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By Frank Smith
The San Manuel Miners varsity football team made the trip up to Miami on Fri. night sinking the Vandals 54 – 0 in the Miners fourth shutout win of the season.
It did not take long for the Miners to score in the first quarter as the Vandals fumbled the ball that was recovered by San Manuel linebacker Danny Quijada on the second play of their opening drive giving the short field to the Miners at the Miami 17-yard line.
The Miners scored on the fourth play of the drive with fullback Colten Smith taking the ball into the end zone from the six-yard line for six, the point after touchdown kick was good by Adrian Diaz to give the Miners the lead with 9:09 in the first quarter. The Miners drove 17 yards in four taking 2:04 on the drive.
The Miners defense would force several three and outs throughout the night leaving the Vandals in punt formation as a result of the stingy defense.
On the next drive for the Miners, the offense would drive down to the Vandals eight-yard line from their own 30 in six plays only to fumble the ball at the one yard line giving Miami the ball back deep in their own territory.
The drive would result in another punt for the Vandals, punting the ball back to the Miners own 40 yard line.
San Manuel took over at the 40, scoring in five plays with quarterback Adrian Torres dropping back and hitting tight end Jonathan Croci with a 17 yard pass into the corner of the end zone for the touchdown, the extra point kick by Diaz was good for a 14 – 0 lead as time expired in the first quarter. The Miners drove 60 yards in five plays taking 1:55 on the drive.
The Miners would get the ball back in the second quarter after yet another Vandal punt, the San Manuel offense set up at mid-field at the 50-yard line, scoring in two plays as running back John Ruiz got the first call of the drive taking the ball down to the Miami 30-yard line. Running back Shane Kelly would take it from there on a 30 yard scramble to the left side of the field for the touchdown, the kick by Diaz was good for a 21 – 0 lead with 8:09 showing on the clock. The Miners drove 50 yards in two plays taking: 35 on the drive.
The Miners defense would not slow down forcing the punt.
San Manuel would get the ball back at their own 41 yard line, scoring in six plays with Smith capping off the drive on a 14 yard touchdown run to the right side of the field, the kick by Diaz was no good for a Miner 27 – 0 lead with 2:54 left in the first half. The Miners drove 59 yards in six plays taking 3:00 on the drive.
The Miners defense would continue to pressure the quarterback all night forcing a fourth down and eleven to go for the first down, the Vandals fumbled the ball on the exchange turning over the ball on downs.
San Manuel took over at the Miami 42 yard line with :53 on the clock, wide receiver Andre Sierra got the call on a counter play to the left side of the field for the 42 yard touchdown run, the kick by Diaz was good for a 34 – 0 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, the Miners would take the opening drive in for a touchdown in two plays as the offense set up at the Miami 48-yard line, Torres dropped back and fired a pass to Sierra for gain down to the Vandals 15 yard. On the next play of the drive, Ruiz would get the call punching the ball in for the 15 yard touchdown run, the two point conversion was good by Ruiz for a 42 – 0 lead with 11:07 in the third quarter.
The AIA imposed mercy rule was now in effect, with a running clock after a team is ahead by 42 points. The Miners inserted several of their younger players to get some valuable playing time.
The Miners offense continued to roll as San Manuel set up at the Miami 30-yard line after a 30 yard punt return by Andre Sierra giving the Miners good field position. Kelly got the hand off on the first play of the drive taking the ball down to the seven yard line picking up 23 yards on the run, Smith capped off the drive with a seven yard run up the middle of the line for the touchdown, the Diaz kick was good for 48 – 0 score at the 6:06 mark of the third quarter.
San Manuel scored again late in the fourth quarter, starting out at their own 43 yard line, Kelly took the ball down to the Miami 43 yard line on the first play of the drive. On the second play of the drive, Smith took the hand – off sprinting 43 yards down field for the touchdown, the kick by Diaz was no good for a 54 – 0 score with 5:18 left in the game.
Miners linebacker Colten Smith intercepted a Vandal pass where the Miners would take over -taking the victory formation to end the game 54 – 0.
Offensively, Colten Smith had four touchdowns, Shane Kelly had two touchdowns, John Croci had one receiving touchdown and Andre Sierra had a rushing touchdown.
Defensively, Danny Quijada had seven solo and four assisted tackles with one fumble recovery, Richard Romo had four solo and one assisted tackle with one sack and a forced fumble, Colten Smith had three solo and two assisted tackles with one interception.
Head Coach Steve Elmore said, “We played an all around great game. The defense was able to shut down Miami on every drive and hold them to less than 100yds of offense. Offensively, we pounded the ball on the ground with big play after big play. John Ruiz, Colten Smith, Shane Kelly, and Andre Sierra combined for over 300yds rushing and seven touchdowns. We enjoyed the win, but it’s time to go back to work against a good Benson team.”
The Miners will host the Benson Bobcats on Friday night at Littau Field, kick off is slated for 6pm.
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