Rams fall apart against Canyon del Oro

The calls from the bleachers began in the fourth quarter. Some were words of encouragement; others were an attempt to spur the psyche of a team falling apart.  

 “You guys are just giving up!” yelled one spectator.

The small number of Maricopa High School football fans that made the long drive to Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson was doing their best to raise the spirits of a team struggling to put any points on the board.

In the end, all hope was lost. Final score: 49-0.  

The frustration and disappointment felt among the coaching staff, those in the stands and the players on the field were clear in a post-game interview with Maricopa coach Cory Nenaber.

“We just, we got beat,” he said. “We got our butts kicked coaching. We got out-coached. We got outplayed. We got out-hit. We just, we didn’t show up tonight.”

Nenaber said it was his responsibility to make sure the team was ready for the game. Other than players not having to go to school this week because of fall break, he said there was no deviation from the team’s normal preparation for a Friday night contest.  

His thoughts on how this could have happened: “I don’t know. We just didn’t show up.”

The Dorados (6-1, 2-0) slowly picked apart the Rams’ (3-4, 1-1) defense in the first half before entirely consuming the team in the second.

The Rams’ seemed unable to control the run game or an aerial attack. They forced the Dorados’ punt team to take the field only twice during the entire game – both times in the first half.  

The Dorados scored on a 28-yard pass with about 6 minutes left in the first quarter. The team scored again mid-way through the second quarter as they finished up a seven-play march that started at the Rams’ 49 and ended with a rushing touchdown by running back Max Smith. The Dorados then successfully executed a 2-point conversion – filling in a missed extra-point attempt after their first score. This put Canyon del Oro up 14-0.

With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Dorados’ quarterback Jordan Closs-Lopez connected with senior JJ Metz for a 56-yard touchdown pass.

If any hope was built up during halftime, it quickly deflated. The Dorados recovered a fumble in Rams’ territory with about a minute into the second half. Three plays after taking over at the 11-yard line, Canyon del Oro found the end zone followed by the goal posts, placing the score at 28-0.

The Dorados then scored on their next three possessions of the game – even after putting in backup players – to have the final score stand at 49-0.  

Noticeably missing from the starting lineup was Maricopa running back Falaah Shabazz, who was one of the star players in last week’s win against Marana High School. In that game, Shabazz had 19 carries and rushed for 101 yards.

***ADVERTISEMENT***He’s one of several go-to players on the Rams’ varsity team this year.

Nenaber did not go into detail about Shabazz’s absence.

“He’s not here. That’s all I’m going to say,” he said. “You know, (we’ll) play with the guys that are here.”

The coach said the team will be physical in practice this week as they prepare for their Homecoming game against Flowing Wells High School of Tucson.

“We’re just going to go back to basics,” he said. “We’re going to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and try to get ready.”

The game will be played Friday at Maricopa High School. The contest begins at 7 p.m.