San Manuel Miner
The Jr. Miners suffered their first loss of the season last Tuesday, falling to the Globe Jr. Tigers, 50 – 28.
“Offensively, we moved the ball well,” Jr. Miners’ head coach Dave Jungbluth said after the game. “(We) stopped ourselves with fumbles and interceptions.”
In addition to mistakes on the offensive side, the defense had a difficult time stopping the Jr. Tigers quarterback who accounted for six touchdowns on offense. He also returned an errant Jr. Miners’ pass for a score.
“Needless to say, we had a tough time stopping him because of his speed,” Jungbluth acknowledged afterwards.
The Jr. Miners first score of the game came on 25-yard touchdown pass and reception from Caleb Quintero to Rey Martinez in the first quarter. Benny Laguna converted the 2-point PAT. Later, with Globe leading 20 – 8, Quintero hooked up with Laguna on a 51-yard touchdown pass. Laguna again converted the 2-pt PAT to bring the Jr. Miners within four, 20 – 16.
Trailing 28 – 16 in the third quarter, the Jr. Miners pulled to within six points when Julian Rodriguez rushed 55 yards for a touchdown. Rodriguez later scored his second touchdown of the game on a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Jr. Miners were short on players in the game due to injuries, according to Jungbluth, causing some players to play out of position.
Improving the team’s tackling is the focus before the next game versus Ray.