By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD — Opening night of high school football always brings high expectations, but few could have predicted the sheer dominance displayed on Thursday, Aug. 20. In a classic regional showdown between local rivals, the Safford Bulldogs made a powerful statement by suffocating the hard-nosed Morenci Wildcats in a 44-0 blowout victory.
Morenci failed to move the ball offensively, finished with four fumbles, gave up a safety, and had two punts. Safford dominated both defensively and offensively, scoring six touchdowns to just one turnover and one punt – putting the game in mercy-rule running clock mode late in the third quarter. The Bulldogs had a balanced offensive attack with a solid ground game and quality receptions in the air.
The Wildcats opened the game looking to establish their ground game as Jeremya Cruz ripped off a clean 20-plus-yard run on Morenci’s first play. However, that proved to be his biggest gain of the night as the Bulldogs’ defense quickly clamped down and forced a punt.
Safford answered immediately on its first offensive series. Andrew Baker jump-started the drive with a 28-yard burst, and quarterback Parker Whisman came through on a third-and-long by rolling out to find Matteo Chavez at the 30-yard line for a first down. Whisman then scrambled inside the 5-yard line, dragging three Morenci defenders down to the 1-yard line before Baker punched it in for a 1-yard touchdown plunge, giving Safford a 7-0 lead with 5:51 left in the first quarter.
Disaster struck Morenci on its next possession when an errant punt snap sailed over the punter’s head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety, pushing Safford’s lead to 9-0.
Special teams and defensive pressure set the stage for a wild second quarter where three fumbles by Morenci completely broke the game open, granting Safford favorable field position deep in Wildcat territory:
- Fumble #1: Gunner Barron lost the football, and it was recovered by Safford’s Dane Jacobson at the Cats’ 35-yard line. Safford converted shortly after on a 4th-and-5 from the 13 when Whisman hit Chavez for a touchdown, extending the lead to 16-0.
- Fumble #2: After Morenci’s defense staged a goal-line stand at the 5, the Wildcats surrendered a fumble on their very next play, handing Safford first-and-goal just two yards from the end zone. Whisman capitalized immediately on a 2-yard touchdown run to extend the advantage to 23-0.
- Fumble #3: Safford linebacker Mario Chavez timed a blitz perfectly to disrupt a handoff, forcing a sack-fumble that Baker recovered at the Morenci 15-yard line. With just 14 seconds remaining in the half, Whisman found Lamar Ellis on 4th-and-17 for a high-leaping 23-yard touchdown catch between two defenders, taking Safford into halftime with a 30-0 lead.
Safford kept the momentum rolling in the second half. Following a forced punt that pinned Morenci inside its own 10, Cruz coughed up the ball again, which was recovered by Matteo Chavez at the Morenci 28-yard line. Baker capped off the short field with a 7-yard touchdown run to make it 37-0 and trigger the mercy-rule running clock with 3:22 left in the third quarter.
Noah Jurado provided the final highlight in the fourth quarter, breaking free along the left sideline right in front of the Morenci bench for an electrifying 55-yard touchdown run to lock in the 44-0 final score.
With the victory, Safford hits the road next week aiming to keep its streak alive against the Blue Ridge Yellowjackets on Friday, Aug. 28, while Morenci looks to rebound on the road against the Tanque Verde Hawks in Tucson the same night.
In other local prep football action:
The Thatcher Eagles destroyed the American Leadership Academy – Ironwood Warriors in their opening-season game, 33-6 on the road. Thatcher will next defend its home turf at John Mickelson Field on Friday, Aug. 28 versus the Apache Junction Prospectors.
