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San Manuel Miners
The San Manuel football team showed great improvement from a week ago, defeating Tanque Verde last Friday night, 28 – 7.
Miners’ second-year head coach Dan Williams had gave a detailed explanation for his team’s performance against the Hawks.
“We were disciplined, our blocking was outstanding, we didn’t try to make so many arm tackles, and the defense swarmed to the ball,” he told the San Manuel Miner. “Our primary focus was being disciplined and doing your own job.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Miners took a 7 – 0 lead at halftime before outscoring the Hawks 21 – 7 in the second half.
The Velasquez brothers – Christian on offense and Gabe on defense – proved to be too much for Tanque Verde to handle.
Christian rushed for 263 yards and two touchdowns while Gabe led the defense with 14 tackles.
Bridger Davis and Fabian Russo also added rushing scores.
“Christian ran very well,” Williams said. “He made good reads, something we needed to work on after the week before at San Tan Foothills.
“He tried to make too many cuts,” added Williams. “We worked really hard on getting it to one cut and go.”
And his brother, Gabe?
“Gabe is unbelievable on defense,” Williams responded. “He’s a beast, easily one of the top two middle linebackers I’ve ever coached.”
Up next: San Manuel hosts Veritas Prep on Fri., Sept. 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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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