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San Manuel Miner
The Jr. Miners football team started their season in grand fashion last week, shutting out the San Carlos Braves, 66 – 0. Head coach Dave Jungbluth was pleased with the execution displayed by the offense in the win, as well as the defensive pursuit and sound tackling in the game.
Offensive lineman Louis Chavez was a last-minute replacement at center for the Miners and didn’t miss a beat with quarterback Caleb Quintero.
“Our starting center aggravated an old injury (just) before the game and needed to be replaced,” Jungbluth explained after the game. “We had to put Louis at center at the last minute. Despite not playing the position previously, he did great. He did a great job of getting the ball to our quarterback.”
Jungbluth recognized the outstanding performance of the offensive lineman – Ethan Lovelace, Kevin Carter, Louis Chavez, Cisco Curry, Jesus Gonzales and Rey Martinez – and their ability to open holes for the Miners’ running backs. Receivers Javier Tamayo and Jose Moreno also did a “great job of blocking” for Ben Laguna, Julian Rodriguez and Isaiah Sanchez.
Laguna scored five touchdowns in the game, three on offense and two on defense. He scored on runs of 50, 34 and 22 yards. He returned a fumble recovery 37 yards for a score and had a 34-yard pick-six for his second defensive touchdown of the game. Julian Rodriguez (2), Isaiah Sanchez, and Rey Martinez accounted for the Miners other touchdowns. Sanchez’ score came on a 36-yard interception return.
The defensive coaches were impressed the Miners’ “gang tackling” in the game as well as the three defensive scores posted by the defense. The special teams also scored on a 70-yard kickoff return by Julian Rodriguez.
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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