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Gabe Velasquez carries the ball in Friday night’s game against Tanque Verde. Leticia Vargas | SMHS
Two significant injuries to a pair of San Manuel football players, including one who was transported by a helicopter ambulance, overshadowed a 39 – 13 defeat at home against Tanque Verde last Friday night.
Miner head coach Daniel Williams preferred the names of the two injured players not be released at this time. An update on their injury status will be made when and if it becomes available to the Miner.
As far as the game, the Miners didn’t appear ready to play from the start, according to their head coach, despite taking scoring a go-ahead touchdown and PAT to take a 7 – 6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“We came out really flat at the beginning,” Williams told the Miner. “As the game went on, our defense didn’t hold up the way we expected.”
The Hawks scored 27 unanswered points in the second and third quarters combined.
Mental errors, poor technique, and missed tackles were just some of the deficiencies the Miners displayed against the Hawks. He suggested the team was just “going through the motions” at times.
Williams shouldered the blame, saying it was his and the staff’s responsibility to have his team to ready to play. He said he would change some things this week in practice to get his team back on track.
Certainly the loss of the injured players affected their teammates, a fact that Williams acknowledged had some truth, but he refused to use it as an excuse. The return this week of five players, who were ruled ineligible for the first two games, will help some attrition the Miners have experienced.
San Manuel’s Jose Damian (#5) has possession of the ball early in the game against Tanque Verde. Elyssia Aguilar | SMHS
“We at least get some fresh legs out there now,” he said. “That will help us out and they’re key players. I think we’ll be OK from here on out.”
Senior running back Andrew Gomez was a key player against the Hawks as he rushed for 134 yards on 21 carries and scored one of the Miners’ two touchdowns in the game. Junior quarterback Alejandro Camacho scored the other.
Defensively, juniors Gabe Velasquez and Jose Damian each finished with a team-high eight tackles. Sophomore Julian Rodriguez, who led the Miners with 48 receiving yards, ended with seven tackles on defense. Bridger Davis, a junior, totaled six tackles and blocked a Hawks’ field goal attempt.
The Miners will play their first road game this Friday at Veritas Prep. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We’ll see it how it goes,” Williams said. “Hopefully we’ll come out with our first win.”
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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