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By Frank Smith
The San Manuel Miners Junior High football team will be heading to the playoffs with wins over Miami and Hayden giving the Miners the third seed in their division.
On Sept, 25, 2012, the Miners visited Miami and came away with a 14-8 victory.The Vandals scored first during the second quarter on a 50 yard touchdown pass.
The Miners scored on a six yard dive by Matt Franco with 1:47 left in the first half.The touchdown was set up after Josh Sharp intercepted a pass and returned it to the Miami’s 11 yard line.
The first half ended Miami 8 –San Manuel 6. The Miners received the kick-off to start the second half.
The Miners scored on a one yard run by Alejandro Camacho after driving 65 yards.Jose Damian scored the two point conversion to give the Miners a 14-8 lead.
Coach Dave Jungbluth said, “The Vandals had a few opportunities but were turned back by a relentless defense, Antonio Gallego, Reuban Hernandez and Fabian Ruzzodid a great job on defense. This was a great win for us. This is the second week we came back in the second half to win the game. “
The Miners headed up Highway 77 on Oct.2 to face the Junior Lobos and returned home with a 22 – 8 win over Hayden. The Miners jumped out to a 14 – 0 lead at the half after a five yard run from running back Josh Sharp in the first quarter and a four yard touchdown run from full back Matt Franco in the second quarter.
The Miners scored again in the third quarter when sharp broke loose for a 65 yard touchdown scamper down the left side of the field keyed off the block from wide receiver Omar Tamayo.
The Lobos scored their only touchdown late in the fourth quarter when the Miners inserted their second unit for some valuable playing time.
Coach Dave Jungbluth said, “We did very well, on the defensive side of the ball Antonio Gallego controlled the line of scrimmage. Hayden had some big players – we were not sure how we would handle them but we played hard.”
The Miners will now take on the second seed the Pusch Ridge Lions on Tuesday Oct. 16 in Oro Valley with a start time of 6pm.
Should the Miners win they will take on the winner of the first seed Eloy and fourth seed Miami, the game will be played at the higher seed site on Oct. 23.
The top winner of the South and North divisions will meet for the Championship game. Top of Form
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