MHS football finishes season strong with 3 wins in last 4 games; looks toward 2012

A season that began in disappointment ended in a thrilling victory, as Maricopa High School grabbed its third victory in the last four games, a 34-28 overtime win at Tempe Oct 28.

The victory, sealed by senior Randel Barber’s interception at the goal line, gives the Rams positive thoughts to carry through the off-season as they prepare for 2012.

Head coach Cory Nenaber wrapped up the season moments after the final-game victory. “Our age and inexperience showed up a little bit early in the season. The thing that I’m most proud of is that we kept with it, doing things we believed in. It’s such a credit to our kids, they grew up a ton during the year, and I think you saw that at the end of the year.”

The final victory of 2011 was very much in doubt until Barber stepped in front of a Tempe pass to kill the Buffalos’ hopes. THS had rallied from a 28-7 deficit to force overtime on a three-yard run by quarterback Emanuel Gant with 2:59 to play.

High school overtimes give each team alternating chances to score from the 10-yard line. Tempe won the coin toss and elected to have Maricopa go first.
On their first play, the Rams lost two yards on a Barber carry. But sophomore quarterback Dallas Speer sprinted left on second down, reaching the two-yard line. Barber gained one on the next play, but then took a pitchout from Speer around the right side to give the Rams a touchdown. The extra point, however, was missed by freshman Ivan Mendez, who had made two earlier in the contest. “If you had seen that kid kick this year on the freshman team you would believe why I had him out there, ” Nenaber said. “He’s a really talented kid. His future is huge.”

The miss meant that if THS scored, a PAT would win the game. But Barber had other ideas. “That was the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my life, in football,” he said.

Barber’s performance all year had been magnificent. He ran for 1,373 yards and a total of 23 TDs. In his career-finale he had 249 yards and scored all five MHS touchdowns.

The Rams broke a 7-7 tie against Tempe to take a 21-7 halftime lead and expanded it to 28-7 when Barber raced 79 yards with 7:33 to go in the third quarter. But MHS was unable to slam the door, allowing the Buffalos to force overtime.

“It’s something we’re going to have to address in the off-season, what are we doing, or not doing, that’s causing the lull,” Nenaber said.

But nothing dimmed the Rams’ excitement after Barber closed the game with his interception. Even a Gatorade shower administered by his players couldn’t hide Nenaber’s excitement. “To end the season like that is great, it helps so much in the off-season because the kids remember what it feels like.”

Ah, yes, the off-season.

For the second year in a row the Rams finished strong. A year ago they won their final two games to close at 4-6. This year it was three wins in the final four contests for a 3-7 record. That mark may be slightly skewed by the brutal schedule MHS faced early in the year. The seven schools Maricopa lost to in 2011 compiled a combined record of 50-20, with six of the seven earing spots in AIA playoffs in various divisions.

The experience earned by the young Rams this year will be a significant factor next year, Nenaber said.

“Those kids know 100 percent what they’re up against next year, especially our early schedule and how brutal that is” he said.

Barring any changes, Maricopa will face the same teams in 2012, with sites switching.

***ADVERTISEMENT***“We have got to get stronger next year. My mentor coach told me a long time ago that it’s not how many you have back, but how they come back,” he said. “We’ve got some pretty athletic kids in our program, but we have to get stronger and faster. We do have some kids who have emerged as leaders, which we didn’t have this year because we had 25 seniors last year.”

One factor that bolsters Nenaber’s hopes is the vast improvement shown by the freshman and JV squads in 2011. Those two teams finished 3-5 and 0-8 a year ago, respectively. This season both closed strong for 5-4 and 4-4-1 records. They ended the season in a combined game against Tempe, blasting the Buffalos, 56-7.

The way all three teams finished the 2011 season will make for a tough, but promising off-season for Maricopa.