Rams add to Wranglers’ home winning streak

A swarming defense lifted No. 2 ranked Wickenburg to a 24-6 victory over the visiting Rams last Friday night. The win extends the Wranglers’ home winning streak to 15 games, spanning four seasons, and puts Wickenburg at 2-0 and Maricopa to 1-1 this season.

Rams running back Matt “mini bus” Fierros rushed for 60 yards in the first quarter; then he was shutdown by the Wrangler defense. The explosive running back was held to just 84 yards on 16 carries. Fierros, who a week earlier went for 207 yards on 31 carries, is averaging 145 yards a game this season.

The Wrangler defense reeked havoc in the Rams backfield all night. Quarterback Will Clemans was sacked on several occasions throughout the course of the game. Clemans was under pressure the entire game, but late in the fourth quarter he did find wide out Cody Seymore in the corner of the end zone for a 24-yard TD. It was a tough night for Clemans who connected on just 4 of his 11 passes for only 79 yards.

Wrangler fullback Chance Thompson made his season debut rumbling for 115 yards on 14 carries. Thompson also started at linebacker and played a big role in limiting the Rams offensive production.

Wrangler quarterback Drew Vaughn, who is regarded as the best quarterback in 3A, completed 7 of his 15 passes for a total of 160 yards. The longest completion of the night came in the fourth quarter. Vaughn tossed a screen pass to back-up fullback Kellen Henderson who took it 55 yards for the touchdown. The Wranglers scored a touchdown in every quarter and had 179 rushing yards.

The Rams defense played a solid game, forcing the Wranglers to turn the ball over twice. The first turnover occurred when Seymore picked off a Vaughn pass deep in Ram territory. The second turnover took place when linebacker Heath Bookman recovered a forced fumble. Defensive end Tony Jones finished the game with three quarterback sacks and put a lot of pressure on Vaughn.

Even though the Rams lost 24-6, they now know they can compete with the top tier in 3A. Rams signal caller Clemans threw some nice balls, and running back Fierros had some nice runs against the Wrangler defense.

The Rams defense led by Fierros, Jones, Blake Schwanbeck, Bookman, Eric Chavez and Chris Wilson had several sacks and forced two turnovers.

Maricopa hosts Bourgade this Friday at 7 p.m.

Game Summary:
Maricopa 0-0-0-6 — 6
Wickenburg 7-3-7-7 — 24

W — Mills 13 pass from Vaughan (Sievert kick) 9:37
W — Sievert 36 FG 0:00
W — Henderson 3 run (Sievert kick) 4:22
W — Henderson 55 pass from Vaughan (Sievert kick) 5:59
M — Seymore 24 pass from Clemans (2 point conversion Pass failed) 2:16

Maricopa Rams 2007 Football Schedule:
8/24/2007 Estrella Foothills (Won 20-13)
8/31/2007 @ Wickenburg (Lost 24-6)
9/7/2007 Bourgade
9/14/2007 @ Coolidge
9/21/2007 Empire
9/28/2007 Fountain Hills
10/5/2007 @ Safford
10/12/2007 Santa Cruz
10/19/2007 Florence
10/26/2007 @ Globe

Photo by Eddie Garcia