Notre Dame defense stops Rams cold

The Scottsdale Notre Dame defense bent but didn’t break, repelling six Maricopa scoring opportunities in a 38-0 victory Friday night over the Rams.

“We had too many turnovers and penalties in the red zone,” Maricopa coach Cory Nenaber said about his team’s offense, which was able to move the ball repeatedly into Notre Dame territory but was prevented from reaching the end zone by the Saints’ defenders. “That’s the difference, those little things and making the plays when it’s crunch time. We didn’t do that tonight. As a group, we’ve got to learn to be better down there.”

Maricopa’s six forays into Notre Dame territory ended with four interceptions, a missed field goal and an unsuccessful fourth-down play.

Notre Dame’s resolute defensive effort was led by sophomore cornerback Mo White, who intercepted two passes, returning the first for a 55-yard touchdown with 9:53 left in the opening quarter.

Following White’s early touchdown, Notre Dame (7-1 overall, 4-1 in the Class 4A-II East Sky Region) forced the Rams (2-6, 0-5) to punt from deep in their own territory. The Saints took possession at the Maricopa 25-yard line and scored six plays later on a 3-yard run by Korey Jones. Notre Dame converted a key fourth-down play during the drive, gaining 11 yards on a pass from quarterback Jordan Gehrke to receiver Kodey Jones.

“We battled and had a chance there when they had fourth-and-6,” Nenaber said. “If we can get a stop there, it’s 7-0. It’s a different game. Against good teams, we just have a tendency to make mistakes and put ourselves in a hole. Good teams capitalize, and they did that.”

White turned in another big play for the Notre Dame defense on Maricopa’s subsequent possession. After the Rams drove from their own 32-yard line to the Notre Dame 18, White squelched the scoring threat by intercepting a pass at the 2. He returned the interception 81 yards, giving the Saints outstanding field position at the Maricopa 17.

From there, the Notre Dame offense needed just two plays to cross the goal line, scoring on a 9-yard run by Gehrke to increase the margin to 21-0 with 10:48 remaining in the second quarter.

Maricopa junior Randel Barber returned the ensuing kickoff to the Notre Dame 39. After senior quarterback K.J. Diehl ran for one first down for the Rams and completed an 11-yard pass to Spencer Wilson for another, the drive stalled at the 12-yard line. The Rams then missed a 29-yard field goal.

Gehrke threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Brian Canavan with 2:49 left in the second quarter. The Saints added a 38-yard field goal by Ricardo Boggs with 18 seconds remaining before halftime to extend their lead to 31-0.

The Rams drove into Notre Dame territory on all three of their possessions in the second half, but they turned the ball over once on downs and twice on interceptions.

Diehl completed 8 of 18 passes for 142 yards for the Rams. Maricopa senior Travis Brown caught two passes for 56 yards, while sophomore Franschua Avila had two receptions for 55 yards. Diehl was the Rams’ leading rusher with 27 yards on eight attempts.

Gehrke completed 7 of 13 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown for Notre Dame. Brett Berry led the Saints with 73 yards rushing on nine attempts, while Korey Jones finished with 68 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

“They are a really good football team,” Nenaber said about the Saints, whose only loss was a 21-16 setback against undefeated Gilbert Williams Field on Oct. 8. “They give you a lot of different formations. They’re big. They’re physical. They do all the things that good teams do. They’re going to be in it (the race for the 4A-II state championship) right till the end.”

The Rams will conclude their home schedule next week against Chandler Seton Catholic (5-4, 2-3) before traveling to Tempe (0-8, 0-5) on Nov. 5 for the regular-season finale.

“We are going to play it like it’s a two-game playoff,” Nenaber said. “It starts here next week, Senior Night, and we want to do everything we can