tobias picked up the fumble and returned it 64 yards for the TD.
After a Gopher punt, the Bulldogs were threatening again in the second quarter but faced a 4th-and-5 from the Gopher’s 20-yard line. Duros then faked a handoff and hit Tobias over the middle for the 20-yard TD pass.
Florence attempted to score before the break, but C.J. Scrivner had back-to-back QB sacks to stop the Gophers in their tracks.
“Every team that I’ve been a part of usually has something they can hang their hat on, and so we’re going to hang our hat on defense and we’re going to hang our hat on rushing the football,” Hjalmarson said.
The third quarter started the same way the second quarter ended and Scrivner registered his third sack in nine offensive plays.
After another Gopher punt, Tobias took the ball on a reverse and zipped 25 yards untouched up the middle for the score.
The Safford defense stood tall once again early in the fourth as it thwarted Florence in the Red Zone and forced a turnover on downs on two consecutive QB sacks.
Tobias then broke whatever was left of Florence’s resolve as he outran everyone 74 yards down the sideline to put Safford up 34-0.
The backup unit then put the final nail in the coffin after Eduardo Ogaz set the Bulldogs up with a 1st-and-goal from the 1-yard line after reversing his field and nearly scoring on one of the most exciting runs of the night. Christian Smith finished the drive with a 1-yard plunge, and the Bulldogs walked off the field with a 40-0 victory.
Safford will next host the Sahuarita Mustangs (0-0 region, 2-1 conference, 3-2 overall) on Friday, Oct. 4, starting at 7 p.m.
“I worked in the Florence district for nine years, so it’s nice to beat them,” Hjalmarson said.
Jon Johnson Video/Gila Herald
In other local prep action:
The Thatcher Eagles (0-0 region, 1-1 conference, 3-2 overall) lost a tough one, 14-21, to the Santa Cruz Valley Dust Devils (0-0 region, 2-1 conference, 5-1 overall). Thatcher will next travel to battle the Pima Roughriders in Pima on Friday, Oct. 4.
The Pima Roughriders (0-0 region, 3-2 conference, 3-2 overall) destroyed the Tombstone Yellow Jackets (0-0 region, 1-4 conference, 1-4 overall), 42-6 for their homecoming. Pima will next host Thatcher on Oct. 4.
The Morenci Wildcats (0-0 region, 3-2 conference, 3-2 overall) beat the Bisbee Pumas (0-0 region, 3-1 conference, 4-1 overall), 32-26 to hand Bisbee its first loss of the year. Morenci will next travel out of state to Bayard, New Mexico to battle Cobre High School on Saturday, Oct. 5.
The Fort Thomas Apaches (1-2 region, 3-3 conference, 3-3 overall) beat the Valley Union Blue Devils (1-2 region, 1-5 conference, 1-5 overall), 62-22. The Fort will next travel to Duncan to take on the Wildkats.
The Duncan Wildkats (2-0 region, 4-1 conference, 4-1 overall) beat the St. David Tigers (2-1 region, 2-3 conference, 2-3 overall), 28-18. Duncan will next host Fort Thomas on Friday, Oct. 4.
