by 
San Manuel Miners
As has been the case for more times than head coach Daniel Williams cares to see, the San Manuel football team wasn’t ready to play mentally until after halftime in last Friday’s 46 – 24 loss at No. 12-ranked Bisbee.
Bisbee scored 46 unanswered points in the first half before the Miners came out in the second half and outscored the Pumas, 24 – 0.
After the game, Williams was at a loss to explain why his team is continuously not in the proper mindset at the start of games.
“I’m trying to figure out our starts myself,” the first-year head coach told the Miner. “I’ve tried everything you can think of to get these guys fired up.”
Williams said defensive adjustments at halftime accounted for the second-half turnaround, and, of course, the offense played better as well.
“Again, we just couldn’t get anything going,” Williams said. “After the half, we started to figure some things out.”
Freshman quarterback Caleb Quintero threw a touchdown pass to Rey Martinez and freshman running back Benny Laguna ran for two touchdowns.
The Miners will need to be ready from the start in their season finale this Friday at No. 3-ranked Santa Cruz Valley. The undefeated Dust Devils are a legitimate state title contender; the team to beat in the estimation of some around the state.
Friday’s 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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